Something I hadn’t mentioned in my original post because it doesn’t seem to be a big issue. But many of us found out a few years back a very positive advantage of certain markings on yo-yos.
There were some bootleg Yoyorecreation yo-yos popping up here and there:sold, traded, etc…
The YYR Boots were actually pretty well machined. Well enough to fool some folks. And there were some Yoyojam Hitman bootlegs circulating, also.
Fortunately, both were pretty easy to spot. Once you knew what to look for.
First on the Hitman, the side caps were kinda sloppy. And Yoyojam side caps were always sharp and never sloppy, blurry.
And more interesting yet. The Yoyorecreation lettering(on marked yo-yos) is always very precise and clearly readable.
The ‘Boots’ had lettering that was not cut as sharp and was fuzzy looking around the edges.
So, the general consensus after these discoveries was that yo-yos with intricate and clean markings are much more difficult for bootleggers to perfect copies.
Anyway… when I started this topic, I expected some good responses. But I never thought the topic would elicit such interesting views and such a spectrum of thoughts on the matter.
I’m sure there will be more input on this subject. But I just wanted to thank everybody that chimed in with their views.
Personally, I think yoyos look better with engravings. If the engraving detracts from the look of the yoyo, then that just means it’s not a very good engraving. I like simple logo engravings, just for identification. For example the Circle City Yoyos Warhawk, the Freshly Dirty Moldy Bread, the Rain City Skills Metalhead, the Zero Gravity Basilisk, all of these have very nice, snall engravings that add to the aesthetic while making the yoyo instantly identifiable.
I don’t think having an engraving or not could possibly affect resale value, because most yoyos just either do or don’t have an engraving. It’s not like someone could say “Oh no I won’t pay that much for an engraved Warhawk” because they’re all engraved.
I think engravings are good. Sometimes it’s nice to have them visible but if even go so far as to say that there should be small engravings in like the response pad area or under the bearing seat for identification and a little Easter egg.
I once heard Tyler Severance say that he thinks yoyos NEED engravings because they are a aluminum and they will be around for decades because metal lasts a long, long time. If they aren’t identifiable there may not be anyone that is able to easily identify what it is without engravings.
I’ve always been a fan of no engravings because I like a really clean look. But after I heard him say that, I had a new outlook on why engravings are important for a company’s legacy.
I like engraving. I feel like finger spins have changed the hobby perception on engravings especially cup engravings. I have often pondered when finger spins will fall from favor, and with it will we get to see some more sweet engravings and even better maybe hub spikes will make a comeback!
Eh, poll needs an “it depends” option… I don’t think it’s a binary YES THERE SHALL ALWAYS BE ENGRAVINGS and NO THERE SHALL NEVER BE ENGRAVINGS type of situation … some yo-yos have such a unique shape or design that you would immediately know what they are. For example this one… do you need an engraving to know what it is?
That’s immediately recognizable… if you already know what it is. But if you don’t, what then? Maybe that yoyo is super iconic but I have no idea what it is. Doesn’t matter that the shape is unique, it’s still hard for me to find out what it is. What do I Google? “Round yoyo?” At least having the keyhole I can Google “yoyo keyhole engraving” and might find a picture of it. And yes I can ask here, but not everyone knows about this forum or is part of the community at all.
According to this then we cant have any artsy engravings either. It has to be the name. What are you gonna google, yoyo with eye engraving? How is that going to get you anywhere.
To identify a yoyo you can just go to this forum or any community that exists at that time period and ask. Someone will know.
I would totally do. If it had its name on it, I would be able to find it in seconds if I wanted to get one. Without it, it will take me longer for sure.
Unfortunately it doesn’t work so well for yoyos. I think is a good first place to go but apparently it has some trouble (quite often to be honest). I don’t tried it on yoyos until now. I usually use it to identify plants and it works pretty great.
For what it’s worth I saw this yoyo on the Unknown thread and have been trying to find it ever since, to no avail, until I saw this image and tried “doorknob yoyo”. Artistic and functional. I would prefer more of this but understand the variety of reasons as to why not.
Haven’t seen an engraving so wack that I wouldn’t buy a yoyo that I was otherwise interested in. I truly look forward to the day where someone makes a really interesting yoyo with an absolutely hideous engraving.
My opinion:
A little mark (few sqared mm) to identify the model is enough.
As a lover of minimalistic desing and void, large engravings just don’t add value to the object.
And a bit out of topic, but its the same for the colorways, splashes are like engravings, not really my tastes.
