Gotta say, I do end up with my Rebound 9 times out of 10.
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This belongs in the knife-guys threadâŚ
Are modern damascus blades good for actual use? I thought they were for show only. How can art-damascus hold an edge better than high-quality carbon steel? That blade must have a core of solid steel with the damascus on the outside only. In that regard it is a pretty Santoku.
I have a set of Wusthof knives. Is that pretty Japanese thing able to cut with the best blades from Solingen?
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Which colourway were you interested in?
The aqua + gold rings one.
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I just recently got a Draupnir (thanks @Niki) so Iâll get back to you on whether it feels like the Draupnir.
But from my experience with the Kanto, that comparison is likely referring to how the Kanto is plenty stable on the string, is quick and agile when changing directions and has a powerful feeling. Those are not traits all competition bimetals have, particularly the ease of changing directions.
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Interesting. Iâd be curious to hear from someone who has played a Draupnir for a while, then hand them a Kanto and see if they feel like theyâre similar.
Without having played one, it seems like it would be on the lighter and bouncier side of things, which I would not associate with a Draupnir. I still think the comparison is strange.
Congrats on the Draupnir find, by the way!
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I guess I would be able to tell you in a few weeksâ time.
Thanks! But itâs just on loan haha, I didnât buy it.
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This is my top 5 for 2022:
I think I can spot a preference in the shape lol, all of them are great for me for itâs own characteristics, the top of 2022 if I have to choose is the Zero Gravity - Qi, played with it non stop (around 30 hours) in those days and itâs just perfect for me.
From left to right:
One drop - Aitch
Amazing quality and feeling, I do like a lot the weight distribution and is overall a super fun yoyo to play also if you want to play a bit more technical, the only negative side to it is a bit the small gap (which I understood in most one drop is ânarrowerâ than other brands), the size make it great for chopstick and combos with a lot of intricate weird strings positions, not great if you go against the rotation of the yoyo as you risk to bind it back, you need a bit more attention to your slack tricks but I think it train you how to be more accurate.
I love to use this yoyo when I am chilling and when I want to âfeelâ something very well done in my hands, other than that it looks amazing!
Zero Gravity - Qi
Overall the best of 2022 for me, amazing for every type of skills and tricks, already a monster out of the box, technical play itâs his thing, some fast combos, horizontal play and everything you have in mind you can do it with this one (it never bind back even if you go against the rotation of the yoyo or you do tricks with quite a bit of string around the bearing), quite a light throw which I prefer as I do long hours session and doesnât fatigue my hands, the pads that this company use are perfect and even the bearing, as I said I didnât had to tune it, it was already amazing out of the box, small in the hands (great for me as I have small hands), smooth and great quality and feeling from the first throw, I am literally in love with this yoyo and I think will be my main throw also for all 2023, never have found a yoyo as this one, I do not have any negative point to say about this throw but I would love to hear from other people that have it, it also looks great and the finishing is silk smooth in the hands.
Yoyofriends - Shortcut
What to say? With a couple of bucks you bring home some dead smooth greatness, but you all know Yoyofriends and probably better than me, cheap and very well done (the finishing is sick on this one), technical yoyo with a nice weight distribution and that support every type of playing from the chill one to the aggressive and the horizontal as well, I think this is a yoyo for everyday outside play and that you will not kill yourself if you ding it.
I found it just a bit responsive in string tricks with a lot of string around the bearing and a bit snapback in weird intricate combos, I think probably I will silicone it at some point, my bearing was also a bit weird it needed a clean but then it came back to perform properly.
Overall a great catch and something that I see myself using it in 2023 mostly traveling or for yoyo meetings outside.
Yoyofriends strings (the one in the pic) are a new discovery for me, I am organising myself to take at least 100, I do love those strings, just amazing on the hands and great response I do not know the material but it just feel amazing and âfast and openâ in slack, whips and cut tricks.
