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| Tom Kuhn No Jive - Flying Camel - Smothers Fine Wines |
| Exhibit #5045 |
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| Type | Production |
| Shape | Concave )-( |
| Axle | Fixed |
| Finish | Stained |
| Color | Natural |
| Packaging | None |
| Construction | Three piece wood |
| Response | None |
| Diameter | 56mm |
| Width | 34mm |
| Gap | Fixed |
| Weight | 52.49gm |
| Condition | Mint |
| Date | 1984 |
| Owner | Rick Brough |
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The Tom Kuhn No Jive Smothers Fine Wines - Cabernet Sauvignon edition in a Flying Camel (Model F) configuration. The finish on this model is a lighter stained satin finish like that found on the Tom Kuhn Mandalas 1, 2, and 3 from the same time period.
The yo-yo, made by Lasercraft of Santa Rosa, California, featured a maple body, a birch transaxle sleeve, and tapered aluminum hex nuts (flat aluminum hex nuts were used on Kuhn yo-yos from 1977 to about 1981). Laser carved on both flat sides with "CABERNET SAUVIGNON" and a grape cluster with leaves. Interestingly, the Classic (known as "Model C") version of this same yo-yo came engraved with "CABERNET SAUVIGNON" on one side and "CHARDONNAY" on the oppositive side. Whether these different engraved versions were by design or the result of an assembly error at the origin is unknown. There is a prototype of this same yo-yo configuration but with "CHARDONNAY" engraved on both sides and a released version with "CHARDONNAY" on one side and "CABERNET SAUVIGNON" on the opposite side.
The Smothers Fine Wines Flying Camel version is challenging to find today. And for many of the same reasons that the Tom Kuhn Aspen from the same time period is so hard to find now, too. The yo-yo was sold exclusively by the Remick Ridge Vineyards wine tasting shop and gift store owned by the Smothers Brothers, in Kenwood, Sonoma County, California, 1984-1985. Production numbers are unknown, but based on Aspen numbers, it is likely the store sold 50-100 for about $18 to $25 each (about $53 to $74 in 2025); an expensive wooden yo-yo even in 1984. Remember too: this time period was four years before the Smothers Brothers program aired again on television, and it was the late Tom Smothers' first introduction of his non-speaking character the "Yo-Yo Man" to the viewing public with Dick Smothers serving as the voice of Yo-Yo Man. There was no yo-yo boom going on at that time.
Exactly how this model of yo-yo was sold, either stand alone, in a velour drawstring bag, in its own display box, or out of a counter-top display box that held 12 boxed yo-yos, is all a matter of conjecture (and much discussion). Tom sold custom, limited edition, and production yo-yos using all four different methods back then.
Recipe
Diameter: 56mm
Width: 34mm
Weight: 52.49gm
Response: None
Axle: Birch axle sleeve
Material: Maple, stained, satin finish
Original retail price: $18–$25 USD.
See also the Tom Kuhn SMO-BRO YO-ER yo-yo. | |
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