Tuner Replacement on a vintage Kamaka

I have acquired a 1960's - 1970's soprano Kamaka. It is in decent shape. It was sold to me with 2 1/2 strings.

So I purchased some strings from Kamaka...to stay in the motif.....but am pretty unsure of the usability of the tuners. I do not want to tighten them and have them always slip, crack, etc.

Any opinion on if I replace the tuners with something good (Gotoh or Grover) and play this little gem. Or would I be ruining something special and I should just leave well enough alone?

Did not sure under what heading this topic should be, so I started here.

Thanks, Ed

Is it a gold or white label

It is a Gold Label. And has the KK sticker on headstock

Id keep it original unless you can find tuners you dont have to enlarge the holes..
If its a player and keeper and youre not going to sell it in the foreseeable future , do it..

Great points, thank you. I would, for sure, not enlarge the holes.

Could not sleep last night, so I ordered some pegs that I think would be appropriate for playing. So I have a few more days to contemplate i'ts future. It is in excellent shape considering that it was certainly a player throughout it's life.

Thanks for taking the time to respond to me.

What kind of tuners would be compatible without enlarging the holes?

I would string and tune it up. If it aint broke don't fix it. I've never heard of a tuner splitting the head by tightening the tension screw.
I personally would replace the big Schaller tuners with the thumb screw, way too heavy for a soprano. They are on just a few Kamakas from that era. As far as getting ones that don't require enlarging the hole. Measure it first and get accurate measurements of the replacement.

I never particularly wanted a Kamaka soprano....until I got one. It's my most "playable" uke. Never leaving this stable.

Not sure how dry it gets in Chicago, but you may need a humidifier.

So, a picture would really help, but here's some advice -

first, take the tuners off and CLEAN THEM. Pull the screws all the way out, clean them, and put a little "triflow" bike oil on them. Triflow stays in place, and is great stuff. Lubricating the screw means that all the force that you want to put in to adjusting the tuners will go into the tuners instead of working to tighten the screw against crud and debris. Make sure that there is no oil anywhere else to get on the uke, just the screw.

Gently wipe the headstock with a dry cloth, and get those holes clean with q-tips. No fluid needed, just get everything clean. There may be some sawdust in the tuner holes, get it out without scraping or making more.

Reinstall the tuners, and tighten the screwsa bit. Put strings on. If the tuners can't hold the strings in tune, turn the screws a little until they do. It really won't take much, now that everything is nice and clean.

If that doesn't do it, and you just can't get the thing to tune, there is an outside possibility that the tuners have eaten their way into the headstock too much to tune anymore. Adding another washer to the one that is already there under the peg on the front would give more space to adjust. some of these headstocks are mighty thin, and barely had enough meat to hold a tuner in the first place. New tuners won't make the headstock thicker, so that may not be the solution.

I love these old Kamaka's, but they are fussy and don't play in tune terribly well. Good luck!