Damn aren't Loons maple? That's pretty wild for a kendama that supposedly retails at $75. I think GT-E1s and all DWI kendamas come from the same manufacturer as a side note.
The paint wasn't exactly flawless itself honestly... Deff not $75 paint job lol. All those black spots are ink stains all over the tama (Under the clear coat). Smudges in the ink on the design. I like The Loon itself... But the quality definitely feels more "mid range"... Not $75
That's super shitty. I bought a giveadama and played the hell out of it but the Loon is such a miss for me in terms of price, quality, design, and marketing lol
Had a bonsai keyaki that was not a full piece. But it was very light in color and hard to notice. Not like some of the pics on here, those would kill me.
I actually took a look inside the bevel of my first run Slice of Paradise Sol Vibe tama (original, standard shape before the Sol Shape and the first runs were all made out of dark elm wood) and the tama is also 2 pieces laminated together. Had this tama for 2-3 years and just now realize it. IIRC the dark elm kendama (erroneously called keyaki) that HNL Kendamas had as one of their own damas also had their tamas done this way, same with the zebrano tamas from Lion Head Kendamas 3-4 years ago similar to the DWI on the first page in this thread (I actually bought 2 of them and one of the tamas actually had 3 separate pieces laminated together)