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However as someone who has been trained as an industrial designer, I have always loved well designed, and well made products. As a "stuff" lover I have written short reviews, here and there, on things I find beautiful: motorcycles, cars, furniture, knives, flashlights, spinners (I've always had to fidget with something - see my other posts on that subject). As as such I was lucky to get a sample of this spinning top from Massdrop, to review.
I have to say, without knowing anything about the intricacies of the world of tops (I can talk about spinners and knives, but not tops), that there is something strangely hypnotic and soothing in spinning this top, and watching it spin for minutes. I found myself doing this a few times, with my mind wandering while watching the top spin. Once I was spinning it, then the phone rang, and after a five minutes call, I was flabbergasted to realize the top was still spinning!
This top, from designer Mitch Lum (I've admired some of his non-spinning top work over the years; knives, pens, etc.) is a gorgeous object for sure (and I'm now afraid to fall in love with spin tops as a result), and tremendously enjoy the hypnotic and soothing effect it provides (is that what attracts people to this? If yes I get it now!).
This particular one has a perfect balance and weight distribution, which I guess bring long spin times; when it spins you think it's immobile! The brass is gorgeous, I think it will eventually get a nice patina.
The stem is very grippy, because of the pattern machined in this particular grade of aluminum (it's denser than regular aluminum), and that same pattern makes for a mesmerizing blur when the top spins. The tip is gorgeous, all black ceramic, it shines like liquid ink (I learned that's the bearing in Massdrop's description).
The overall shape of it, the overall look and design and finish, makes this correspond to the ideal spinning top I would see in my mind's eye. Bottom line, I don't know why or how, but I love it. Would I have bought it without experiencing one beforehand? Probably not. But now that I have one, and now that I've spun it, I just want to start again and again. Am I falling in a new rabbit hole?
Oh you got one :) Glad you like it. I hope you are going down a rabbit hole - come to my FB group and join in!
Couple comments - the core / grip is 7075 Aluminum (not stainless steel) - it's a high grade aluminum with a lot of strength and hardness compared to the cheaper alloys more commonly used. I'm glad you like how it looks spinning. I think that's one of the unique features of my designs and another reason I like my GunnerGrip so much. BTW, it's machined in, not etched.
The "bearing" is a ball bearing as opposed to a caged bearing. You're thinking of "bearing" like the bearings in a spinner. But the bearings literally that ceramic sphere that the top spins on. That gives it a much longer spin time than if it was just a pointy piece of metal.
Thanks for the review and I hope people are wondering "tops, what's up with that?" give this one a shot. I think people will really enjoy it!
Aloha! Mitch