The Fremont is not a looper.
Between the two I prefer the Fremont.
Edit- Technically just about any yoyo can be used for looping. Some are designed with that in mind and some are designed with string tricks in mind. The Fremont is a great fixed axle 1A yoyo.
The Baldwin is definitely more stall friendly but also capable of string tricks. The Fremont is capable of longer spin times but, with it’s narrower profile and high walls, will lose its stability quickly if you aren’t precise. That should in no way turn you off to a Fremont. It’s a great player.
I’ve got to agree with the good things everyone is saying about the Freemont. I like mine better than my Baldwin. I also really like my Baldwin, both are great.
I find the Freemont better for stalls myself. I guess it just goes to show. 
As for the axle question. I just recently got the kit and am in the process of trying the different axles out. I’ll let you know when I have had more time to compare them.
I picked up a second run EH and am really enjoying it. I had missed out on the first run and decided I couldn’t let another slip by. Love the way it plays, feels, etc but none of that is surprising. I knew it would be great, coming from Ed and SPYY/TMBR.
My only (minor) complaint is with the wood strip that runs across each side. On mine, it has the look/feel of a used popsicle stick, if that makes sense. Almost like it got wet and dried out, with kind of a wavy feel in the grain. One of the strips also had a gap at the end where it should have been glued down. I just used a tiny bit of Carpenter glue and some sawdust to fill that in and it’s difficult to spot that now. These are just minor issues and part of the process of working with wood. I suspect that the lack of finish might also make these a bit more sensitive to moisture (or a lack thereof).
Not sure if this has come up before, but I really like the string that’s for sale on the TK site. I have no idea what type/size, etc it is but I really like the feel.
Speaking of TK…Has anyone heard anything about the Optic Stars? Shipping date was supposed to be mid-April and it’s mid-May and I haven’t heard nor seen a thing.
Thanks for reading.
They said the ship date was moved to May 1st, but I haven’t gotten mine yet. I’m getting anxious.
I got this e-mail today, after asking for an update.
"Well this is certainly embarrassing.
Our apologies for continued delay. Seems Murphy lives here. First run,
nearly complete ran into string gap dimension issue! Ugh! New run required
rescheduling through the mill (So frustrating). We have been preparing for
this No Jive resurrection for years. Although Tom Kuhn has always supported
American Made products, it is not without challenges. Our uncompromising
product integrity vs mass-manufacturing does not command priority status
with vendors.
The good news; Back in production, lessons learned and end product will be
better for it.
We ask for your continued patience and promise the end product will not
disappoint.
Happy to answer any questions.
Lisa
Tom Kuhn Custom Yo-Yos"
Thanks very much for the update. I’ll continue to wait patiently for the great resurrection.
dsl: I believe each half is one piece… as far as I can tell (haven’t torn one apart or talked to Colin about it!) there’s a detectable “line” right where the curving starts; this is an artifact of the turning process and template. But there’s nothing that needs gluing down.
Wood can have voids. I found my Baldwin had some porous areas I could do without. My favourite way to fill such voids is super glue, followed by some light sanding. Unless you apply with absolute precision, it will probably discolour the area you’re fixing (it darkened up those spots on my Baldwin) but the actual performance isn’t affected (well, it’s improved since you’re fixing a surface irregularity!)
Not sure about the wavy thing. Again, an artifact of the fact that grain runs more or less in one direction? I’d have to see your particular sample to know.
I like the imperfections and irregularities in wooden toys. On the Baldwin I had to “fix” a few. On my 2nd-run EH I haven’t had to yet.
But overall I can see why there might be a little disappointment. At $50 it’s not a “cheap” wooden yoyo, and one might hope for a bit more perfection than that. I’m still very glad for having mine and I suspect you’re in the same boat.
I think fixed axle play looks really cool. Anyone know where I can find some tutorials?
Google “Fixed Friday” and you will find what you seek sir!
Mostly it’s just invent it yourself and have fun with it. However, one great resource is the fixed axle Friday entries on Yoyonews, as the name implies, they come out every Friday. They also usually put them in the “trick theory” section.
Any responsive trick. Fixed axle just gives you less time to get’r done (in most cases… you can have short-spinning bearing yoyos or long-spinning fixed-axle… but generally speaking…)
Then beyond, that, go to 365■■■■■■■■■■.com and sort by Ed Haponik and Drew Tetz and/or the “fixed axle” tag. I know not every post has all the tags sorted out, but it’s still a good start. Not ALL of their tricks are for fixed axle (I think Ed’s are… but not necessarily Drew’s) but a good portion are. They’re not tutorials but the slo-mo should help you see what’s going on.
For more “tutorial” type stuff, go to yoyonews.com and look up Fixed Friday under “Theory”.
Actually, here… I’ve done some of the work for you!
Ed on 365: 365YoYoTricks ed haponik Archives - 365YoYoTricks
Drew on 365: 365YoYoTricks drew tetz Archives - 365YoYoTricks
“fixed axle” on 365: 365YoYoTricks fixed axle Archives - 365YoYoTricks (will have lots of overlap with the above)
Fixed-Axle Fridays on yoyonews: fixed friday
Enjoy!
Oh, and for further inspiration (not tutorial), one of my favourite fixed-axle videos, a TMBR promo piece:
As clean as the work on mine is I could see why someone would think they are solid turned halves. I believe though that the strip dsl is referring to is added once a threaded metal nut is placed inside the yoyo.
I too haven’t torn one apart to prove that theory though.
I’d be willing to believe either. I assumed that the threaded metal nut is actually an insert, which could be inserted from the inside just as easily as the outside.
Now I want to rip one apart to find out for sure. Or I suppose someone could just ask Colin! 
[addendum]
Happened to be playing with the EH and had a good long look. I originally thought they were one piece due to the continuous grain to the edges, but close inpsection shows the strip that dsl and vegabomb mentioned. So while there IS continuous grain to the edges, it’s not an entire solid half, it has the strip just like the Baldwin and other TMBR yoyos.
Whoops!
yeah it’s a dado inlay, like tmbr does with the baldwin and the fancy new irving pro’s. to me it’s pretty impressive that it looks as contiguous as it does. the original eh by spyy had a threaded nut inserted, but it would have been impossible for colin to do 100+ like that. i can appreciate that some may not be totally seamless and that may rub some players the wrong way. i kinda like the snowflake-esque variation.
@mozart some of that fixed friday stuff is pretty tough and tech for someone just starting. it’s probably a good practice to see how far you can get on the yye list using a fixed axle (essentially everything on there has been done).
i’m planning a more tutorialish vid for a fixed friday coming up - what kinds of things would people like it to include/focus on?
Suicides and managing slack.
I think some basics to help people get started would be great.
Also, I love the word tutorialish. 
@ed
Wow, even after reading the EH has dado caps you can barely tell they are there. I totally thought it was one piece too. Superb job!!
suicides/slack check. what would qualify as “basics” to any of you guys. i don’t want to put something out and then have it be too easy/useless/redundant or too tough. thanks!
To me, not classic tricks. Along the lines of what Homba mentioned, managing slack; for example, I don’t really have a foundation in popping the yoyo without it returning to my hand or causing a stall. Yet I’ve seen fixed-axle tricks with pops, so it can somehow be done!
Also, I’m not even sure how to slack or suicide on a fixed-axle throw at all, not because of the axle, but because I need a bit of intentional string tension to do most tricks; as soon as I try to slack, there’s some s’getti. 
