What's your opinion on gluing the spike? Yes do it? No don't do it and destroy all damas like Smith? What's your reasoning to doing either? I feel like there are a lot of reasons why people do glue and why people don't glue. With me, I occasionally glue the tip. Honestly depends on if I have glue in the first place and what Kendama it is. I would say I do glue more than not glue though.
Always, having a nice spike is my favorite thing about a kendama, i have a few that i haven't glued specifically for boarders practice, but other than that, glued spikes all day
With freshies, I don't glue the tip. After some days/weeks playing with it, if I notice the spike is starting to dull down even the slightest, I'll use a layer of super glue. As it dulls even more down, two layers, dulls down again, another two, etc. etc. But because I have so many Kendamas to jam, my spikes almost rarely dull down. I play them all. #collectorproblems
I'm the opposite of you haha. Since my collection is still small (but growing) I need to preserve my kendamas for as long as possible! Hence the gluing of every spike One day I hope to be able to not worry about gluing since doing it is a little bit of an annoyance for me.
I don't like to have many kendamas in my possession so my typical regimen is to put together the most choice kendama set-ups then do whatever I can to preserve them until their shredded beyond repair. In this case gluing the tip is a sure fire way to up the lifespan, not to mention a kendama with a clean tip just looks better in my opinion. Now I'm not hating on the people who don't glue the tip because there is a time and place where you need a true beater tip in there lol. Do what you gotta do, prestige worldwide!
**Question for Tip Gluerz** ~ While some kendamas accept glue (I use Krazy Glue) very well and form a clear/hard coated layer on the tip, I've noticed some do not and rather, look as if the glue was seemingly absorbed into the pores of the wood. Now I have theories to why this might be (wood moisture content, vintage level/oxidation of the glue, etc.) but want to see what your guys thoughts are on why this sometimes happens.
I tend to play the same kendama for 3-4 months before i have to retire it. So i definitely am a fan of glued spikes. Krazy Glue with the built in brush on the cap is money. Use it on every dama.
Some woods dont need it as much as others. Some soft beech i definitely will, but purple heart on the other hand barely dulls. The whole purpose of gluing is make the dama last longer. Some people dont care about that and some do. But it definitely does help keep your dama in good condition for longer. PS if you glue a brand new and sharp spike it will dent your tama more than if you wait for it to get a little bit dull then glue it.
I cant think of why that would happen but i feel like it would be able to absorb more if the wood is drier. For one, a drier dama would be less durable alone. Additionally, if the glue is in the dama as opposed to on top it probably would be less effective. Lol not exactly answering your question but hey
We glue the "demo" kendama we keep out for everyone to play and have had to "re-tip" them occasionally with a Dremel tool. I use it on my personal kendama as well with the regular "non-gel" type of superglue. When it soaks in to more porous woods it seems to last longer than the tight grained ones where it mostly acts like a coating.
- Porous woods will suck glue in, rather than it just sitting on top. This is a good thing if you're looking to preserve the tip, as it is basically stabilizing the piece of wood (you actually can stabilize wood using cyanoacrelate, though I'm not sure if that is the only thing used to do it?). -A wood species that is less porous, and/or more oily will absorb less. This should be easy to visualize: less holes means less glue gets in. Holes full of oil means less glue gets in. Try gluing a padauk tip and a bamboo tip, you'll notice a huge difference. -Within the same species, I would guess that a more dense piece of wood would absorb less... but I think this would be a general trend, not a hard rule (ie there would be exceptions). - Condition of the tip would also matter. When I turn kendamas, I'll often burnish the tip to harden it, which preserves the shape, but also probably closes pores that would suck glue in. I haven't tried this, but I think if you really wanted to stabilize the hell out of your tip, dipping it into isopropyl alcohol or some other solvent very briefly, and then once the solvent evaporates, soaking it in super glue would really work well. The solvent will pop all of the wood pores open, so they'd be ready for max glue uptake. If you try this... be smart: don't use nasty solvents in enclosed spaces (ie do it outside), and don't soak your ken for long! I've seen a big cup split wide open when someone tried to use it as a shot glass, and Bacardi won't be half as aggressive as isopropyl. I claim no responsibility for warped out or cracked kendamas
I apply some epoxy resin after a few days of playing. Once the spike cone becomes slightly tapered is the right time. Once it is applied I hang the ken upside down so the drop stays at the tapered part while it dries. Epoxy is pretty viscous so there aren't any worries about drips. The resin I use hardens after 5 minutes just enough to form the tip using your fingers. Afterwards it is left to dry for another 10-15 minutes and ready to go. On the other hand, I also tried applying loctite super glue to one of my kens and it turned out horrible. The spike hardened, but to a point where it behaved similar to glass. Once the first crack appeared it started spreading and soon enough the spike was as dull as it can be. Make sure the glue you use has 'rubber particles' (like gorilla glue) in it so it is impact resistant. I wish I knew that before.
Always glue my spikes, after a day or two of jamming so my tama doesn't turn into a golf ball. I'm not super into boarder tricks, so I don't really see a reason to let my tips get dull/flatten. Plus, I feel better playing a sharp or near sharp spike, the spikes are crisp.
When first starting to play I glued my tips to preserve kendamas but getting into higher level tricks I have seen that it makes certain tricks harder.