OK I’m just gonna say I straight up don’t believe that brass on a yo-yo “smells”. I mean I have never noticed this on the brass side effects, or my existing yo-yos with brass rings? Have you? Has anyone?
From the BiND YYF instagram page apparently, there’s this text:
an inside ring isn’t going to come in contact with your hands anyway, I mean how are you gonna actively touch an inside ring? Thumb grinds? Fingerspins?
a weight ring is a tiny amount of brass relative to the entire yo-yo, so how smelly can it be?
Further complicating things… Copper and Iron don’t “smell” in the way you think they do:
@codinghorror That almost looks like a joke to me, or an absurdly ridiculous marketing ploy. On the bright side, next time I rip one in public I can just say “Sorry everyone, my yoyo has brass rings on it!”
Well there is SOME truth here, I can find reference to brass musical instruments having a smell but they are giant, all brass, and your hands (and mouth!) are all over the darn things.
The intensity of the brass smell varies depending on the chemistry of the hands manipulating it.
If a person has dry hands; and the weather is low to average humidity; the smell will be on the lower end of the scale.
If the person has sweaty hands. And the weather is higher on the humidity %; then the brass will really start stinking.
Some people with sweaty hands; give off different amounts/combinations of substances.
Alkalinity or acidity can leach out of your pores at much different values; depending on what you eat. Or how hydrated you are. If you are a beer drinker. If you are a vegan.
You can minimize your chemical interaction with brass by washing your hands with a good dish type soap. You can actually spray a light mist of Secret or some other brand of anti perspirant. It works on hands as well as under arms. Try stuff you might already have at home because some anti sweat stuff can be kinda sticky. Sticky hands and yo-yos aren’t fun.
One of the best ways to minimize chemical reactions when hands contact brass is to use a very small amount of car wax/Monkey Buff/Maguires polish/etc. The wax or polish will create a temporary barrier so the brass will not react with your hands.
Also you can periodically use a brass cleaner to remove the oxidized film on the brass. And follow that with a little polish. Throw in a pair of clean hands and you are good to go.
Personally; I seriously dislike the smell of brass. When I was a kid and both my parents were working a lot; I use to go down to my Grandmothers’ house. She had a huge house like the Adams Family. There were so many doors on that place it was amazing. And every single door had brass doorknobs. My cousins and I would run all over the house and pretty much leave no doorknob unturned.
When we were done playing; I would run all the way home(about 3 miles). And it never failed; if either of my parents got home before me. As soon as I went into the house; I would hear the same line. ‘Been playing at Grandmas’? ‘Go wash your hands. You smell like a brass doorknob’.
Years ago when I used to machine a lot of brass; I usually would run it ‘wet’ because I didn’t even like the brass vapor it gives off.
But; based on the versatility of brass; it’s usefulness outweighs its minor drawbacks.
Yea, but there is a significant amount more brass in a doorknob than in a yoyo (and yes, I know that smell, and it is a bit unpleasant).
Anyways, I just spent my morning sniffing yoyos… After running my finger around the brass ring of my yoyo, I CAN actually smell it, but only if I put it right up to my nose. The effect is rather subtle, but it is there I guess. It’s not even close to being a problem though, lol
I’m not sure if that is much of a factor. I have a brass top that is incredibly smooth. It is my second longest spinning next to bronze. Brass doesnt create a whole lot of friction.
I have a bunch of brass-ringed throws.
Brass might have a slight metallic odor but that’s not a relevant factor with the tiny ammount used for bimetal-rings.
The much bigger downside to brass is that it corrodes easily and always looks dirty if you don’t polish it frequently.
So I think YYF mainly decided to mask the brass for aesthetic reasons.
But either way: I got a Bi-N.D. today and am overly impressed with how it plays!
Even then your thumbnail is touching the inner rim, not your bare skin. And are thumb grinds really that big a part of anyone’s yo-yo trick repertoire? Like you just thumb grind 24/7 all day ‘erry day?
Brass oxidization looks great and classy, so I wouldn’t think of it as not aesthetic.
You can also seal the brass with lacquer to keep it in check, although it requires re-applying now and then, but people do maintenance on yoyos anyway so you could do it then.
But I’m biased, I love raw brass and metal patina anyways
It is one of my favorites. Lol. I dont keep yoyos in my regular line up that I can’t hit the occasional thumb grind on. That’s the main reason my Terrarian doesnt get much love. I get what your saying though.
When I was but a young lad, I recall hearing a story about some cold witch that would wear a brass bra.
Not sure if it smelled bad, but i imagine it could apply to the same issue here.
So why not just cover it and deal with the problem for good?
In a nutshell, this are the reasons why they did it. It’s not a gimmick. It has a purpose.
Also aesthetics. You can’t anodize brass, so if you wanted to make some sick color combinations, the Al cover ring makes even more sense.
