What's up guys, it's Ocean from the Homegrown Team. I decided to put together this blog to share some info on my favorite type of Kendamas: Natty! When I first got into doing tricks that relied on utilizing the 'Tama' for balance tricks (such as Lighthouses, Lunars, Inwards Lunars, etc.) I always preferred to using a Natural wood Tama rather than most paints. Something about breaking in a Natural woodgrain with sweat and hands oils felt like I was more in control of it's tack/grip. However, there are many woods used in Kendama and they all break in differently. I'll be breaking down the differences and giving my personal opinions on the three hardwoods we use on Homegrown Kendamas: Ash, Birch, and Maple. Ash is a hardwood that has a very sharp sound to it when it's played. Which is enjoyable to most experienced players because the sound of a spike is a special thing that adds to make landing a trick extra satisfying. Not to mention that the ash has a very pronounced grain that is one of the sickest looking woods that is used to make a kendamas. Birch is a hardwood that quickly becomes better for stalls and balance tricks when you break/wear in the wood. The wood reacts outstandingly well with absorbing your hand oils when you're playing and turning the wood into a softer and more textured surface that is prominent when doing tricks such as stilts, birds, lunars, and lighthouses. Maple is a hardwood that is by far one of the overall best woods used for Kendama play. It's very durable and is basically the combined king of all other woods in terms it wears in well to hand oils, yet also stays crispy for those hard spikes. A definite go-to for any occasion or any trick. I urge everyone to have at least one good Natty Kendama. Especially a Natty hardwood Homegrown because they're timeless and still of one of my favorite damas ever since I picked up my first one.
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