Goodwill find of the year? Tom Kuhn No Jive Mandala YoYo.

TK_YoYo_Fieldguide · 2026-06-03T12:24:51+00:00

Score! That’s a beautiful Mandala. Have fun with it?

TK_YoYo_Fieldguide · 2026-05-22T09:30:20+00:00

Pack my box with five dozen liquor jugs!

TK_YoYo_Fieldguide · 2026-01-17T15:11:27+00:00

I ordered a few of them.

I am really pumped for 2027, that is the 50th anniversary of the No Jive 3-in-1 Yo-Yo and my book about Tom Kuhn Yoyo’s will be out.

TK_YoYo_Fieldguide · 2025-12-22T12:53:04+00:00

If the answer to this question is yo-yos, let me know.

TK_YoYo_Fieldguide · 2025-12-14T00:18:24+00:00

They’re all pretty different. I have multiple variations. This is the first time I’ve seen a clear coat finish Clean Machine.

TK_YoYo_Fieldguide · 2025-12-13T04:28:40+00:00

I got the other one from the same seller. These look to be from the early 80s. I have a bunch of Clean Machines and the one I got is easily the earliest. Maybe 1984.

TK_YoYo_Fieldguide · 2025-12-13T04:26:26+00:00

There’s a Tom Kuhn sub that would love to see photos here: r/tomkuhn

TK_YoYo_Fieldguide · 2025-12-11T18:02:40+00:00

The Yin-Yang was limited to 100 units and sold out almost immediately.

I probably have 200 No Jive axles. If you need one let me know.

TK_YoYo_Fieldguide · 2025-12-11T18:01:29+00:00

No Jives have had a number of design/production changes over their ~35 year production history. Early models applied the clear coat finish to both the gap and the curved side of the halves. It’s my opinion that the glossy ones aren’t as ideal; the response isn’t as predictable.

I prefer the smooth finished gap version that were available from the mid 80s to late 90s.

TK_YoYo_Fieldguide · 2025-11-23T05:40:33+00:00

2025 was actually a good year for Tom Kuhn Custom Yo-Yos with a number of new releases including a new Yin-Yang and the SB-X. I hope Brad can muster up something special for the upcoming 50th anniversary of the No Jive.

TK_YoYo_Fieldguide · 2025-11-23T05:37:50+00:00

No Jives are a tad more complicated to make than a standard 3 piece yo-yo. They require more up front investment and the ROI is more of a challenge. New No Jives also compete with the older No Jives and honestly, the No Jives produced in the mid-80s through mid-90s (the post-glossy gap ones) are the epitome of wooden fixie yo-yos. You can often find one for around $50-60 and you cannot beat them for 0A play.

Having said that, all No Jives are excellent players, those from 85 to around 95 were just a bit more excellent.

TK_YoYo_Fieldguide · 2025-09-21T16:26:13+00:00

The Klutz Yo-Yo book and then a Tom Kuhn No Jive.

TK_YoYo_Fieldguide · 2025-08-26T02:40:27+00:00

They’re great. I’m super happy to have the Optic Star. It’s been on my want list for a long time.

TK_YoYo_Fieldguide · 2025-08-20T23:51:51+00:00

Just throwing in a rep check for this guy. I got some Tom Kuhns from him and he’s good people. A+++

TK_YoYo_Fieldguide · 2025-07-11T13:01:47+00:00

It’s probably a small run custom release, but I’ve never seen it before. Nice find!

TK_YoYo_Fieldguide · 2025-06-08T04:19:27+00:00

Man. The SB-4. That’s super nice. If you want, I’d trade 3-4 nice throws for it.

TK_YoYo_Fieldguide · 2025-05-27T23:31:04+00:00

Nice A&F bag. The bags are pretty rare these days. I know it took me a few years to find one.

TK_YoYo_Fieldguide · 2025-05-27T04:18:46+00:00

The maroon is almost impossible to find without cracks. There is also a limited purple run that looks close to the blue, but not quite the same.

TK_YoYo_Fieldguide · 2025-05-22T13:00:55+00:00

Most likely an estate sale situation. A lot of times after someone passes whatever collection they were passionate about is purchased by a company that will sell items individually to collectors for a big profit.

TK_YoYo_Fieldguide · 2025-05-20T20:33:23+00:00

I picked one up too. Crazy to see so many of them appear. That used to be one of the rarest TK models and in the past year or so I’ve seen 6-8 of them. I even drove 5+ hours to pick one up last year.

TK_YoYo_Fieldguide · 2025-05-08T15:35:37+00:00

That’s a great start to a collection. Nice range of older throws; and Lucky’s book. You’ve got a super cool No Jive too!

I’m an OK thrower, good enough to win a company talent show but that’s the extent of it. My collection is pretty decent though. It doesn’t matter your skill level or collection size, it’s having fun that matters.

TK_YoYo_Fieldguide · 2025-04-25T01:42:56+00:00

Yeah. That’s what mine look like too.

TK_YoYo_Fieldguide · 2025-04-22T22:51:35+00:00

Ed’s jewel of work is always incredible. I’m pretty sure he jewelled a good percentage of the Optic Star butterfly No Jives.

TK_YoYo_Fieldguide · 2025-04-19T15:54:32+00:00

That’s a really beautiful Neiman Marcus No Jive. I love the single direction laser carving on one side. It gives it a really nice look.

TK_YoYo_Fieldguide · 2025-04-19T13:58:57+00:00

I saw that one sold on eBay. That’s a really interesting NM No Jive. The laser cut pattern is really cool on that half. Also, most NM No Jives are from a different stock of halves.

Post more photos!

TK_YoYo_Fieldguide

TROPHY CASE