The Story Of Damascus FS

When we made damascus steel with titanium rims, it cost us a lot to source the material needed to create this project, we especially had trouble finding metal rods over 50mm in diameter to make the yoyo. We made the decision to add a ring to make it a full size bimetal yoyo instead of making an undersized yoyo for our fans. 

The first decision is the size of the yoyo, we want it to be full sized, so over 55mm. Due to damascus steel being a very dense material, we need a simplistic design while keeping the yoyofriends tradition of high performance. We decided to use the V shape as our base. 

Next is axle, the manufacturing team and the players are split between 8mm axle vs 6mm axle. We realized if we use an 8mm axle, we would need to add more material in the center hub, due to the material being so dense, it would take too much weight from the rim and move it to the center, thus decreasing the power and stability. We decided to ensure the max performance and aesthetics, we will go with a 6mm axle and shift all the weight to the rim. 

 For the gap, we decided to go wider due to the increase in slack tricks which requires thicker strings. Players usually prefer fat to XL strings over normal so we adapted to that. 

After 3 months of designing, we finally got the CAD ready. It looks simplistic and powerful. 

Now we got to source the material. The hardest part of this project. We know from last time the market only has 50mm diameter rods. Damascus steel is a very hard material and to make 50mm diameter source material is already troublesome, to do this project we would need it increased to 60 mm. We have tried contacting every damascus steel knife factory we know to find the material, after countless phone calls we finally found a factory that is willing to make it. After another long wait the material finally came.

With the design and material ready it is time to face another challenge, manufacturing. Most of the weight has to be placed on the rim. We have to go as thin as possible on the wall to reduce middle weight. We decided for the wall we will go as thin as 0.5mm. However, going this way will have a huge risk of material warping. We tested out the design on aluminum first and found out there is vibe on the yoyo. We double checked on the design again and found no mistake, so we started trying on the machine again and again. We found out that the thinness on the hub is affecting the success rate, so we solved this problem by changing the rpm and the program input of the machine.

 Now we move on to the real deal, damascus steel, last time we wasted many tools to machine it. Now with a bigger diameter material, thus adding another layer of difficulty. After 3 hours of manufacturing we have finally succeeded and made a small successful run for testing. 

Now for player testing, we all loved the yoyo, it can handle tricks in the vertical plane very well, due to the nature and density of the material the yoyo felt a little light despite its weight at 65.6g. Further enhancing its agility on top of the V shape. However every yoyo we make has to handle all types of tricks, both Tony and Tomoki felt that in the horizontal plane it lacks a bit of power while Ryota felt its perfect as is and want to keep the lightness feel of the damascus steel. In the end team leader Yiyang (Philip) decided to increase the weight to 65.8g to enhance the power just a little while keeping the current feeling

 It is yet another long journey. but we think the result is worth it, bringing damascus steel pattern in its all, full size glory. 

The Damascus FS Specs：
Weight: 65.8grams 
Material: Damascus Steel 
Diameter: 55.8mm 
Width: 45.5mm 
Gap width: 4.6mm  
Axle: M4*6mm 
Bearing: Spingear NSK Bearing 
Pads: 19.2*14.2*1.2mm

Damascus FS pre order is here! 
Preorder time window: From 4/6 8 PM EST to 4/16 8PM EST.

Damascus FS Content：
1. yoyofriends real leather bag（2 slot）
2. Install with Spingear NSK bearing(with an extra ceramic bearing)
4. Damascus Certification X 1
5. The letter”Damascus FS”logo will on the rim
6. Pre-sale price: $479.99
Frist deposit: $144 final payment $336
7. Official price：$599.99USD

We will start the production on April 17th.
Estimated finished date is around June 10th, 2024 ~ June 17th,2024

Thanks!

 

 https://yoyofriends.store/products/pre-order-damas-fs

NOTE: 

This is only the deposit of pre-order Damascus. 

The pre-order time will end on April 16th. The deposit is not acceptable to refund after that date.
The rest payment link will be announced when the yoyo is almost already.The rest of the payment should be paid within 30 days after the production is completed or treated as the abandonment of the purchased.