I’ve haven’t noticed any good discussion on Tom Kuhn stuff on the boards in a while. Seems like interest has died down since the No Jive was re-released a few years back. Who is still collecting, and what are you looking for? What ever became of Wayne and yoyoworks? They were the major collectors and have vanished from the web boards.
I’d still like to get the ellusive Aspen Mandala myself. I ordered one once from Tom Kuhn in San Francisco, and was accidentally shipped the wrong item (Smothers Winery Mandala). When I called to tell them about the error, and re-order the Aspen, they had sold the last one that very day. Also, never got the Kreeger & Sons mandala either.
Dave, I’m still collecting Kuhns. Do you have any Bayfields or Purgatorys left? I know the number produced was quite small making them very collectable. Beautiful yos.
Good to see you on here. This is my first time posting to this forum. I typically just read the banter on these sites.
I was reminiscing about your former store, back in the mid to late 90s. Remember the telephone auction you had? I recall you auctioning off a Tom Kuhn 1984 Olympic. Didn’t it go for something like $100? That was a lot of money for a modern yo-yo at that time. Little did we know! The Olympic is one of the few I don’t have.
I’m still here (rarely, but occasionally). I think the last surge of products filled a void for many people and left the collectors down some $$ and reduced the secondary market for the older stuff. I still have 100+ TKs and BCs sitting in drawers. Still occasionally scouring eBay, though it is rare for anything truly rare to come up and when it does, many are immediately priced out.
I have some doubles still - haven’t been motivated to eBay due to the lack of apparent interest. No Aspen - wish I had one!
I still have so many Dave Hall specials from the late 90’s in my boxes. What a great store and run in that era!
I registered on this forum about a year ago because of my recent reinterest in the toys. Since 1997 or so I’ve wanted an SB2 and a year ago i bought an Ultraviolet one. around the same time i bought a few others. My most prized throw now is a clear anodized silver bullet one with paperwork.
Today i am trying to figure out where on this forum the best place is for general appraisal of that.
What ya think?
Hi Dave,
I’m still collecting, mostly through Ebay when the odd golden oldie surfaces and have traded one or two items recently. Interest in TK’s seems to have dived over the last few years hence my low profile but I still check out this board regularly.
I stopped collecting altogether, but still love tk’s. Met a guy the other day who was friends with tom kuhn. started talking to me about yoyos. Said he knew a dentist who was into yoyo’s. I asked if it was tom kuhn, should have seen his face, like I was reading his mind or something. lol
There’s always been a few I’d like to pick up, but they’re nearly nonexistent. I was happy to find a Celtic Ring and Celtic Star, and I hope to pick up a Quatle.
I think most of the die-hard TK collectors have most of what they want, and that’s why there’s not much discussion, along with the fact that nothing great has been released from BC lately.
To me the question is not whether people are still collecting them - it is why they are collecting them?
Apart from the historical significance of Tom Kuhn, what purpose does acquiring Tom Kuhn yo-yo’s serve? Are they being played? Looked at? … Why?
I think yo-yo’s are not as collectible when they are not up to the standards of modern yo-yo’s. The “Collectible” yo-yo’s are yo-yo’s that are rare AND worth playing by today’s standards. By that measure, Kuhn is not that collectible.
Different strokes for different folks man, I love my TKs.
Not sure what standards have ever been set for yoyos, but as far
as wood yoyos go, TKs are very well made and have a lovely finish, and they play great.
I wouldn’t say I am actively collecting TKs, but I keep an eye open for
stuff I don’t have (but maybe wouldn’t pay full price for).
HO scale slot cars from the 70’s aren’t nearly as playable as their newer counterparts yet they are very collectible.
The batman story from detective comics #27 isn’t (I’d imagine by most readers standards) as good graphically or from a plot standpoint as the Dark Night graphic novel. Yet one sold for a million dollars. (That’s a lot by Dr. Evil’s standards!! :))
Toys (and other things) are collected for more than their present day usefulness.
Lots of the earlier Tom Kuhn yoyos are scarce and aesthetically pleasing. I have a couple I play with and the rest are for display.
I have a very modest TK collection (maybe a couple dozen), but it’s the most extensive brand in my entire collection (200+ yo-yos). Not because the yo-yos are stellar players, but because of what they represent in, at the risk of sounding presumptuous, yo-yo history. Kuhn practically dredged up yo-yoing from its spectacular flameout in the 1960s and lethargy in the 1970s, and started pushing the envelope on technology that is taken for granted in modern player yo-yos: take-apart design, ball bearings, response systems, aluminum construction. It’s kinda fun having some of these early benchmarks represented in the yo-yos of Tom Kuhn.
And don’t forget oldyoyoguy, Tom was the first to do a fancy splash Ano colorway on a yoyo. So we all have him to thank for the splash colorways that everyone loves so much now.
