Duncan released the new Freehand One in December of 2021. One of the new features is the ability to use Friction Stickers or 19mm response pads. They first released in Blue, Red and Yellow, all with white caps and black Freehand logo. Duncan wanted to release these quickly, so they were not packaged in the normal Freehand clam shell pack.
1st Release1st Release1st ReleaseBionic EditionUnknown Edition2022 US Nationals Transition5A Star EditionSteve Brown EditionPaul Escolar EditionDanny Severance Edition – Limited to 300Duncan = Love – Limited Edition, only available at select 2023 contests.Glow – Limited Edition, only available at select 2023 contests.Gold Chrome – Limited Edition, only available at select 2023 contests.Mongu – Limited Edition, only available at select 2023 contests.Hey Bud edition by Paul EscolarHey Bud edition by Paul EscolarGlasseye DXL edition2023 US Nationals Hydrodip2023 US Nationals Hydrodip2023 US Nationals2023 US Nationals in package2023 US Nationals2023 US Nationals in package2023 ANYC Edition – 30 made2023 ANYC Edition – 30 made2023 WYYC Ninja Boy2023 WYYC Edition (Front)2023 WYYC Edition (Back)2023 WYYC Edition Packaging2023 Large Bearing WYYC Ediiton (Front)2023 Large Bearing WYYC Edition (Back)2023 WYYC Edition (Front)2023 WYYC Edition (Back)2023 WYYC Edition Samurai
Prototypes
A Freehand Facebook group was created on May 11, 2021 to discuss the new Freehand 1 project. Bryan Jardin posted photos of prototypes and discussed the process and what he was looking to accomplish with the Freehand 1 moving forward. Below are photos from that group, links to the posts are in the photos.
At the 2023 World YoYo Contest Duncan released a machined Delrin version of the famed Freehand 1. This limited run yoyo had both body and caps machined from Delrin in a large C bearing yoyo. These were released in White, Black, Blue, Red and Green, all with white caps. Retail price of $54.99.
The Hyper Freehands were made in the US by Duncan and licensed to Bandai for sale in Japan. 500 sold in the US in 2004, these were only available via Duncan’s website. Differences between the Freehand 1 and the Hyper Freehand were: raised lip around the friction sticker and ultrasonically bonded caps. They were packaged in a clear clam shell and included a clear counterweight dice or matching clear dice for the translucent colors.
It is an official addition to the Hyper Yo-Yo line.
The Duncan Freehand Zero, or FHZ, was released in 2004. This yoyo was created after the original FH1 mold broke. The FHZ became a popular platform for modding. The first FHZ colors released were: Blue w/ Green caps, Yellow w/ Blue caps, Green w/ yellow caps, Black w/ black caps, White w/ white caps and Red w/ blue caps. Numerous colors and editions were released over it’s life span. Our goal is to collect photos of all releases and post them below.
2004 Asia Pacific YoYo Contest2004 US Nationals2005 US Nationals2007 US Nationals2007 Nationals2007 Nationals2007 Nationals2008 US Nationals2009 US Nationals2004 World YoYo Contest2005 World YoYo Contest2007 World YoYo Contest2009 World YoYo Contest2007 Georgia State YoYo Contest2007 Mid-East Regional2007 Mid-East Regional2007 Mid-East Regional2007 Mid-East Regional2007 Mid-East Regional2007 Midwest Regional2007 South East Regional10th Anniversary Bay Area Classic2010 EYYCsold at the 2014 44Clash eventsold at the 2014 44Clash event2010 China Nationals
The Freehand 1 was designed by Steve Brown, originally for Freehand, or 5A, style of play. Released in 2001*, Red, Blue and Yellow were the first colors to be released. A number of other colors and special editions were released later. The goal here is to collect photos of all the original Freehand 1’s, and have them displayed below. Special thanks to Brandon Jackson for allowing the use of his FH1 collection photos. If you have any FH1’s that we are missing in the archive please contact us, thank you.
* We have the release date as Jan 2001, but we do not know the exact month of release. If you have this information, please reach out to us!
Bionic with White caps. Duncan Crew Exclusive
Prototypes
Several prototypes were created using different responses. Positive and Negative Starbursts, and friction stickers. Below are some of the prototypes.
Glasseye Prototype Freehand 1. Notes from theglasslab.com: “Here’s a peek at what’s hopefully in store for the Clear Duncan Freehand. If you don’t know the whole story, Duncan was gracious enough to produce a Freehand model for me which would be run in an exclusive clear plastic. Steve had his guys run a test using the clear plastic and it came out all funky lookin. Looks to me like someone was having a good time with the molding machine. Ahem. So anyways, once they get them looking right (meaning clear with no dirt, swirls, or mold marks) Infinite Illusions will be carrying them. Now go put on your loin cloth and rejoice! Click on the pictures to enlarge them.“
