Sengoku Hideyoshi
Remember when razors only had one blade?.. You probably don’t, because most of you reading this are only teenagers and are still working hard on your peach fuzzy mo’s… But being older, I remember that was just par for the course. As the years went by, razor companies kept this strange oneupmanship going on in adding more and more blades. And recently, when I thought it just wouldn’t go any further than a 4 blader, I was walking through the store and I saw the first 5 blader. Ludicrous.
Anyway, amongst the rise and rise of the bimetal market, the Sengoku Hideyoshi is the first trimetal yoyo design. When I first saw it, it made me wonder: is this the advent of the ‘blade war’ among yoyos?
Specifications:
Diameter - 54.97 mm
Width - 43.36 mm
Gap Width - 4.70 mm
Weight - 62.22 grams
The Hideyoshi is a straightforward V shape with stainless steel and brass rings. The steel rings sit just shy of the edge of the rims and are fitted seamlessly into the 7075 aluminium. This should make them harder to budge when they take hits. The brass rings sit inside the cup on a step. The simplicity of the shape is the usual no nonsense Sengoku policy not to sacrifice performance for aesthetics.
It comes in some really attractive solid colours, that make the steel and brass rings stand out boldly. I’m glad it only comes in colours that compliment this. Splashes or acidwash would be a shame. As you can see, mine is a combo of the light pink and blue colours.
Opening up the yoyo reveals a Terrapin Delta bearing and Ir Pads. I’d never used a Terrapin Delta before, and its shape concerned me that it would make string wrapping and binds a little average, but no worries there. This setup seems to compliment its performance. Throws and binds are just fine.
The Hideyoshi has an interesting feel on the throw, not exactly what you might be expecting. I admit that what I’m about to say sounds very strange, but to me, it feels similar to throwing a POM (Delrin) yoyo. It feels very soft, but also very powerful despite being only 62g. Its a very complex feeling yoyo. This must be the result of the different densities of metal used.
The performance of the Hideyoshi is also very interesting in all the right ways. Its incredibly fast, as you’d expect, but can change speeds virtually instantly. I have other yoyos with this play characteristic, but this does it so well, that it makes them seem sluggish and reluctant. Having said this, it isn’t a yoyo that you feel you have to chase because of its speed. Its also perfectly at home with slower paced play. Talking about the Hideyoshi’s play just doesn’t do it justice, you really need to try it to understand and appreciate it fully
Another thing to be noted is it’s stability. It stays so straight through long combos that its almost like its on rails. It also stays on plane very very well during off-axis play. Julio said that he had the idea of putting in the brass rim from his experience with the Nobunaga. He noticed that there was a spot under the rim that affected stability. Looks like he was onto something.
For those who care, it grinds exceptionally, but finger spins are fairly average due to the flat hub with engravings.
I thought the Masamune was about as good as performance can get, but the Hideyoshi really is a yoyo in a league of it’s own. It has been hailed on the Yoyo Expert forums by some, quite bluntly, as the best performing yoyo. Although I haven’t used every yoyo, from what I have used, I can certainly see why someone would make such a bold claim.
I’m pleased that the trimetal design is no joke at all. This isn’t some kind gimmicky move in a game of multimetal oneupmanship similar to the ‘blade war’ in the shaver market. Julio has once again created a very fine yoyo, and even though it is $200, It’s worth it.
