It seems that the double bearing axle may have a permanent home in the yo-yoing community. There has been a bit of historic controversy regarding who/when/how the double bearing axle yo-yo came to life. What I do know is there have been a few production models made available to the general public. I’d be willing to bet there was even more home grown mod’s we are unaware of.

From my limited memory the folks over at Spintastic’s were the first to produce a retail double bearing yo-yo. I’m not saying they are the inventor’s, only that they made it available to the worlds players. I would love to give credit to Doctor Popular for the creation of the double bearing, or as he calls it “Beef Cake”. I can recall some of the amazing modifications Doc Pop created back in the day, the Beef Cake being one of them.

The Tiger Shark, Great White, was the amazing when it hit the streets. It was well received by the community. Why? It was the beginning of unresponsive play. The wider gap and less response made it easier for players to advance their play. The main down side to the Great White is the throw. The yo-yo does not go straight down when tossed, it tends to go down and back. It takes some practice to get used to.

 And now there is Werrd, Double bearing Metal Madness…………. More to come.

So another year passes that I’m not at the World Yo-Yo Contest, Orlando FL. Huge thanks to YoYoGuy and Justin.tv for providing live streaming. 2009 seems to have brought some great competition out of the woodwork. Some amazing players didn’t make the final round in 1A, pretty shocking. Amazing how many metal yo-yo’s were in the air this year. Hopefully someone was tossing the new SPYY Yo-Yo. I’m at home taking some new photos of this SPYY Beauty.

Talk about high standards, the folks over at SPYY, Saturn Precision Yo-Yo’s, set the bar high. Early 2009 there was some buzz around the yo-yoing community regarding the SPYY Pistolero. Much of the buzz was anticipation was about the look and shape of a new SPYY yo-yo. They nailed the look, such fine engraving detail.

When you go through the mental check list of a quality yo-yo the Pistolero stats has them all, weight, shape, size, feel, surface, etc. So why didn’t any of these beauties hit the retailers? The final production was not to the standards of a SPYY. Since not every yo-yo was a solid player Steve Buffel, SPYY’s main man, decided to not release the yo-yo but rather directly sell a few of the solid players. In my book the limited release places the Pistolero in the rare category. Props to SPYY for sticking to their guns and standing behind their name, only quality here.

The Southern California Yo-Yo Classes was the place to be at today (at least if you couldn’t make it out to IYYO). We had close to 20 yo-yoers hanging out and throwing tricks. We had the usual DXL Crew Pros helping out: Sam Lopez (General-Yo), Yoshi Mikamoto (Yo-Yo Jam), Paul Yath (Crucial), Alex Kim (Rec-Rev), Pasquale Baldi (Rec-Rev), James Lac, and Randy Asis. Even Gerard Amento made it out all the way from Beaumont to come and work on his 2A. Shout outs to all the guys who made it out: Brad, Logan, Luke, Miguel, James, Nathan, Eli, Nick, Cyrus, and Derrick. I know I missed a couple of you guys… I’ll get your names next time. If you missed today, we’ll have another meeting torwards the end of August or early September. Just keep checking back and I’ll keep you guys posted. One love.

 I’d like to think the YoYoFactory 888 has claimed their spot in history. There are a few yo-yo’s that collectors and players will always have some special memory. The Oxy series, the Tom Kuhn SB’s come to mind and now the 888.

The fine folks at YoYoFactory have been producing some awesome products, from their first retail release to their latest models. YoYoFactory has been dabbling in both plastic and metal yo-yo’s. 

In 2007 when the 888 was released I was hooked. Prior to the 888 I only threw modified Duncan FreeHands. That changed when I scored my first 888. It seems I was not the only one impacted, players and competitors were ready to up their game.  Move forward a few years, the 888 is still one of the strongest players on the market.

Originally my plan was to collect all of the Limited Edition 2007 888’s. I quickly realized that would be close to impossible. The image above is about as far as I got. It would be interesting to see if anyone has all of the Limited Edition 888’s.

If your interested in picking up some rare collectibles,The International Yo-Yo Open is this weekend, starting August 8^th, and the World Yo-Yo Contest August 13^th, keep your eyes peeled for some awesome Limited Edition Yo-Yo’s and some great competitors.

It’s that time of year, the long time YoYoFactory sponsored player, Augie Fash, to make another trek to Florida. The World Yo-Yo Contest is around the corner, let’s see if he can put on another show. Best wishes to all competitors and my boy Augie. Be sure to check out his latest signature series YYF yo-yo The Boss.

BLC 2009 was a whole lot of sexy. Big ups to Bride for spearheading the whole thing. It was great catching up with lots of old DXL Crew and meeting some new peeps. It was fun judging, but I didn’t get to hang out as much as I wanted to. 2nd day hangout ftw.

Our first session of the Southern California Yo-Yo Classes was a big success. I saw alot of talent and potential from all the new players who showed up at our first class. We will be having our second meeting this Saturday, August 8, 2009 from 1:00 – 3:00pm at City Plaza in Artesia. Hope you guys can come and hang out and learn something. We’ll have the usual pros around to give you tips and pointers, answer your questions, or just hang out and talk with. All ages and skill levels are welcome.

When: Saturday, August 8, 2009. 1:00 – 3:00pm
Where:
City Plaza
11700 South St.
Artesia, CA 90701

Just like last time, we’ll be situated around the fountain.

I’m a sucker for purple yo-yos. I picked up this very unique anodized “Purple Rain” Genesis by Yo-Yo Factory this weekend. From what I understand this is Miguel’s Signature model. It’s play is very reminiscent of the Grind Machine 2 but I believe Ben was saying that the inside wall is different. I haven’t pulled out a GM2 to do comparisons with yet, just know that it’s a very solid player. This one put a smile on my face on my first throw.

Here’s a look at the new Boss by Yo-Yo Factory. This version is the Augie Fash Signature edition which has the dark grey hardcoat and the purple anodization inside. I love how this yo-yo is very subtle in it’s design and is aesthetically pleasing in it’s simplicity. Very very classy.

I believe this is the fourth iteration of the Leviathan I believe the first was the turquoise, the second came in either a gold and a hardcoat gray, and the third was raw.