Interesting to hear talk on this. I was always under the impression the tight posts where from lower quality machining wanting smooth throws. I prefer looser posts but far.
Side note I also find that Chinese throws feel worse being opened and closed. I know part of that is the tight posts but I think the threads are often very tight and rough feeling.
Disagree they are better or get more A grades. They can just afford to throw away the B grades. Although they have improved a ton in the last 10 years. It’s definitely more difficult for us to survive doing it how we do. Thank you to all who support us and keep us around.
The tolerance to get the post the correct size is very difficult and expensive. That’s why tight posts are so common on Chinese yoyos. Tight = smooth, so it’s a short cut of sorts. However, the market has spoken clearly that they are okay with tight posts in exchange for the price these days.
We still work work really hard to get the post sizes correct. It’s a subtle difference in the quality that probably most don’t care about, but we will continue to do it this way.
I’m just comparing raw part orders. So all shops should be able to toss ones that obviously have flaws equally.
I can see your point on orders that included ano, assembly, and testing. The shop would be able to discard bad yoyos before shipping.
I care about the difference. Throws machined by od have always been the best in my eyes. I can feel the level of precision you guys care to reach.
To me it is less about where the throw is made and more about the quality of the yoyo itself. It with od you can feel the extra care and love of yoyos. It’s more than just another product to produce.
I am not saying no good yoyos come from over seas but rather that if od produced it, it could be even better.
They are clearly at the peak of quality.
Looks like they are only “sort of around” I would definitely buy their throws, but they haven’t had any to sell for a while.
Why have G2 yoyos not reduced in price? Because it’s been determined already the market is willing to pay the prices that have been set. In a business sense, why shouldn’t Jake sell for the price the market is willing to pay? He’s not running a charity here, he puts a lot of his own time in, and has a team to support too. I’m curious about the Life however, seeing as it is an A/RT and G2 colab, was it machined in the US like A/RT throws claim to be, or was it machined overseas?
Machined by OD, if I’m not mistaken.
Machining price difference on small runs isn’t much. Price isn’t a driving factor for me. I’m just trying to produce the highest quality product I can. Most of the machining price difference was put into better boxes. And team expansion.
Life is USA machined.
I prefer buying yoyos machined in 1st world democratic countries. USA, Canada, Australia, Germany, Japan, Switzerland. It’s definitely a selling point for me. That being said, I do have a number of Chinese machined throws, but I regard them as inferior.
And why is that?
Can I ask what makes them inferior to you? Just curious if there is something tangible or just a feeling towards them.
It’s mostly just a feeling, because I hate communism. I know they perform just as good, but they are not as collectable to me, and the annodization hasn’t reached gruntball or monkeyfinger status yet.
Idk, have you seen the C3 Atomic Crash? Some pretty enticing colorways from a Japanese Chinese company.
I don’t think there could be many that could reach Gruntbull status. Except @jasonwongzero his cherry blossom 
is amazing. No offense to Gruntbull or Monkey Finger.
Btw Grand Black= <3
I’ve been eyeing extra red and red/orange splash for months 
yeah, that guy is in a league of his own, but I didn’t think he did bulk annodizing
I agree 100% that it’s less the country of origin and more the care and love put in by the machine shop and brand.
I wish there was another US-based machine shop making yoyos other than One Drop. I feel like the question of American-made vs Chinese-made really becomes One Drop vs like every other brand. And I think what makes One Drop amazing as a brand isn’t necessarily due to them being American-made.
I think you see that care and love in a lot of signature or boutique yoyos regardless of where they’re manufactured. IMO throws like the Offset Outlier, MachinaTion, 2Sick Grandmaster, like any G2 all show that love and have a bit of magic to them. Even cheaper sigs like the HotDiggity or ND have a magic to them because of the care the players who helped design them put into the throw even if the quality isn’t up to par with OD.
As for quality, I’d say that those more expensive boutique throws ($100+) are near to or just as high quality as OD. I’m measuring quality in terms of smoothness, ano, playability, “boutique feel.”
I think what makes OD special is that they combine all of these things with throws that really feel unique, a high level of customer care that sets the bar IMO, and prices you can’t really beat (notice that’s I’m comparing their quality—even the cheaper ones like the SK—with throws that go for $100+) and availability that allows everyone to buy one. But none of that is intrinsically due to them being a US-based machine shop but due to them being One Drop and badass. You see many of these elements in some brands as well, albeit at a higher price tag and less availability, regardless of where their machine shop is located.
I think wanting to support US manufacturing is great. And to bring this back to the OP, I do think companies who really market themselves as “made in USA” should announce it. (Not a commentary on G2 or any other company; I wasn’t here for all that.) People clearly care about it and should know where their money is going. But I think the sentiment that we’re intrinsically getting something of inferior quality because machining’s been outsourced is unfair. If we had more machine shops in the US I bet you’d see more variability in quality etc.
Disclaimer: One Drop’s my favorite brand, hands down. I own 27 of their throws—soon to be 28 once the Sugar Glider drops—and David’s always been nothing but amazing whenever I’ve reached out to him. Nothing but love for these guys, and definitely think they deserve every penny of support.
When I was a child (showing my age here) Japanese made items were considered junk and anything with metal would quickly rust. They turned it around and are now known for quality manufacturing. China is going through the same transition. 10 years ago people were still struggling to resolve the disaster of Chinese made dry wall flooding Florida during hurricane recovery. China’s leadership has worked hard to improve quality and perception of Chinese made products. But, if you change something as major as location of manufacture, be up front about it. I also consider honesty to be very important.
