I'm looking to pick up a craft when slim gets back in stock but I'm still undecided on if I should get ash or maple. I don't know how much of a difference there is but I wanted to know if there's any significant change in weight and durability before I buy.
Durability-wise, even as someone who hasn't tried the crafts yet, I can tell you Ash in general chips eeeeeeezy. One drop on the wrong surface....As for weight, ash should be lighter and maple is mid-range
Yeee slim life! I say go with the ash because I played an ash slim that was super broken in and it was honed. Slings were crazy but I could still lunar. Plus the ash tama will break in better than the maple tama in my opinion. Not too sure of the weights because wood varies, but ash is kind of known to be less durable than maple. The ash slim I played had a chipped basecup, so fair warning if you decide to get the ash.
I have had some super durable ash Kens and they don't chip too easily but then again each one will be slightly different. I find that ash has a slightly gritty feel to it as compared to maple which I have found to be smoother. Maple almost has like a velvety feel sometimes. I prefer ash though but that's just me.
Ash is a wood that has amazing grain, so for a slim, the ash would perform better for handle stalls, stilts, and other bird like tricks. if you want a prime kendama out of the box go ash. If you want to spend more money, maple is INSANE for mashups, in general, ash is a better kendama as a just pure natty. I would wait for the ash slim tracker to come out, so BE patient. It will benefit you A LOT.
So I originally said that i prefer ash and at the time of my original post that was the case but I am changing my vote. After I started breaking in my maple ozora I have to say I don't think I'm ever going to buy an ozora that isn't japenese maple. This Kendama rocks.
Hmm I'm actually not sure if Ozora maples are made from a Japanese maple source... I would wager a guess they are Canadian maple, but I'll have to double check that. Japan does not have a large forestry industry, being an island state with a few hundred million people, they import a lot. OG Mugens are made from Canadian beechwood!
I've always heard many other people say this and for a while I thought that ash was the strongest kendama wood. I know now that it isn't from what people have told me, but I've never had an ash chip on me and I'm always playing over concrete.. Maybe I'm just lucky, but with the way I treat kendamas, I'm pretty confident in ash strength.
I'd say maple, personally I'm not a fan of the way ash completes play (unless it's raw ash) and from over all experience maple is more durable. Plus if you want to mix and match you can throw a raw ash tama on it and it'll be prime.
I prefer maple, because from experience, Ash chips VERY easily, and maple is like the best all around clacky and very playable wood.
I've played a lot of maples and a only a few ashes. I love maple. I can see the appeal of the grippiness of ash, but the durability is unmatched for maple. Also, you can shred it with the proper break in. Maple all the way!
Thanks for the feedback! I think I'm gonna go with maple cause durability is a must have. My friend got an ash stodd mod and it seems durable but I'm just gonna be safe and go with maple. All my kens right now are pretty messed up so having a fresh durable slim that I can grind birds and handle stalls on is gonna be awesome.
Maple slim is the way to go. I also have an ash 2.0 I really like but I keep coming back to the slim every time.