Hey guys, i just want you to ask what would be a better cop on saturday. I can only get one of them, so what do you think?
Difficult to answer as they are really different, it depends on the preference and playstyle. The GT-BH shape is kind of unique due to the beefy serado, massive base cup and thick sharp spike. It is really good for stalls, birds and lunar. The GT-KA has huge cups but a smaller base cup with a hole and a rounded spike (good durability), It is also really good for lunar and slingers. Regarding Tama, the raw ash is really grippy out of the box but I an not a fan of the dots of the BH, I prefer the KA lines for tracking but it really depends on you. So all in all, if you want to experiment something new and different, I would definitely recommend the GT-BH, if you want something more classic, then the GT-KA is the real deal. Hope it helps a little bit.
I like to refer to the KA as a "beefed up squab" or rather the Squab is a "slimmed down KA". So - great slingers, flips and loons BH is the "Big Boi" and definitely a great ken although it is "less universal" than the KA.
I've played with the BH shape, and it feels so different than anything else I've played before. It's a kendama that's chunky as hell. To quote the video where GT explained the BH and KA shapes, they "chopped down the spike of a tall boy (GT's old plus sized kendama)" to a standard height, but kept all the other dimensions constant. If you're looking for something different, cop the BH! Can't say a lot about the KA mod, but it looks more like a "standard" plus sized kendama, but it does have some really neat features like the GT-1.5 Base Cup and the Double Bevel.
BH slays Lunars but slingers are almost impossible if you have man hands. KA is way more versatile, but if you’re used to jamming a standard size like an Ozora TK16, it will feel mammoth. It fits into the next gen oversized dama category like the Terra Prefect or the new Krom V2 (8yr bday) Slaydawg.
Only the Japanese have 1.5 the American ones have a regular booty hole and same with the one out of china
I’m going for a ka. Already have stodd and bh so wanted to get the third. Havnt played the ka but I really like plus sized damas like the ka. I agree with @Djoul about the dots on the bh tama but I gladly look past that because the ken is that good. Also being a birch bh really makes it worth it to me. Wish I could give more anecdotal feedback for the ka
@JayPoir I am pretty sure that you won't be disappointed with the KA pro mod I was also hesitating on the Birch KA to have the whole family in the same wood like you, but finally decided to pass my turn, I hope I will not regret it too early.
As a matter of fact my bh is the same wood but my ns is the rojo spectra. Now you’re gonna make me scoop a birch ns if they come out again lol. Thanks for the reply!
Not actually sure what the deal is with the base cup situation. As far as I know the original ka mods had the 1.5 cup. As do the legaxis ones. Not sure how many drops ago they switched it or why but this drop has the plain base cup hole
If I remember well, the loon hole started with the last batch of Americano GT-KA. And atfer that, we got the Lussier/Huntsman/cappuccino and finally the Birch KA. Not sure if it was from Jake or Kristian, but I remember hearing on Instagram that they wanted to give more possibilities to players so as stated above USA MADE --> Loon Hole and JAPAN MADE --> 1.5 Base Cup.
Ah so thats where I was confused because I saw that the legaxis ones had the 1.5 but I didn’t see any of the latest drops. My fault for not paying attention thanks for the clarification
They switched to the base cup hole from the 1.5 on the USA made ones when RWB stopped making GT's and they had to find a new manufacturer. I did see Kristian say in a IG live stream that the new manufacturer couldn't get the 1.5 down correctly so they switched to the base hole. On top of that the first two drops/spec colorways (Americano and Steph) actually have enormous holes but they then scaled it back to what it is now. I personally prefer the 1.5 over the hole because the hole can make the Ken very sarado heavy (lunar machines) and unbalanced for lighthouses/slingers, especially on specs since they sarado and sword are pretty consistent in weight. That said I think a KA with the base hole can still be balanced on a solid hardwood depending on the weights since wood can vary drastically. I've always loved the 1.5 on both the KA and the GT-1.5 but I think it's kinda cool that there is now two versions the KA shape.
I know RWB stopped for over a year now, I didn't know they stopped manufacturing the American-made GT's as well. I know the Crafts are also manufactured by RWB, who manufactures those now? It's kinda weird for RWB to stop making GT's and even Crafts since Jake's brother (Eric Wiens) is one of the guy that runs it. I guess I don't know the full scope of things. I kinda wish companies would be somewhat transparent of these things so that their consumers would understand. I would totally appreciate it, but it's definitely not for everyone.
I'll try keep it short and to the point. Sooo from what I've gathered, KUSA bought out RWB to exclusively make Crafts. Idk if that played any role in Jake leaving kusa or vice versa, also not sure if the RWB guys are still a part of what's now "The Craft Factory". I have no idea by who or where GT's are currently being turned but I'm glad they're back! During the infamous American made GT hiatus, I was much more interested in figuring out what going on but now I've kinda stopped paying attention. I do agree though that transparency would be nice mainly just to know where the damas we're paying top dollar for are being made and less importantly the reasons why as they may be personal stuff.
I could be mistaken but I belive that RWB always made the Craft line for KUSA. They also were the OEM for several other brands and had their own line of kendama. It seemed that the demand was putting a crunch on their production which is why it was often hard to find the various of their products. When gK was looking to bring RWB into the shop they had very few available and in that same time period I we had to wait several weeks for the Crafts ordered direct from KUSA due to production issues we were told. From a business perspective that sounds like a great problem to have, too many orders, but I can understand why KUSA might want to lock up the production of a hot product.