Different Wood types

[primechicken]

The standard wood for Kendamas seems to be beechwood. I'm not a woodworker whatsoever, but I imagine this is because of its weight, relatively cheap cost and environmental practice/standards. I'm pretty new to kendama so I don't know a lot about the history of kendama but it seems lately that a lot of companies have started to use more exotic woods for their kendamas (walnut, cherrywood, etc.) (which I absolutely love!) I have a purpleheart terra pill and the wood is absolutely beautiful, aesthetically and functionally.

What are your guys' thoughts on exotic woods for your kendama? Do you find a big difference? Do you prefer exotics to beechwood, or is beechwood the standard for good reason? Personally I think the new types of wood throws a whole new aspect to playing and collecting kendamas, every single model of kendama Terra has ever produced makes me drool... just so beautiful..

P.S. Is there any JKA models in circulation that aren't made from beechwood? I can only think of keyaki and enjyu ozora's

 

[The Void]

Shin Sakura were cherry wood. I believe TK16s are Birch.

[Yoda]

I'm not shure, but i also think that TK16's aren,t made from beech wood. It's wood is harder, more durable and nicer in touch than my ozora.

[YellowJacket]

Everyone also talks about whether the paint on the tama is "sticky" or not.  I have found that my Mugen tama feels sticky on a TK-16 ken but is very slick on an Ozora Keyaki hardwood ken.

[KendaMushroom]

shin sakura are also birch...like the TK. soft and very breakable wood.

shin fuji also has a keyaki. and the taiyo ozora are made of probably the same wood as TK...which is weird, they should just use Beech.

[br4d24]

Hey man, just got my bamboo tribute from kenusa. It looks beautiful but it adds some difficulty compared to beechwood, or more "raw" woods for the ken. What i mean by this; is that the bamboo tribute kind of has a varnished feel to the ken part, making it pretty slick - the reasoning i can come up with for this, is that it is pressed so the smoothness comes from the necessary bonding agents... kinda like a skateboard actually, it has the same kind of shiny smoothness that an ungriptaped skateboard has (maybe not quite as slippery but a good example).

[BrandonYoder]

I love exotic kendamas.
I handmade/handturn my own...i love experimenting with new types of woods and seeing how they play and contrast each other.

Mugan tama, on Walnut and zebraWood


All walnut Ken with Cherry tama. (interesting weight contrast)


and heres a purpleheart Ken i did. (Super Heavy)

[BKA]

Pretty stuff!
Welcome to the forum.

[BrandonYoder]

Thankyou, nice community.
Exactly what i would expect from a kendama community. ha

[The Void]

The stripe on the sarado looks cool.
How do you find the different kind of woods play? Do any of them feel "better" (in any way) for any particular tricks? Do you prefer a heavy or lighter wood? I haven't played extensively with many different wood types. My cherry Tribute has a nice, chunky feel to it, but my old shin fuji is pretty light, and that feels good (once it was nicely worn in) too.

[BrandonYoder]

Yes, i do find that the different woods (for the most part) seem to play different. As you probably know, it is really all personal preference as far as the weight goes. Personally however, as odd as it may sound, my weight preference seems to change quite often. Its safe to say my preference changes as often as i create and experiment with new woods. Switching from one to another is always going to be one of those things where right at first its odd..but you automatically learn to adjust as you go and before you know it youre in love. hahaha

I would have to say you're best bet would be to ask Alex Smith, as he has been into turning exotics for quite some time now.