Strings & Accessories for Kendama

Kendama strings, bearings and accessories

The string is the part of a kendama that wears out: with use it frays, loses length at the knots or eventually snaps. This category holds replacement kendama strings, single and in packs, with a bead or a mini bearing, from KROM, Kendama USA, Sweets and Kendama Europe, plus some accessories and wooden skill toys. Everything shown as available is in our Madrid warehouse.

Which kendama string to buy

Packs with bearings: KROM

KROM strings are 70 cm long, more than almost anyone needs, so you can cut them to your length. The Krom String Pack Pop has ten strings in different colours, three mini bearings and a threading tool; the Kromie pack has the same in five muted colours. There is also the KROM string set.

Strings with a bead: Kendama USA

53 cm strings with a bead and hardened tips that make threading easier. There is the individual white string, the 10-pack Color String in assorted colours and the jumbo string for large kendamas.

Sweets and Kendama Europe

The Sweets Premium String Packs fit any kendama; colours are sent at random. The Kendama Europe Summer Set has two strings in aquamarine and pink, two beads, a sticker and an assembly tool.

Other kendama accessories and skill toys

Replacement pads for the Kendama USA Kururin, in two colour combinations (red, blue, yellow, green and white or black, lime, pink, aqua and orange), and the Kendama Europe Skip, a wooden piece you spin and flip in your hand, in beech or walnut.

Bead or kendama bearing: what changes

The string is held inside the ball (tama) by a stopper: a plastic bead or a mini bearing. For years the bead was the norm; today many players use a bearing because it lets the string spin inside the ball and tangles less during spins. If the bearing gets stuck in the hole, a bead can be placed in front of it.

How to restring a kendama

The usual order is this: pass one end through the small hole in the tama until it comes out of the large one, add the bead or bearing and tie a knot. Pass the other end through one of the holes in the sarado (the piece with the two cups), then through the hole in the ken, and knot it so it does not slip out. Fit the sarado onto the ken and you are done. On some models the ken is a single piece and does not come apart; there the string is tied directly where the maker indicates.

What length to leave

The British Kendama Association recommends at least 38 cm between the sarado and the ball. A quick check: with the ball on the spike, the string hanging below the base cup should leave a loop that fits about two fingers; with four or more, there is too much string.

Kendama string brands

KROM is a Danish brand founded in Copenhagen in 2010. Sweets Kendamas was founded in the United States that same year, and Kendama USA, from 2006, was the first kendama company in the United States. Kendama Europe makes kendamas, strings and wooden toys such as the Skip.

If you are looking for a new kendama, start with which kendama to buy. The names of the kendama parts (ken, tama, sarado, ozara, chuzara, kozara) are in what is a kendama, and for practice there are the step-by-step kendama tricks. For gifts, take a look at which kendama to give as a gift.

Kendama strings: frequently asked questions

Do the strings fit any kendama?

Yes, standard-size strings fit any brand. The exception is jumbo kendamas, which are larger and take their own string, such as the Kendama USA jumbo string.

When should the string be replaced?

When it frays, especially near the knots, or when it has shrunk and no longer has the length you like. It is better to replace it before it snaps in the middle of a trick.

What are the bearings in KROM packs for?

They are the stopper that goes inside the ball. They let the string spin and reduce tangles. With three bearings you have spares for several strings.

Why are KROM strings so long?

They are 70 cm on purpose, so each player can cut them to the length they prefer.

What is the difference between a 53 cm string and a 70 cm string?

Only the margin for cutting. Both are knotted and adjusted to size; with the 70 cm string you can leave it longer if that is how you like it.