because op is specifially looking for bimetals and none of the usa made yoyos YYF released last year is bimetal (almost virtually no usa made yoyo is, funnily enough).
i think.
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Hydrangea I believe machine in Japan. Enjoy your $300+ bimetals tho.
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viby, colorless $300 bimetals
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Just chiming in because there seems to be some misconception that yo-yos machined in China are somehow of a lesser quality than those made elsewhere.
Almost every small/âboutiqueâ yo-yo brand has their yo-yos machined in China, and a large percentage of those are made by FPM (YoYoFriends). FPM is not the cheapest shop in China, but they are easy to communicate with and are well-equipped for quick, quality manufacturing. When Aaron (Static Co) and I were first discussing the Wave, I specifically asked for FPM because the Koi had the nicest machining on a yo-yo I had ever encountered. FPM even volunteered to put the same team of machinists on the Wave that did the Koi. After a series of prototypes we ordered 250 Waves in 10 colorways. We hand assembled and tested every single one and didnât pull a single B grade for vibe or ano flaws. Thatâs some serious quality control.
People get their yo-yos made in China for a number of reasons, the main one being that they make great yo-yos. Guess where your favorite, $400, top of the line titanium is machined?
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YYR and TP used to make good bimetals in Japan. I wouldnât say Hydrangeaâs quality is on that level despite it being so many years later. Iâm not sure what the problem is exactly with that. And keep in mind modern bimetal machining is way better these days than it was for the made in Japan era TP and YYR.
I say the only real option for quality are the made in China bimetals. They have pushed yoyo manufacturing forward so much. It would take an unrealistic amount of work for a shop outside of China to get on their level any time soon. I donât think itâs a bad thing though. These shops have done a lot for the yoyo community. I have had good interactions with them and so have others who make yoyos. Shops like FPM and Top Yo are definitely worth supporting.
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Current yyr runs are still made in china (execpt the one drop monometal runs) even they dropped the AE mark on the branding (as far as I observed in recent releases) and change back to black yyr packaging.
But I believe there are few bi-metals that are assembled in NA and not machined like luftverk for example from their recent post.
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Least I read this thread to this point. I will be surprised if it is not deleted by morning.
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Hydrangea and JT both use the same shop when they machine in Japan.
Directed at OP:
Theyâre legit, but youâre not paying a premium for a âbetterâ product, youâre paying a premium for domestic production. Youâre not getting 300 dollars worth of âperformanceâ or âqualityâ if you buy a Fractal or Laurus. Youâre getting a hyper specific yoyo that just carries a premium price tag because of the production/development. Because of Chinese production evolving, everybody expects yoyos to all be dead smooth out of the box, JT and Hydrangea yoyos machined in Japan tend to have a bit of vibe. Does it matter? Not in the slightest to me and the other people who like these yoyos. But in a world where people equate smooth to quality, then youâre not getting quality when youâre buying domestic Japanese. I donât agree with this sentiment at all, but a lot of other people would disagree with me. Expect nail vibe.
If you like the models and really want to support the brands theyâre worth it. If you donât know what these models are, you arenât familiar with the companies, or you donât have hyper specific yoyo preferences that make you say âyes, this is the yoyo for meâ I would highly advise against buying them unless you enjoy burning money.
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Death Robot MG. Thatâs the only one I own.
Now who made it first??
I donât know. However I think many could take the credit for it.
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Henryâs Viper Man!!
Speed Explosion Bearing.
Gnarly.
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One Drop machined the Death Robot for Choas Toys. @kyo brought in his own oven to heat the rings. Now it you know, then you know.
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Yoyo Factory also has a machine shop in Az, they make quite a few throws. There is also Custom Products, they make a few yoyos.
No bimetals made in USA as far as Iâm aware though.
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Theyâre more complicated if you actually do them properly. The Death robot was a pain because we did it right⌠the rings arenât press fit, theyâre thermal fit. The outer ring is machined 0.006" smaller than the body it goes on, then it is heated so the metal expands, and allowed to cool in place. Since magnesium is a fantastic heat sync, it cools almost instantly and the ring is effectively in place forever.
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Iâm not sure there are any currently produced. The Death Robot Mg I did a few years ago is the only one I know of unless YYF did one of theirs here?
As for the larger debate⌠stuff coming out of China now is top notch quality. Theyâve gotten really good at making yoyos. It WAS the case years ago that the metal they were using was garbage, and often so was the quality, but not anymore.
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DamnitâŚnow I want a Death RobotâŚ
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In that case, it looks like I will just go with getting a model of mine made in China. My local machine shops so far have either totally ignored my inquiries to have a yoyo machined by them, or they outsource it to China anyway.
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Thank you for saying the quality of the aluminum being used was not as good as what we were used to for some time in China. I felt like I was going crazy when others told me it was in my head.
I am so glad itâs on par nowadays, and yeah, the machining is insanely good and has been imo. Iâd love to see the shops play around with different surface options similar to candyblast, etc.
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The 2sick Blitz and Knight were made in the USA according to their descriptions on yye. Top notch throws.
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Youâre right. Iâm sure theyâre good, itâs just I canât help but feel a little wary about Chinese companies. These guys look pretty good.
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