These are not “Handmade” yoyos. These are “Artisan” yoyos. I vote for a “Re-Label”
While I generally agree with your statements, this hobby has its own uniqueness. There are so many “Mom and Pop Shop” entities out there. It’s not the typical David vs. Goliath that is commonly seen in other industries/hobbies.
I personally love supporting the Masters and Craftsman of a trade vs. Corporate big Machines. Again in this Hobby, we don’t see a lot of the latter.
I feel when I support a individual (Maker), I am not only buying a product but supporting a dream.
Just to open another can of worms: wood yoyos should be more available. I know the process is more intense and tedious for wood yoyos, but I’d love to see more manufactures try it.
I’m sorry, I think you’re mistaken. If you’re talking about boutique- type brands that are small and run by one or a few people (e.g. MK1, G2, Static Co) then sure. But I’m actually talking about handmade yoyos. Glen hand makes all of his SW yoyos. He literally carves them out by hand over hours of time…
@Pun1sh3R@Sleeper80 I thought I’d respond over in this thread to keep the fixed-axle February thread on topic.
It’s possible that there was some unseen defect in the walnut dowel used for these. I inspect the dowel portions I use, but it’s always possible there was a flaw that wasn’t visible.
I’ve had a c-grade yoyo with a 1/4” walnut axle that didn’t make the cut sitting around and decided to use it for a stress test. I clamped it pretty hard on the edges and it took a significant amount of pressure to break it in half. Like, I had to aggressively try with my hands to finally snap it.
It makes me think that the ones that snapped definitely could have had a bad dowel section. I mean hard whacks and doing outdoor chores with it in the pocket probably don’t help either , but still.
Another good reason I’m trying 5/16” and 8mm axles in some alternate woods. I really like how walnut plays, and I like the spin time of a 1/4” axle, but it’s definitely a bummer to get a yoyo and have it break on you. Either way, I’ll get these fixed and back in commission soon.
Potential breakage and string burn are the very reasons I use Gaboon Ebony for axles. And my own experience has told me there isn’t any noticeable difference in play between denser and less dense woods. I spoke to a respected member of the fixed axle community and they said “ In my experience the density of the wood in the axle is not central to responsiveness.” String tension, gap and response system matter. Not the axle wood.
I don’t mean to argue but to some degree wood is wood. I mean if the axle was made of rubber or styrofoam that would matter, but hard wood is hard wood. The only thing that could make a difference is if you actually burned a groove into a softer axle. That would make the yoyo more responsive I’d think. Other than that I don’t think there’s any difference.
Oh it’s totally ok! No hard feelings here, and I didn’t take it as blame. I like the problem-solving and it’s nice to figure out how I can make these work better for everyone.
I’m new here (and fairly new to the whole yoyo game) but I just needed to stop and say, “wow!” This whole thread is fascinating and inspiring. I definitely need to try my hand at this. I’ve got all the woodworking tools I might need. Are there any resources you all might suggest for learning the intricacies of a yoyo build? A google search obviously turns up a ton of links, but I’d appreciate anyone pointing out a few good ones.
It’s gotta be so satisfying to throw a yoyo you made from scratch!
Of course there are differences between hardwoods, that’s the core of this discussion. The density difference just doesn’t matter (with regards to response) in a yoyo axle.
Do you think less dense wood has some property that creates more friction on the string? Again the only way that would be is if the axle is soft enough to burn a groove into it.
The reason I brought this up at all is due to another thread where you posted that denser woods were less responsive, that just isn’t correct.
, but still.
I like the problem-solving and it’s nice to figure out how I can make these work better for everyone.
