The handQuake 1.4b, manufactured January 1999 and released in February 1999, was hspin's sophomore follow-up to their freshman release of the handQuake 1.4 in November, 1998. Supposedly 400 were made of this 1.4b model.
The officially released handQuake series -- consisting of version 1.4 and version 1.4b -- were two slimline, flywheel models that used a size F ball bearing axle. The 1.4b version came with three washers: 0.1 mm, 0.2 mm, and 0.3 mm. The washers let you alter the string gap width so you could adjust the playing style/responsiveness of the yo-yo. It also came with one spare axle ring which was a necessary part on both sides next to the ball bearing. It was inserted when it left the factory.
The 1.4b version had the following improvements made over the 1.4 version:
• Rim weight was increased 15% with the use of bronze rings (steel rings were used on the 1.4 version).
• Edges were smoothed out.
• Higher precision in the production of the axle parts.
• Result: longer spin times.
It is often erroneously claimed that the 1.4b comprised one black halve and one blue halve. However, that was not the case for the entire run of this model. Some were released in all blue and some where released in all black such as the model seen in this exhibit.
Of historical interest... Hspin was a Swiss yo-yo maker headed by Chris Kayatz. Though slimline metal yo-yos were not uncommon during the yo-yo boom from 1998-2000, Chris offered to players around the world a different sort of approach to metal-work by offering bi-metal yo-yos. The handQuake is historically significant because it was the first ever yo-yo model that had a bi-metal design. That is, an aluminum body combined with a steel (1.4 version) or bronze (1.4b version) weight ring press-fitted into the perimeter of each halve.
Original retail price: $120 Swiss Francs (about $80 US)
