Tom Kuhn Appreciation thread

I filled up a Heirloom box with a spectrum of No Jives the other evening. I thought I’d share some photos.




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That’s a beautiful thing!! Wow.

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Some Purgatory’s on eBay from a reputable dealer. Not sure if it’s a good price, but there are 5 available.

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Nothing like cracking open an old no jive package!

Time to break it in!


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I’m thinking about selling this zippered leather Tom Kuhn pouch. I heard that these were hard to come by, so does anyone on here know how much one of these is worth. Disregard the Shutter, I’m moving that one too. Here are a couple pics.


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I decided to put together a swag bag of sorts including the pouch. What do you folks think is the best way to go about selling all of this gear?

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Can’t say I’ve seen the pouch before, but I suspect is is from the mid/late-2000s when Brad C. was doing a lot of “experimenting” with accessories for the brand. There were a lot of random offerings of different boxes, cases, etc. and I don’t believe any had the same level of workmanship as what came out of San Fran or even the late 90’s BC-era days. I am not sure where the market is for this type of thing at the moment (and TK prices appear down a bit on ebay), but I would guess somewhere around $40 at auction…

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IIRC the pouches were sold with some of the laminate No Jives and Sleep Machines/Roller Woodys in the 2000s. I have a half dozen of these and they’re nice bags but not as sought after as the yo-yo holsters from Tom Kuhn that came with Silver Bullets and some SB2s.

I doubt you’d get $40 for the bag. I’d be willing to pay $20 for what you have in the photo and I’m primarily interested in the RD rings.

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http://www.yoyomuseum.com/museum_view.php?action=view&subaction=exhibit&exhibitid=3067

http://www.yoyomuseum.com/museum_view.php?action=view&subaction=exhibit&exhibitid=2995

Looks like some of the parts came from a Tom Kuhn “Performance Kit”. Original retail price for the leather pouch was $11.

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Thanks for the link - what I find particularly amusing is that your pouch and the one in the picture above appear to be 2 different sizes. QC was strong on that line…

There actually were two different sizes. These were released in about 2013 when I started working with the company. Brad had bought a ton of these pouches for cheap, had them engraved, and originally intended to sell them with yo-yos but ended up doing it as a separate item. The larger size, which were big enough to put a yoyo in, sold out pretty quickly, especially in brown. But the smaller “part/accessory” size he probably still has 1000 of.

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This era of No Jive (and Mandala) was super special. Been too long since I had this guy in my pocket.


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Stunningly gorgeous yoyo :heart_eyes:

Until today I’d never seen a dark red metallic No Jive without cracked paint. This red colored No Jive was released in 2000 alongside the green and blue metallic yo-yos. The red paint had a production issue that lead to the paint cracking and the thought that I’d ever see one without cracks wasn’t even something I’d ever entertained.

Now I own one, and it’s never been thrown.


On the right is a typical specimen showing the cracked paint. On the left is the pristine, never thrown yo-yo that arrived today.



Here you can see the metallic flakes in the pain that give these yo-yos their luster.


Another shot of the typical cracking of the dark red paint.

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Honestly i think the cracked finish looks sweet too though. It’s got character just like the cracks or “checking” that happens to vintage electric guitars with nitrocellulose finish. I dig it. But I like your pristine one too. Super cool.

I got my first no Jive a month ago and I continue to sometimes choose it over my other vintage throws that are ball bearing axles. There is something special about it. The weight. The bounce. It rocks.

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Holy Heck - what fluffy cloud safe did that rare bird come from. Both of my red had significant cracking (now one is in Ed’s collection)

Yeah I confess I like the checking just because of its historical context (and kinda reminds me of a “relic’d” guitar/bass. BUT that thing looks amazing and I wish you luck keeping it in that shape!

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He used Buy It Now on eBay last Sunday and got it for $29.

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Wow lucky find!

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Rick Brough (@rickbr) has a fascinating history of the 1984 Olympic No Jive on the Yo-Yo Museum site. He’s uncovered a lot of details about the history of this unique No Jive. Worth a look.

Tom Kuhn No Jive - Gold Medal LE (Model C) - prototype
Tom Kuhn No Jive - Gold Medal (Model F) - prototype

Also, here’s my 1984 Olympic No Jive. Finally I know why mine has a natural finish and an aluminum nut.

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