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JKA Kendamas

Discussion in 'The Sesh' started by htimSxelA, Nov 16, 2016.

  1. maxdesu

    maxdesu Honed Member

    Joined:
    Oct 12, 2016
    I once said that TK changed their shape, but apparently it was a mix up in the production level of things. Apparently when things get busy in China some factories ask other factories to help with their production. There must have been a mix up and they started making the mutant kendamas in a different shape.

    TK admits that they should have checked their products closer (QC.. but who, aside from a player, would have been able to scope that..) and that the mistake should have been caught before they were put on the shelves, but to me it seems like a bit of bad luck that made them lose their license.

    ****
    As John (goen) said, this is all speculation and words coming from a number of sources. Believe what you want to believe!
     
    Last edited: May 15, 2019
    May 14, 2019
  2. goenKendama

    goenKendama Administrator Staff Member

    Joined:
    Oct 14, 2016
    Location:
    Metro Manila, Philippines
    There's likely a little more to it than just "a bit of bad luck." For example in my understanding a factory that produces JKA certified kendama has to be approved before production. Outsourcing or producing in unapproved factories isn't allowed. That's something that a company selling certified kendama for 20 years would know.

    It is quite possible that both sides of the equation could have handled it better but without adequate information from both parties it is probably better not to try and guess too much. The inner workings of most companies aren't generally common knowledge and while it might be entertaining to speculate it's just that, speculation. An example would be when the Mutants first hit the market. The rumor at KWC that year was that the TK maker had gotten the "license" to produce the old Mugens which wasn't even close to accurate.
     
    May 14, 2019
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  3. maxdesu

    maxdesu Honed Member

    Joined:
    Oct 12, 2016
    You are so right. It's a lot of speculation and it can put a lot of dirt on people's faces.
    thanks for the insight on that!
     
    May 15, 2019
    goenKendama likes this.
  4. 96817dama

    96817dama Member

    Joined:
    May 23, 2019
    Thanks for that response I know it was from a while ago but I'm new here (sorry)

    Anyways I seen the gloken tk16 and imo it looks beech but either way I would prefer the icy tama, with that said, do you know what the meijin is made of? I hope it's full birch :D

    I also picked up a tk16 yesterday and it is labeled made in Japan and the packaging looks different, if anyone knows I really would like to know if this is legit. I already opened it and started shredding it because #destroyalldamas but I have the packaging so I attached pictures.

    Thanks everyone
     
    May 28, 2019
    Emil Apostol likes this.
  5. goenKendama

    goenKendama Administrator Staff Member

    Joined:
    Oct 14, 2016
    Location:
    Metro Manila, Philippines

    JKA certified TK16 vs Gloken's version are covered in the post above. From the photos it appears that you have one of the JKA certified "nintei" green seal ones. Packaging changes from time to time so that's less of a consideration. AFAIK the Meijin Takumi are still Birch.
     
    May 28, 2019
  6. 96817dama

    96817dama Member

    Joined:
    May 23, 2019
    thanks for that, hope it's actually made in Japan if not it's ok. I guess I'll have to have family in the Philippines send me some meijin's! :D
     
    May 28, 2019
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  7. goenKendama

    goenKendama Administrator Staff Member

    Joined:
    Oct 14, 2016
    Location:
    Metro Manila, Philippines
    Meijin Takumi (like the JKA certified TKs before them) are physically manufactured in China. The older TK16 Master packages marked "made in Japan" would probably be better translated as "assembled in Japan." Each country has their own definition of what constitutes "Made In. . ." so depending on how things are handled on their way to retail shelves determines what is allowable for labeling.
     
    May 28, 2019
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  8. Stuart Barron

    Stuart Barron Slayer

    Joined:
    Nov 10, 2016
    Location:
    England
    0BA77432-FA6E-4543-B28B-46061FB71016.jpeg Holy grail located.

    Stumbled on this on eBay the other day and just picked it up!

    One for the OGs

    @htimSxelA
     
    Jun 15, 2019
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  9. htimSxelA

    htimSxelA Moderator Staff Member

    Joined:
    Sep 29, 2016
    Location:
    Vancouver
    @Stuart Barron oh nice! Hows the tama roundness? Some of the OG ozos are eggy af haha
    Good pickup either way!
     
