Just crappy lighting lol. Normal Mandala No-Jive.
As far as I know, this is a one of a kind…the color shown in the photo is correct: orange Tom Kuhn No Jive Mandala Sunbrust-Nova.
sooo i threw a poly string on my freemont today to see how fast i would blow through it. I threw down a couple of REALLY hard sleepers… nothing… i then continued to play with it for about 20 mins with no sign of wear or melting on the string… im confused…
Well obviously you have a crappy throw (like me). 
Did the same thing with a “Pro Yo-Yo” and got the same result. No damage to the poly whatsoever. I must have a terrible sleeper!
Side note: Baldwin will probably arrive this week! Excited!
i can almost guarantee my sleeper isn’t THAT bad…Im a pretty strong dude (at least i think so) and im literally throwing it as hard as i can… its lasted just as long if not longer than my cotton strings.
edit: ive also been looping with it for a while… no melting still
I think the yoyo axle matters the most. I haven’t tried poly on a Tmbr. Most of my poly tests were on yoyo’s with waaaaay rougher axles like russells and proyos (though I’ve def snapped a few on no jives).
Basically though, throw what you want. Throw what you like and what works for you. Results may differ. I really like the way cotton feels on a wood yoyo which is why I use it. I’ve certainly snapped my share of those too. Friction will wear away a mountain in time.
It seems like there’s some bad vibes and sour grapes about whether or not poly will snap, which I just find ridiculous. If it feels right, rock it.
double-post
for my own benefit, i just hooked up a russell (a 5 year-old ii looper) with two (white yoyoexpert) poly strings and threw hard 10-second sleepers until they broke. i got 6 throws and 8 throws, respectively. then switched to type-8 cotton and got bored after 26 of the same throws. i’ll admit that i was throwing hard, but no more so than if i want to hit a long string trick on fixed axle.
i think it’s useful to recognize that the ‘poly will melt’ advice started popping up when most fixed axle yo-yo’s were still reeeeeeeeally rough compared with no jives, let alone tmbrs (like the standard russell looper i was using).
if you’re using newer yo-yo’s with thinner walnut axles (and/or negative-space response, which probably also factors in, especially compared to starbursts), there will obviously be less friction, and you may well be golden with whatever you want to throw. but i think it’s worth noting that there is an experiential basis for people suggesting that poly melts/snaps when under considerable friction.
i think a lot is the fact that the axel is “broken in”. Theres a smooth shiny groove from me using it so much and that obviously helps reduce friction. If the axel were new it surely would have melted… also, going along with what ed said, the tmbr axels are pretty “frictionless” compared to older yoyos.
No bad vibes over here; just curious! I genuinely think my sleeper is kinda weak, especially for fixed axle where I’m timid to throw super-hard for fear of it shooting back up at me.
Ordered 25 cotton strings to go with my Baldwin. I’ll be using those, fo’ sho’.
just look at ed when he’s using the eh and he needs some more time than he usually would that’s inspiration for a strong sleeper lol
Anyone here do anything special to their wooden loopers to loop better? I managed to cut a duncan stick in half and wriggle it into my BC Phantom to improve the response. It has that issue where after one loop, it’s lost it’s grip and just flies out instead of unwinding. Very annoying, but I’m not ready to buy a plastic looper…I don’t have this issue with my Blackbird though. Any ideas?
What are you using for string? None of my BCs seem to have that problem, even the one’s that have been played for years. I use both cotton and slick 8.
Cotton all the way.
Amazing work, RobbieG! Channeling some spooky wood voodoo right there.
they should re-instate the world fix-axle championships. there has been a real resurgence in light sleeping.
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I recently upgraded my camera and picked up an old vintage Micro-Nikkor manual focus macro lens. It’s my first time messing with legacy camera equipment, but I have to say I am extremely impressed with the image quality. Gave me the perfect excuse to catch up on a few photos I’ve been wanting to take and share.
First up is a 2009 Eric Wolff. I believe Eric sets the gold standard in custom, handmade woods. This particular throw is remarkably smooth for a wood, plays fantastic and has an incredible finish and color. It’s polished to such a smooth surface it’s almost like plastic.
Here we have a couple of Tom Kuhn Diamond Specials.
The one on the left is a Diamond Special Walnut and the one on the right is Maple. More yoyos need to be made of Walnut, imo.
Spalted Maple Unengraved No Jive. Spalting is irregular wood coloring caused by fungi. Although spalting is basically the beginning of decaying wood, spalted woods are highly valued for their artistic value. It’s often used in guitars and wooden decorative containers like keepsake boxes and bowls.
Pink and yellow laminate Hummingbird Trickster. This one is for jRod. 
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Cal-States man!
Those are some terrific shots of some very pretty yoyos.