I heard a lot of great things about gt and i might buy one. But do you need like experience like if you are a beginner it's not good or something? I've been playing kendama for 1 year and im thinking to start playing natty cause i only played cushion and sticky my most expensive kendama is a Next Gen HG purple heart cushion. But my only natty kendama is a kaizen 2.0 maple and i got it recently. I heard that the raw ash is really good,but if im gonna get a gt which one should i get,i was thinking to get a GT-E1 but they are sticky and do you know any gt that has a raw ash tama? Like i was looking on the gt cartel i saw that the Nic Stodd mods is the one that i like it has that raw ash stripe and that spectra ken.
Lol, you're probably saying this because of what I said in the other thread. I wouldn't recommend buying such a high end kendama as a complete newbie, but you're not, so if you have the funds, I say go for it.
That means Once i become experienced with kendama im more then welcome to play whatever kendama i wish to?
I’m very interested in trying the GT raw ash dama but it looks like it is sold out... is that correct? In fact most kendamas on the GT site seem to be sold out. Is there another company that makes a raw ash or other raw wood tama?
I do believe that if someone wanted to buy a dama and didn't know how to play, they still could. There are no prerequisite tests to buy damas. Just throwing that out there. Lol
I agree. At that point it just comes down to if you or your parents in younger players cases want to spend money on a GT or other damas priced like GTs (Homegrowns, Mugen Musous/Shiguchi, etc). I bought my first GT less than a year into playing as a birthday present for myself. Was (and still am) nowhere near what I’d call an ‘experienced player’.
no, Grain Theory is the only company that makes "raw ash." I would highly recommend raw ash tamas, best natty tama in my opinion (and pretty much the only type of natty tama I own)
If RWB, who manufactures GTs US made kendamas, stocks back up (last I saw it was supposed to be this week, if not soon) definitely look them up. Their ash tamas come raw as well, same with Kendama USA’s Craft ash tamas (which are also manufactures by RWB and out of stock too).
I feel any skill level can play any kendama. That said, I think natty tamas in general raw or not are gonna be more difficult to really learn and fine tune any tricks that require balance. The other side of that may be that you'll end up really mastering tricks in the long run without the assistance of a tacky paint. GT's are masterpieces and amazing Kendamas but in no way are going to make you land tricks that you haven't already put the time to get the muscle memory and feel of. To learn from the jump on a GT would be a luxury but at a cost in my opinion. We all know what happens to our first damas. So you'd probably appreciate and even cherish it more once you're past the trial and error stage of learning. Not to mention how much they cost and how difficult they can be to acquire. Some of that was more of a general opinion than what @Dariush was asking but if you want a GT go for it and let the hunt begin!
Everyone should own a GT that isn't an E1 if they can get their hands on one. It's perfect for any level of play, but when you're starting out, you might want to stick with the E1s to get tricks down. Personally, I have always wanted to break in a natty while also being able to do all of my tricks on one. So, I took a walnut stripe HG tama with no cushion and slapped it on my maple E1, and now it's my main jammer. You don't need experience; you just need to practice a lot and stay committed to getting better. Natties are perfect because like Jake Wiens said, natties will break into your style of play. As you keep playing natties, the sweat and oils from your hands will get absorbed into the tama and soften the wood, allowing it to create a slight grip. Beginner or pro, GTs are good for everyone, but make sure that you take proper care of it and it doesn't get lost/stolen.
Well, they sorta own the branding/name "raw ash", but raising the grain on a tama isn't really tough to DIY. A lot of other manufacturers sand the crap out of their tamas though. Ozora stuff is like straight polished these days lol
Yeah that's why I put it in quotes, cause Crafts and RWB ash tamas were pretty grippy even though they're not advertised as raw ash. I played a maple ozora and the tama was so icy! I think my painted TK has more grip to it haha It's really not that tough to DIY. For anyone else reading this, I just left my raw ash tama (it came smoother than other raw ashes I own) out in the rain for a couple minutes during a San jo Slay sesh. Picked it back up after it had been soaked and some of the grain had raised (and still is). Highly recommend doing this for any of your natties tbh, unless you care about like preserving it for a long time or something and don't want to leave it in the rain
Could you elaborate on the DIY of raising the grain? I've seen put it in rain or get it wet but then saw rubbing alcohol. What's your method?
Can you do that only related to kendama maybe? I've seen the term used elsewhere for wood frame moulding, other wood products and, oddly, jeans.