Your reviews are great!
I agree with almost everything you said. Graphites probably aren't the best quality nunchaku, but they seem to have one of the best quality to price ratios. And, for most people, high quality gear isn't exactly necessary.
I did the exact same thing with the electrical tape recently. Mine are the same color and in a similar quality with a few more dents (I've had them rather long and dropped them probably a lot more times, but they are indeed very durable!)
It's definitely true that the joint part lends itself to cord fraying, but I don't see it as a major problem since cords are so easy to replace. And the cord I use (standard nylon), tied in a Beastick-inspired fashion that is basically the equivalent of a two cord system, lasted many months for me. I don't really see the problem about the gap lending to accuracy problems, as you said. If anything, I would probably prefer a larger range of motion.
