What's a broken in kendama? Can someone please post a picture? And most of my new kendamas feel better and stickier than my used/older kendamas. This could be due to what i've purchased lately: kenco's painted zen, tis pro model, viking with cushion, and dwi stick af. And what's the benefit to a natty kendama, because it seems slippery af to me.
I'm still a newbie, but my understanding is that different woods and paints tend to break in differently. So super sticky paint often breaks in to become LESS sticky. Whereas Kendamas that have glossy or hardcoat paint can break in and get more tacky/grippy with time, depending. I have an Ozora that started super slick but now it has some more grip after being "broken in" after a few months. Someone correct me if I'm wrong on this, but my understanding of "breaking in" a kendama also relates to the area around the bevel getting all worn and stuff, making stalls easier. Also, the cups will wear in which can affect play as well. All of these things differ depending on Kendama brand and wood. Again, speaking as someone with little experience, most natty kendamas DO start out super slick (maybe minus like a raw GT or something??) but as you use them and get sweat and oil from your hands and they get beat up, they will develop a natural tack to them that makes them a bit more grippy. Benefits are personal preference I think. Some people add beeswax to add some grip. Okay like I said, newbie here, hopefully the old pros will weigh in and correct me if I'm wrong on any of this. Sounds like you have newer style modern paint that either starts really grippy/sticky and lessens over time, or maintains a similar tackiness throughout.
@Ben Lowe you've got it, that's a pretty good explanation. Here's a quick cheat for woodgrain grip: get your tama a little bit wet. That'll open up the woodgrain and it'll be more grabby. It will work better with some species than others
Thanks. Seems to make sense, as I have a kaizen silk that seems to have gotten crazy tacky after playing it for a few weeks.
There isnt an exact definition of broken in, just varying levels of it. Obviously when you have jammed all the paint off your dama it is more broken in than the one with just some dents in the paint. @Ben Lowe is right, some paints break in to get stickier (sweets atack for example) and some break in to get more slick (most rubber paints). Natties are much more slick... The only benefit really is that its more challenging. Some people prefer the feeling of a natty. i always like to have some stickier damas and some slippery damas so i can challenge myself on the tricks i already have somewhat mastered. on a side note, i feel like stalls are easier when the tama is super broken in and its wood to wood vs. wood to paint. anyone agree?
Signs of a kendama being broken in typically show when the spike is starting to look flat, the cups aren't as sharp, and the tama has a ton of dents on it. Kendamas typically get better as they break in, but sometimes you have to retire a setup that has been played too much. A huge suggestion for breaking in kendamas would be to break them in naturally with play. If you try to bang your kendama up intentionally by dropping it or scraping it on the concrete, it will deteriorate really quickly and potentially break your kendama. I typically like to start breaking in a kendama by doing cup tricks, or going through a series of tricks like around the world with penguin catch, and some more standard tricks like lighthouse and lunar. Ihope that makes sense!
A broken in kendama is a kendama that has been played alot. the spike is flattened the cups are somewhat worn and the paint on the tama is prime.