The ReShape wears a JKA suishō seal (recommended) and are tested similarly to a nintei seal (certified) bearing kendama. My understanding is that they are generally held to the same standards but because of shape or some other variable cannot wear the nintei seal. Check the JKA Kendamas thread for more.
IIRC that was back with some of their OG Ozora. In the 6+ years we've dealt with them that hasn't been a concern.
That's probably the only thing holding me back, they both look weird and seem like they wouldn't feel good in the hand. Might have to cop one from KUSA then
Got mine in the mail today! I love this shape SO much already. Jammed it for maybe 10 minutes on my lunch break and can’t wait to play more. I can’t overemphasize how well designed this Kendama feels. Honestly, playing this feels like the first time I ever played a pop except the sword feels more proportional and the overall construction feels higher quality. I like the way it feels in my hand more than a prime and the weight feels better distributed than on a pop. As expected, slingers and lunars feel amazing but the ken doesn’t feel top heavy like I’ve experienced on some other damas with good lunar balance. As you’d expect, the paint is gorgeous and it has the exact right amount of stickiness for me. I’m excited to see how it breaks in. I can’t really judge fully yet since I’ve only played it for a few minutes but I have a feeling this is going to be one of my favorites.
I was trying to hold off until they restock Maple Ozoras but I don't think I can wait now... Anyone know when they're restocking maple ozoras?
I haven’t played as many sticky paints as I'd like but It definitely doesn't feel like any that I've tried. I think the closest I can think of would be kusa super stick but it's far less sticky and more tacky than super stick. It almost feels like just really well broken in normal Ozora paint. Does anyone know if this is the same paint as has always been on the Ozora premiums?
Oops! Thanks for clearing that up. Someone who has played more sticky paints might have to take a shot at this. I've only played stick AF, super stick, and whatever the giveadama is as far as sticky paints go.
@goenKendama thanks for the extensive stats on the first post. As a reference, do you know the size of standard Ozora Tamas?
I'm going to go out on a limb and say 60mm +/- 0.5mm~. I just ran a quick check of 6 JKA dama from 3 brands and they all fall within that measurement. The Kendama Comparisons thread has a bunch of measurements but I rounded to make life easier.
I've been talking with Umetsu and I keep telling him that he NEEDS to bump up the tama size a little. Also, maybe a deal-breaker to some, but they have Beech Tamas (not cherry). I think it makes for the paint sticking better and also for more consistent (heavier) weight. The cherrys were all over the charts.
Yeah not to get too far off topic, but with all the BIGGER CUP SIZES ZOMG, there are very few + sized Tamas that aren't Natty. A plus sized premium ozora paint would be so sick to pair with ... Anything
I hope there are reShapes in other woods coming from Yamagata Koubou in the future! Imagine a natty keyaki reshape
They did a colab with 430 to produce just such an animal. I'm waiting to see if they offer it in regular production.