what does fg mean?
Every one’s always saying it
It means fools gold aka referenceing clyw b grade yoyos.
And the difference is?
(I’m a noob)
B grade yo-yo’s are defective yo-yo’s that came out with anodizing flaws or vibe. Vibe means the yo-yo isn’t as smooth on the string or on grinds as a typical yo-yo of that kind. B-grades have these issues or a combination of these issues, but you can buy them at a cheaper price.
Well, B-grades mean different things to different companies. Except for someone convinced it was a “secret reserve”, it means there’s some defect or other issue with the yoyo.
For CLYW, it usually means the yoyo may have a bit more vibe than they’ll want to allow as an A-grade. It can also mean a bad anodizing job. They recently sold some that the colors weren’t deep enough as FG’s. The upside is you get blown out pricing and if you’re willing to deal with often trivial issues, you’re scoring one heck of a great deal.
YYF does something similar, except they stamp B-grade on it. Ano flaws or excess vibe. Still highly playable, just can’t be sold for top dollar.
B grades are often great ways to save money on amazing yoyos for what often appears no valid reason!
B-Grades are yoyos that don’t meet the manufacturers standards, so they are sold at a discounted price. Oftentimes they are a result of flaws in the anodization (the color) or a slight vibe. I own an FG Chief from CLYW, and it appears to me to be flawless. Many manufacturers just hold themselves to VERY high standards. In my opinion, B-Grades are a great deal :]
Just know, when you guys go to sleep at night, that you were never first. I beat all of you. Good game.
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I do disagree on your technically correct term of “defective”.
I mean, some of these B-grades are so amazing, it’s hard to imagine that due to a strict technicality, they are defective.
I played and cleaned a bearing in someone’s FG Ava. That sucker was SMOOTH!! Even saw some of the light ano jobs, and I still thought they were amazing, on-par with A-grade stuff.
My B-grade YYF Mutant DNA has 2 little ano flaws, but based on the colorway, I mean, who can tell? I can, but I gotta look for them and honestly, they don’t look like flaws.
My RecRev f(x) has some vibe, more than I’d normally expect, but RecRev is selling them as B-grades, and even so, I’m really seriously enjoying that yoyo.
How can stuff that still plays at an A-grade level be defective? Wow. And I have their A-grade stuff.
Defective… whatever.
(you know what I mean!)
Buy them. Save money. Enjoy amazing yoyos at deep discounts.
Here is how strict some companies are.
I owned a B-Grade SPYY Pistolero, they call them Star-Grade. This thing was absolutely flawless and played perfectly smooth. The only defect I. It was an ano flaw… I. The sticker response area. Yes, you read that correctly. It was an ano defect in an area of the yo-yo that was covered by a response sticker so unless you were replacing the response, you would NEVER see it. That is some crazy high standards.
The scary thing is, every company I have owned a B-Grade from has had a similar story behind it. Buy with a clear conscience, knowing that you are going to ding the hell out of it anyways so why not save a few bucks in the process. Some say I is a “defective” yo-yo… I call them a bargain.
Thanks guys. That helped(a lot) 
saintrobyn, I can’t even FIND the defects in my “Star Grade” SPYY yoyos! I have a Pro and a Dynamo… I don’t think I’ve seen A-grades in the Dynamo’s colourway so maybe they didn’t like that particular look and decided to scrap it before sending it for engraving. The Pro, no idea. Probably didn’t like the Ano or something. Can’t figure anything else…
Personally, I am a fan of products being marked.
For example, On Drop engraves or otherwise clearly marks all their products. My collection is growing, my memory is fading.
(no joke, I am forgetting a lot of stuff)
Labels help me remember stuff. That’s also why I am photographing everything.
But, on the note of markings, I think some of the artwork on the CLYW FG’s are better than the regular colorways. I’d say engrave the pick axes on all the nubs. The side of the Canvas, AC and a few others screams “put the pick axes on me!!” They do this on some of the B grades, but not on the A-grades.
I don’t have any CLYW FG models, but based on my past first-hand experiences with those from others, I have no problem telling people “go for it”.
I agree that b-grades are awesome, especially for the price. Little defects don’t take away how good a yo-yo is.
when you say buy them at a cheaper price where would you buy them at a cheaper price?
Typically B-grades can be found direct through a manufacturer. Fool’s Gold CLYW’s would be found through the CLYW site. Typically B-grade pieces are quite limited in number so finding one is more of an opportunity the closer it is to the time of a release.