Shoutout to RSO for this beautiful bio of Tom Kuhn. I love the quality pictures, rich history, and layout.
https://roundspinningobjects.com/silver-bullet
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Great write up indeed! It led to this…
Still in search of SB-3 and SB-4.
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Coming from YOU Paul, that is quite the statement! Many thanks, it’s been a labor of love
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Here’s an interesting TK listing on eBay. It’s a modern Woody Yo-yo that is still on sale from TomKuhn.com at 10% of the eBay listed price. The kicker is that third photo which obviously isn’t a photo of the yo-yo shown in the other images.
There’s been a few ridiculously high priced Tom Kuhns on eBay recently. I can’t honestly blame people for putting up high prices though. Earlier in the year I sold a few TK yo-yos on eBay and a few of them went for a lot more than I expected. However, jacking up the price on a currently available yo-yo 1000% and calling it vintage is disingenuous to say the least.
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Its a seller from Hong Kong, on Ebay there are alot of thrid party sellers selling items from other Asian market auction sites that are not their own personal listings. Seen a few Mowls with 4000% mark ups over listed prices from those markets as well.
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I only own a 3 in 1 No Jive and an RD-1 I got around 15 years ago.
How are the modern versions of the SB2? Still worth it? I’m debating on ordering either the SB2 with polished rims or Rosette II Limited Edition.
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The Silver Bullet is cool because it’s fixed axle. I have a SB2 but if I want to play responsive bearing slimline I always grab a Custom AXL or Custom Elite. No adjustability other than string type and how you lube it. They have sticker response that last a long time. You can get them crazy responsive with thick lube. The SB2 always seemed kind of fussy (and expensive). But you asked if it’s worth it. I dunno, I have 2, but I have a soft spot in my head for TK stuff.
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I always tinkered with the SB2 more than playing it. There’s a lot of room for adjustment and I never found that sweet spot I was hoping to find. I always went back to the SB1 or no jives
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I picked up an early SB for nearly nothing due to heavy corrosion. After cleaning out the rotten string and axle, I just hand buffed it with Brasso. It got smooth if still discolored. With a fresh axle and cotton Type 8 it’s smooth and consistent. I like it even better with weight rings. Great looper! Plus, I dig the patina.
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This looks really good, makes me want to try and find one. Do the silver bullet yoyos use a turbo disk response?
I like my sb2 but a fixed axle version would be nice to own.
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If you want it to shine, you could get (most of it) there with simichrome or a like polish and a lot of elbow grease. That looks cool the way it is tho.
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Thanks! No friction discs in this one. I originally just buffed the interior since the corrosion made it WAY too grabby. I love the response on it now. It’s gap is pretty narrow so it’s all about the interior surface and string.
I have SB-2s with and without friction discs and it’s pretty different feeling than either SB2 version in my opinion.
I really dig it! I picked it up out of curiosity and for the TK collection but have ended up throwing it a lot. Good luck in your search!
- Ted
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Thanks for the tip! I have simichrome and buffing wheels for my dremel but liked the patina’d gray tones. It’s super smooth to the touch all over now so i just let it be. Halfway between Rat-rod and Resto-rod!
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Sounds perfect. Plus you don’t have to fuss over it, you can carry it and play it. Walk the dog even!
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Is it fixed axle or bearing?
TK x RSO cross-post
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Bearing
It seems basically like a mini sized RD1
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