“The Wyvern is the signature yo-yo for long time team member and employee Andrew Daugherty. Because of the unique situation of Andrew being our only employee and a team member, his role in his signature yo-yo was much more involved than normal. He designed it, machined it, assembled it and did the box art. His many years of experience in the factory gives him a unique perspective and the result reflects this. For example, the Wyvern has the classic One Drop flat rims.
In his own words:
‘The Wyvern as a whole is an amalgamation of yo-yos, games, and art that I hold near and dear to me. This yoyo takes inspiration from some of my all time favorite onedrops: the OG Project, the Summit, and the Sugar Glider. This combination has given it great hand-feel, floaty play, and also great spin times. The box art features one of my original characters, in the style of Yoshitaka Amano as an homage to one of my favorite game series, who’s been bestowed the fiery powers of the wyvern and brandishing it for all to see.‘”
“The Kamaraiju is the signature yo-yo of team player Daiju Okamura. This is his description of how the yo-yo came to be:
‘I designed this yo-yo so that it would be optimal when performing Skin the Gerbil. Taking inspiration from older One Drops like the Project, the Kuntosh and the Summit, I adopted the flat rim. This is a One Drop yo-yo after all! This choice wasn’t only about making a statement, but also to create an easy grip when holding and a unique feeling during play. Of course I really like the way it looks.
I recommend throwing the Kamuraiju with a light touch. For me, throwing it with less force than usual really suits the way I play. I just want to take it easy. However, this yo-yo is designed so that you can throw it powerfully and you’ll be able to do the same tricks, so use it at full power if you feel that is what you need.
My setup is Flat Caps, 10Ball Bearing and Flow Groove pad which all come standard in the box. For string I use Cirrus Foam or Kitty Fat but it will ship with one One Drop basics string. Choose the string that works best for you.
For the box design, I used the kanji symbol “寿(Kotobuki)” that is used in my name. This kanji character means something like “Best Wishes” or “Long Life” and it is used frequently around New Years time. I give you Kotobuki and many thanks for supporting my signature yo-yo and I hope you really like it.‘”
“The late aughts called and suggested it was time for the matador spike and 16mm axles to come back. We embraced the spike on the Thorn by making it big and sharp and beautiful. Do you dare try a spin start or air grab?
The Thorn is smooth and agile.The slightly concave catch zone gives you plenty of room to work with. At 64.6 grams it’s right in the sweet spot with much of the weight being towards the rim to balance out the spikes.
We love flat hub yoyos just as much as the next person but they come with one downside: small axle. In the Giant Book Of Machining (Machinery’s Handbook) there is a formula for how many threads of engagement are needed. This formula doesn’t take into account the use case, but going strictly by the book, 16mm length is the minimum length for correct engagement with a 4mm diameter axle. 12mm length is borderline. Of course in the yo-yo use case, there really isn’t any load so it comes down to being careful when you take the yo-yo apart. 16mm is more secure and less likely to have issues. You can just feel when you screw the yo-yo together how solid it feels.The spike makes this possible.
The box art was generously donated by Nik Struble. Email: the.nik.struble.art@gmail.com, Instagram: art_nik_is_struble_life
“For this 20/20 retrospective, we are bringing back the T1 in improved form. The T1 generated much needed money for the Evans family (of Toxic Yo-Yo fame) to help them with their 2 year old son Trevan who had been diagnosed with Diabetes. While it’s been a challenging journey for them, the good news is they are doing much better now. Thank you to everyone who bought a T1 because it really helped them out. Because they are doing well, Evan has generously declined any proceeds from the T1 20/20. Instead, proceeds from every single T1 20/20 will go to the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation.
Thank you to our friend and supporter Gaites Klein for recommending this charity.
For updating the yo-yo, the biggest tweak is removing the tap-through axle system. It now has a very clean flat hub. We also lowered the weight by 2 grams and made subtle changes to the weight distribution.”
“The Diorama is a 7075 aluminum alloy re-designed Panorama. We gave it the “Boosted” treatment. 7075 aluminum is heavier than 6061, but because of the re-design, the Diorama weighs less than the Panorama. What’s interesting is that the profile shape and basic specs are the same.The redesign is inside – you can’t really see it but it’s significant. We did, however, change the cup to look different so it’s easy to recognize the difference.
Tsukasa specifically requested we do this. He loves the Panorama, but was really curious to see how it would feel Boosted. He finds the Diorama to have a bit more control, but can’t decide which one he likes better because they are so different.”
