Should I return this chasen?

Not sure if my picture is working… Maybe it will work with this: http://r51i.imgup.net/vscocam-phab59.jpg

For me, with the Chasens I’ve purchased in the past the center doesn’t stay tied for a long time, and the bamboo does occasionally break – this usually happens when I accidentally am too rough with the whisking and I end up ‘scrubbing’ the bottom of my Chawan.

But the chasen doesn’t look quite right, it almost looks frayed which it shouldn’t.

For the record, I don’t think that $12 is all that remarkable of a deal. You can get a decent price on a chasen on Amazon – http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=chasen – and that’s usually where I go when I need to replace mine.

I would definitely take it back. Even a cheap chasen shouldn’t fray like that after only one use. I paid about the same for my matcha whisk from Amazon a couple of years ago and it’s still going strong.

What kind of whisking motion did you use? Use a back-and-forth, not a circular motion. Another tip is to moisten the the whisk with warm water before using to prevent splintering.

The first time you use a chasen, the tines become untied. That’s perfectly normal.

Yours looks very distorted though, you might have misused it plus the quality may not have been that good.

I was browsing Den’s Tea matcha kit and they have care – apparently you are supposed to soak the chasen, “The bamboo dries out and hardens between uses and may break if not soaked before use.”

http://www.denstea.com/matcha-teaware-special-matcha-trial-kit-c-274_753.html

I never have soaked mine and it’s a cheapy $4 Daiso Japanese Dollar store one still going strong, but yeah I probably should.

Most tea things that can be found in Chinatown are not necessarily of the highest quality. Bamboo can also become brittle if it sits for too long in a dry environment. It does look like you might have whisked a little too roughly though. The whisk should never grind against the bottom of the bowl.