whats your favorite wood for a kendama and why?

Hickory because it holds up forever. Ash because it breaks in quick and is great at catching stalls.

 

Bamboo!!!

Has all the qualities of a classic beech kendama, plus the sound it makes when you spike it is amazing. Cracks like lightning!!!

 

Birch has been my favorite so far. Very soft and breaks in well. I have a keyaki ozora that I fear will take too much time to break in so I don't forcus on it much. I've had two beech and they have not held up well at all. They seem to wear down fast which has prevented me from spending all that $$$ on a mugen. Ash is really great because it breaks in so nice but I prefer it as a tama instead of a ken. I think ash/raw ash is about the best natty tama out there.
I really want to try a hickory ken next along with any other exotic wood. But as of know birch is my fav.
Also have yet to play a maple which is a huge one to be missing. I'm sure that maple is probably great. Can't wait to get one to jam.

 

I like bamboo but it wasn't an option so I had to choose maple- all around solid wood

 

Maple is GOAT for the ken. Soft, durable, and flips soooo nicely in your hand

 

How much does the ken itself matter, in terms of breaking in for stalls, and what wood types for the ken itself, slay those stalls just as much as it provides nice contact for balance tricks.

I have a zebrano ken from dwi, and it seems to be crazy slick, because of the ken itself, not because of whatever tama I pair it with.

 

Using a soft wood for a ken will make those smooth round edges textured for better "grip." This is not the only variable.

My oak/wenge yancy ken is also really slick feeling. I've paired it with a DWI zebrano Sticky and I need to be really stright and precise to catch birds. Lunars and LH catches are made easier by the tama.

My mohagany sol is the slickest of all my damas, but smells the best!

@Brandon Jensen I think once a ken is broken in at stall points, a fresh tama with a sharp edge around the bevel will dig into the "textured" area for a more solid feeling catch. Having a more dense wood (heavier since there is more mass vs same volume of a 60mm diameter tama) will help in this category also.

I'm only good at birds though. So this is my take on it.

 

I completely agree.

 

1. MAPLE: Breaks in well, durable, perfect weight for my playsyle
2. HICKORY: Out of the box grippy, ultra honed, nice weight
3. ZEBRANO: Starts off SLICK, but breaks in to be the GRIPPIEST dama ever.

 

I've been thinking of getting a maple dama but im not really sure, I just want to get people's opinions about the best wood in their personal opinion.

 

Craft males are honed aaaas hell!! Def get one! If you like slings go slim and if you like lunars go shift!!

 

Thanks! I'll consider it I have been thinking about the craft!

 

Definitely. Maple has to be the best wood, and the craft shift and slim are some of the best shapes.

 

Check out this thread: https://www.downspike.com/threads/whats-your-favorite-wood-for-a-ken-and-why.533/

Has a bunch of awesome discussion and even a poll!

As a note, the DS community is super friendly towards people reviving old threads in my experience.

 

If I get a Craft Slim what type of wood do you recommend?

 

100% maple. The ash will chip a lot easier on slim kens. Hickory and birch are a little grippier than maple, so if you like grip, choose either hickory or birch. But those will wear out fast especially with a slimer ken, they may chip quickly. Maple is the most durable, and generally plays well over all, so I highly recommend maple.

 

Thanks!

 

Maple HG is my fav, if you’re looking for something less expensive I’d go for a sweets pro model, maple primes still have a durability to them that is super good (IMO) for that price range.

But I’m all about that zebrano prime life personally : D