Just throw your kendama into the washing machine, I hear soaking your kendama in water does the body good.
Some strings come lightly waxed so if you don't want to break them in by playing then you can put them in really hot water then wipe off the wax or microwave them on a paper towel to melt the wax off. Just make sure you don't go too long and melt the string.
@goenKendama can you please list specific brands that coat with wax so we are not left second guessing?
Unfortunately I can't help a lot there. I pull all extra strings and toss them in a box for future use. Generally the ones that hold their shape like a stick particularly at the ends or the ones that feel "waxy." Most strings are fairly supple so you can pretty much tell they don't have anything on them. Also I haven't used satin or silk but it's unlikely that those would have wax. The hot water treatment would likely help most any string to get rid of any finishing chemicals, wax included, and help it not be as stiff though for me personally super soft strings aren't my favorite. You just have to make sure it's completely dry before trapping it under the sarado when restringing.
Bought a huge batch of Yamagata Koubou (Oozora) strings from Goods From Japan and they came waxed at the ends.
The Sweets Pro Models come with a tiny bearing instead of a bead so your string won’t twist as much. But if you don’t have a small bearing to use, just put two beads. It works just as well
If you have sweaty/oil hands, fret not! If you sesh a natty beech/birch/bamboo/etc. tama with a loose grain structure, it'll be honed as hell because of all your hand oils!
I know this is old, but I think I may have just discovered a dama hack. Wear a disposable latex glove for a bit on your dominant hand. Then, take it off and sesh a silk/rubber paint dama that may be a little too slick. In my experience, it gave my kusa silk a chalky texture and increased the grip like crazy. IDK if it works with everything, but give it a try, see if it does.
Baby wipes, they do wonders on dusty sticky paint. I won't play outside without them. Also if you wipe the Ken it gives you a little extra moisture for stall tricks.
Might want to test a small area of the paint before really wiping the whole area. Sometimes the effect is not what is expected as mention here and elsewhere.
Yeah my super honed pop went almost back to square one after using a baby wipe on it Still it was fun jamming it back to being tacky again
What do people think of wormholeing and drilling their Damas? I guess these would count as hacks right.
Glue your spikes twice! I find that gluing your spike once doesn't provide much protection for your spike. If you really want your spike to last, glue your spike tip 2-3 times.
if im real sweaty and using a natty ill rub it everywhere I've got sweat, armpits, stomach, face, anywhere. it sounds gross but it helps immensely. also as a secondary benefit not many people will ask to "try" your kendama
Old thread but here’s a couple fun “hacks” you can do with adhesive bandages. Adding weight to the cups in a similar vein to lunatac bands, and wrapping a small strip around the spike for boarder balance practice. This ones pretty self explanatory, stops your hand from getting beat up as much when going for gooncircle/forward mooncircle tricks.
I learned from werdupstu from hnl kendama, that 5 to 7 layers of superglue is the best if you want it to be sharp forever
What do you do to “mod” your damas?! I’ve seen people use coins to churn out their bevels, sandpaper to reshape their spikes, tie knots in their string, and even leave spit on their stall points! What else do you guys do and why?!