    Jun 16, 2019
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  10. Stuart Barron

    Stuart Barron Slayer

    Joined:
    Nov 10, 2016
    Location:
    England
    Read your message and thought I best double check. Tama is fine, and the setup is actually lunar biased, so thats a pleasant change!
    I do have an OG sky blue too and my observations on the leaded paint is it seems almost eggshell like out the packet. I've never done more than a few tricks here and there on the blue, but I definitely think I'll sesh this leaf green and see what all the fuss is about. Not much for bevel licking so I should be ok ;)
     
    Jun 17, 2019
    htimSxelA and goenKendama like this.
  11. htimSxelA

    htimSxelA Moderator Staff Member

    Joined:
    Sep 29, 2016
    Location:
    Vancouver
    lol, yea I guess bevel licking those might be dangerous. When you really play them in, they get a nice grip. At least for an oldschool dama, they won't be as grippy as what people today are used to :p
     
    Jun 18, 2019
    Stuart Barron likes this.
  12. htimSxelA

    htimSxelA Moderator Staff Member

    Joined:
    Sep 29, 2016
    Location:
    Vancouver
    Jul 17, 2019
    MobTarley, Guy LaBorde and johndmc like this.
  13. goenKendama

    goenKendama Administrator Staff Member

    Joined:
    Oct 14, 2016
    Location:
    Metro Manila, Philippines
    Here's an updated version of the seals chart. The one from the JKA English History will be updated soon.

     
    Last edited: Jul 17, 2019
    Jul 17, 2019
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  14. htimSxelA

    htimSxelA Moderator Staff Member

    Joined:
    Sep 29, 2016
    Location:
    Vancouver
    Dec 20, 2019
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  15. goenKendama

    goenKendama Administrator Staff Member

    Joined:
    Oct 14, 2016
    Location:
    Metro Manila, Philippines
    Yep, the new JKA site went live a few months ago and we're still updating. Actually, thanks for reminding me, there's a seal I missed that needs to be added. We're still trying to add and tweak some places but it's harder to coordinate at the end of the year with the JKA in Tokyo, me in Texas, and our web guy in Manila. :D
     
    Dec 21, 2019
  16. goenKendama

    goenKendama Administrator Staff Member

    Joined:
    Oct 14, 2016
    Location:
    Metro Manila, Philippines
    Figured I'd give this a bump since it's the JKA's anniversary.

     
    May 4, 2020
  17. Neives

    Neives n00b

    Joined:
    Sep 21, 2021
    Does anyone know what happened to the JKA certified Yumu kendamas? They seem to be impossible to find. Even here, the thread that introduces them (linked elsewhere in this thread), their point man here (user Vincent Dimaya) as well as old websites that used to sell other Yumu branded kendamas like kendamalife seem to have gone dark. What's the story with that? Has Yumu closed up shop? Are there any Yumu JKA kendamas left available for sale anywhere?
     
    Oct 7, 2021
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  18. goenKendama

    goenKendama Administrator Staff Member

    Joined:
    Oct 14, 2016
    Location:
    Metro Manila, Philippines
    As I understand it Yumu doesn't exist as a kendama company any longer. Sometimes you can still find their JKA certified kendama online but mainly from Japanese sellers and I think I saw some still on Amazon JP.
     
    Oct 7, 2021
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  19. Neives

    Neives n00b

    Joined:
    Sep 21, 2021
    Thanks @goenKendama for the response. I really appreciate it. I checked the Japan Aamzon as per your suggestion and though they have a few there, unfortunately they don't ship to Canada.
    I realize this may not be the appropriate place to have this discussion, but do you or anyone else happen to know/be willing to give more details about what happened to Yumu?
     
    Oct 8, 2021
  20. goenKendama

    goenKendama Administrator Staff Member

    Joined:
    Oct 14, 2016
    Location:
    Metro Manila, Philippines
    Sorry to hear about Amazon JP. If the sellers you found are independent (i.e. not sold by Amazon) you might be able to contact them directly to try and convince them to ship to you. However you should know that shipping to North America is about USD20-30.

    AFAIK Yumu just closed because of business reasons; unfortunately it happens. Here are a couple threads about the various companies many are long gone.
    Brands and links
    All of the companies
     
    Oct 8, 2021
    Neives likes this.