In this same vein, I tend to ruin all my favorites with enamel paint as well, lol. Super hard to get off, and definitely reducing value.
But toys is toys. If we’re not having fun how we want, what are we even doing?
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wow its beautiful!
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Im with you for the most part, but doing this with Al is kind of dumb. It’s almost like the skate equivalent of damaging a board a little just to look like you know what you are doing and don’t look like a poser with a clean board. Intentionally walking the dog is meant for either Al yoyos that are already beat to hell, Ti, or an old plastic. Id never intentionally damage a yoyo just to have damage on it.
That said, im a full advocate of just playing with yoyos naturally, so dings and scrapes are just part of the affair. But I try not to damage them intentionally because I want them to last. Sometimes you have to concede a yoyo to beater status, whether it be a 5A yoyo or something, but id rather not just wear a yoyo into the ground just for the hell of it.
Btw, I got a Peregrine too, and when I dinged it I just shrugged. It feels good to play with a yoyo that you don’t need to worry about being in a NMTBS kind of sell condition, but I do like to avoid it if possible.
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Can’t speak for Cotton but despite how I actively think about damage to my yoyos I do notice that I feel some kinda way when I damage an otherwise mint yoyo. I think it’s also very possible that I unintentionally play a new undamaged yoyo more carefully so I can see how intentionally damaging a yoyo gets that subconscious anxiety out of the way allowing one to play without constraint.
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I used to be real worried about dinging my throws but mainly because it was early on in learning and I was annoyed that such a simple trick or basic mistake would cause me to ding the yoyo haha
I remember one of the first new throws I got after getting back into the hobby was the FS Mountain Man and all I did was a breakaway and it went straight into my coffee table and got a huge ding. Still played great but every time I saw it I was like “I can’t believe a breakaway did that. All I had to do was stand 1 step to the left”.
But as time went on and I got more dings and my throwing got better I noticed my beaters were the yoyos I was having most fun with. I don’t have many now that I would care if I dinged but I still have a few I’d be a little upset I ruined. For instance the OD project 2 which was the first metal yoyo I got back in 2010 but not because I want to sell it or anything but just for nostalgias sake.
Speaking of the project 2 heres my Rebirth beater. Had a few more hits since this picture but still plays like its new 
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Ill add that to the list of benefits of a titanium yoyo😂
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Im not talking walk the dog on something that will severally damage the yoyo. Just add marks to it lol. Once there is a mark I no longer care. Walk the dog is a trick…right?
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I think everyone feels this way, but I think intentionally wrecking the finish of a new yoyo (Al, doing this to a Ti is like a rite of initiation) by walking the dog is a bit ostentatious. You get gouges like you dropped it 5A, not just a ding or a scratch. Yoyos arent skateboards where you have to damage it to play with it. Don’t be intentionally mean to yoyos, but messing one up while legitimately vibing with it is what I yoyo for.
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Yeah, I don’t get damaging yoyos just for the sake of damaging them. I’ve seen people intentionally throw their yoyos into the pavement just to show how much they don’t care about dings. I never know how to respond to that, it’s like it’s their toy and they can do whatever they want with it, but also why would you damage something just for the sake of damaging it.
Walking the dog with an undamaged yoyo if somebody asks to see it is a bit different than just throwing a hard breakaway into the ground to make a point though. One is doing a trick for somebody who asked that will cause damage because the damage doesn’t bother you, the other is just trying to flex how hard you don’t care about damage.
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Casually dinging a yoyo is alright I guess, but a good walk the dog will gauge and scrape the heck out of an Aluminum yoyo if you are throwing it right. This trick was invented with wood and plastic yoyos, none of which will get heavily damaged with burrs and slice points. It can be done, but it will just tear up a good aluminum yoyo.
I think I vibe with what you are trying to say though. You can play with a yoyo with battle damage much more freely. I love this aspect of used yoyos as well, and will generally gravitate to playing one.
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Yes exactly
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I don’t really care about scratches or dings, with a few exceptions for my most rare/loved throws. After a bunch of dings in 6061 and 70XX yoyos, I got over it very quickly. Once I had a few Ti’s in my collection, I was more concerned with those few yoyos but I now have the worst damage of ANY of my yoyos on my first Ti, and I didn’t even bat an eye, just kept on throwing. I do play my damaged yoyos more than my undamaged ones though, cuz I’m not afraid to just RIP em lol
At the end of the day, yoyos are toys and we should enjoy them how ever we want to enjoy them whether that means playing the ■■■■ out of an old beater, or enjoying a laboratory grade specimen of a hyper-rare yoyo on your shelf.
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Most of my yoyos have dings, but these two have been through the most.
My MMC was one of my first metal throws when I came back. I’ve played it every day since, and it’s taken the most damage. The parlay was bought in a similar timeframe and became my yoyo I took on the go for a while, so it took a ton of damage too. I tried to strip the ano, failed, acid ate away at the damage and pitted, so I hit it with paint and called it a day.
I like my yoyos with battle scars.
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I have 2 yoyos that I won’t play away from home. I love the idea of a perfectly functioning and precise simple machine, and I like to keep a few throws in that state to satisfy that aspect of my enjoyment of the hobby.
The rest of my yoyos have taken their fair share of knocks (and often get unintentionally thrashed by the kids I work with) and are carried around with me just about everywhere.
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well I’m more of a collector than a player. So 90% of my yoyos are unmarked, and the other 10% have 1 ~ 3 marks, and it was certainly because I bought them already with the marks.
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I recommend running over any new yoyo with a pickup truck. or a dump truck if you have access to one.
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Typically i have yoyos i ding throw walk the dog if someone is worried about dropping it i usually drop it purposely to let them know its okay with this one and i have others that i keep at home and like to keep nice like my ti but i agree yoyos are meant to be fun they are toys just particular ones i like to keep nice 
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APC or tank can work in a pinch.
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I think most people are somewhere in between
“Keeping everything museum quality”
and
“I damage mine on purpose”
Since I’ve only been playing again less than a year after a 20+ year hiatus my first couple of throws ALL have damage or dings on them. There’s 2 that I used a hammer on to whack the steel rings back in to place so they’ll play smooth(ish) again. Both of those are among my favorite yoyos.
That said…I did buy a nice looking rug in my office. Because my house is mostly tile floor and doesn’t scratchs the metal yoyos a little, it puts in dents and mean looking nicks.
The ones that are already damaged are my “take them anywhere” yoyos. They are great throws and I can play them the way I want without worrying about damaging them.
The ones that I buy now though I do try to keep nice looking. I’ll be a little sad if they get damaged. But not devastated. It just means they’ll go in to the “Pocket jangle against my keys” rotation.
Yeah they’re toys, but what kid didn’t like it when his toys were all shiny and nice? I’ll just try to keep them that way.
I really worked on the habit of not just dropping my yoyo when I miss something. But instead learning to pull it up before it hits the ground. This has helped a bunch. Bought a cheap but nice rug to play on. When I play outside I prefer the grass over hard surfaces. But won’t cry if something gets damaged either.
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Personally I don’t like marks or bumps on a yoyo.
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