So I've been playing about a month and I'm pretty impressed with how durable this natty bamboo kaizen 2.0 is but I was wondering with just regular play when you guys decide it's time for a new one? I mean there's the obvious answer, which is whenever something breaks or the cups flatten out. I guess my real question is, when do you decide to retire your dama's and move on? And how long do you think they will hold up to regular daily play?
I still haven't retired my first damage ever so I don't think there is a point for me. Like you mentioned, unless something breaks or it turns into a horrific mold of wood chunks and glue, somewhat similar to the shape of a kendama, then I'll still jam the heck out of it. As for daily play, maybe after a week of some good shredding you see some difference. That only means it's getting honed in
Kaizen 2.0 was my second setup and I probably play it the most of all my setups. I've gotten more since then because I wanted to try different paints and woods. My first dama is my glove box setup.
I've been wanting to get a bamboo kaizen ever since this weekend, they look so sick. I usually retire damas when the spike starts to get too flat or my basecup gets way too uneven from doing too many flips. I would guess that a dama would last me a couple months or so if I play it regularly/daily. I remember that I had a KenCo raw stripe a while back that I jammed pretty throughly for a couple months and it held up like a champ.
Good to know. I've noticed with the bamboo that the spike holds up surprisingly well. Mine is glued but still in much better condition compared to a Beechwood dama with a glued spike my cousin let me mess with that seemed to flatten out immediately after several days of heavy use.
I'd probably retire my kendama once it gets too beat up to play. When none of the cups can hold the tama, or the ken or sarado has snapped or broken in half, or if the tama breaks in half, or no longer seems like a spherical object (eggy tamas are still playable), that's where i lay it nicely back in its packaging and let it slumber.
is there ever a time where a ken can become too troublesome to use? Finding lightys harder and harder on one of my kens. Guessing it's from all the lighty flips I've been trying, and abusing the bottom cup. Any thoughts on how to repair, restore or even mitigate some of the damage (aside from a slayband)?
[Mod mode, engage!] @Almostgets a similar thread exists in the Beginners forum. So, i'll merge the two together, bruv! This message will expire after 24 hours.
I haven't retired it neccisarily, but I have a ken where the bottom cup is jacked from lighthouse flips. And I simply use it for moshikame now, or stringless tricks and practicing juggling. I'm going to give it off to a little sibling or someone who is interested in kendama. Because it still works for everything, it just isn't the best.
Post a pic of your troubled bottom cup. I occasionally sand the cup rims to have an even landing. For the bottom cup I stand the ken on the base cup and just rub it lightly on 220 grit paper.
Whenever I get a new dama, or accidently pick up another. I never stop jamming damas, but rotate constantly
bamboo is actually pretty durable. I had one with a spike that I didn't glue and it held up well even though I was spiking hard and thrashing. same, I usually never jam one single dama all the way through to retirement. I always gotta switch to another one
I've only retired my first, and Orange tribute. Flat spike, I got my TK16 shortly after, still jamming that. I suppose I'll retire the next one when the spike is flat too. Haha.
Why don't you just put a new point on the flattened spike? A rotary tool like a Dremel works really well or even coarse sandpaper will work. I've even heard of some people trying the pencil sharpeners for those really fat pencils.
I use 60 grit to get the shape back and follow it with 220 to finesse the final shape and finish. This takes 5-10 minutes.
my oldest ken has some nasty curvature of the base cup because of how many lighthouse flips i basically goofed on. Would sanding it flat help? Rr just ruin the ken.