Yoyofactory - R-type
I think for Yoyofactory is hard to make a âbadâ yoyo (in fact I think itâs hard to make a bad yoyo in 2022, only ones which maybe we donât find âoursâ but not overall bad), the R-type is a light nice beast, it is great for every type of trick as the other yoyo in this list, I love to play horizontal with this one, the only con that I can say is that it miss a bit of âpersonalityâ, itâs a great throw but in the sense of great technically but a bit anonymous in the feeling (for me for example the Aitch which yes is a totally different yoyo but show so much more feeling and personality even if technically quite a bit less than the R-type), the finishing is so smooth which make easy also grinds and DNA (for the ones obsessed with it, I think I have done it twice), overall recommended but not âessentialâ, I have to say that I would totally rely on it in a contest or a setting where I need to perform properly, if you are someone that play just to close combo over combo this can be a great yoyo.
Yoyofactory - Wedge
Someone said âlife in plastic itâs fantasticâ, which is true with the Wedge, the biggest yoyo in size in this list but also a big fun, I do like to throw plastic yoyos every now and then and the Wedge is always my choice, very fun to play and not scared to ding it or âgo nuts with itâ with air tricks and what comes randomly to my mind, mess it around with it in 4a you will have a laugh! So good for technical playing, this yoyo is no jokes, horizontal combos and intricate combos are completely fine with it, the finishing its a bit sticky which is a shame, sometimes when we do tricks it can happen to touch the yoyo and if happen with the wedge it mess up the whole combo, I wish they brushed it like in the inside (which is perfect for DNA tricks also cause has the notch), overall a great throw and one of the best plastic yoyo I have ever tried (I was also a lover of the Protostar back then, great throw).
Hope I havenât been too long or boring, just wanted to share some excitement for those throw that I really loved this year and probably also the next one (but letâs see where the market will bring us)
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Yes, I only use Damascus daily.
I mean yes I have a problem however when itâs the best then itâs the best. I use Kramerâs and miyabi.
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Diorama, Wave, Kamuraiju, VHS and the Plastic Fulvia. Canât pick one, but if I was forced to, Iâd have to go with the Luftverk plastic Fulvia. The innovation behind the design pushes it over the edge for my 2022 pick, if I had to pick one 
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iyoyo skylight
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Yoyo Factory R type
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My fav releases in 2022:
- iYoYo Unlimited
- YoyoEmpire Time
- TopYo POM Mojo
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Knifemaker here.
Modern damascus blades CAN be just as good as their mono steel brethren. It off course depends on the usual factors though,
Which bladesteels are in the damascus? How is the heat treat? How is the grind? Which monosteel are you comparing it with?
The usual boring answer in short is âIt dependsâ.
Now give me two specific blades to compare and I might be able to say more about it.
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Another vote for the Kamuraiju. The Diorama is pretty sweet too!
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These were the ones âI had to haveâ for 2022
| 1. | One Drop | Diorama |
|---|---|---|
| 2. | Yoyo Recreation | GOPA |
| 3. | Mowl | High Wall 2022 |
| 4. | Duncan | Butterfly (2022) |
| 5. | Doc Pop | Bolt XP |
| 6. | Knot Creators | West Coast |
| 7. | Duncan | Freehand One Plastic |
| 8. | Jake Bullock | Dunk RebounD |
| 9. | Static Co | The Wave |
| 10. | RSO / Doc Pop | The End Ti |
| 11. | Freshly Dirty | VHS |
| 12. | CLYW | Beater |
| 13. | A-RT | D7 (Diptych 7069) |
| 14. | CLYW / LUFTVERK | Alpine |
| 15. | YoYo Factory | Legendary 888 |
| 16. | YoYo Factory | Edgeless 2022 |
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Hard to even narrow it down to 5, some great yo-yos came out this year.
Static - Wave (duh)
Freshly Dirty - VHS
RSO - The End Pt II
Heaven Sent - Creep (final run)
Jake Bullock - Slappa
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i havenât played a ton of yoyos from this year but the unprld motif is my favourite, followed by the dunk rebound.
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I find it fascinating that, aside from the RBC and the Redacted, I donât own any of the yoyos that have been listed here as favorites for 2022. Amazing how little overlap there seems to be between my taste in yoyos and everyone elseâs.
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