The origins of the EH can be traced back to 2012 when Ed Haponik took a one year oath to throw only a single fixed-axle wooden yo-yo. It was a custom design from SPYY who sponsored him at the time. He completed this goal on 12/31/12 and documented his efforts on 365■■■■■■■■■■.com and in several of his clip videos.
Fast forward to 2019 and Ed is no longer sponsored by SPYY, but he’s still throwing down some of the best fixed axle tricks around via his Instagram page and inspiring a resurgence in fixed axle play!
This year brings us a very special EH; The EHKNOWN! The idea started when Bryan at Unknown approached Colin at TMBR about a collaboration with ‘dark woods’ and Colin mentioned he had seen some cool stuff done with layered wood. Bryan loved the idea and knew that if Unknown ever did a wooden yo-yo he would like for it to be an EH, so they brought Ed into the mix and after some enthusiastic discussion Colin ordered the wood and got to prototyping!
The EHKNOWN has a slightly different feel than previous EH models due to the density of the Plywood layering or SpectraPly , but it’s a beast of a player. The rims are a little chunkier and the lower density of the SpectraPly gives it a really nice feel in play. It has a fantastic level of response that just feels right with the lighter weight, but we’ll let Ed speak further on the performance.
From Ed Haponik on the EHKNOWN performance: I would say that the lower density of the Spectraply makes it an almost ridiculously great moon-shooter/planet-hopper. And the walls/gap with the lower weight make it super easy to turn for my Varial tricks. Tricks like Makin da Zines which rely on the yo-yo responding quickly near the end of the string are easier on this version than any yet and I throw into stalls with a way lighter touch on it!