What's wrong with my GuHong?
I got a GuHong after seeing the recommendations on this forum and after seeing my friend's. I wanted a good cube to start speedcubing (I started recently, my averages are around a minute). It arrived 2-3 weeks ago (I got a white version from Lightake). The first thing I noticed was that the pieces themselves were not very well put together. I took it apart (before any lubing or anything) and I saw that the two halves of each piece, but mainly corner pieces, had a small, but noticeable, gap between them.
I did a bunch of solves to sort of break it in and then I took it to my friend so he could lube it. He used lubix and sort of looked like he knew what he was doing, applying some on the stretchy parts of the core and a tiny bit on the surface of one of the pieces themselves, and then spread it by just turning it a lot. So I took it home and did some more solves. Here's what I found:
- I can't get it to cut the advertised 45 degree cutting. Even for smaller angles, it just locks up and makes a big hole to look inside the cube, and the edge piece that is on the top (when doing a R' turn) looks ready to jump out.
- It simply isn't as smooth as his, which is also a GuHong (but black). It is already quite loose and it is not near as smooth.
- This one worries my the worst. After seeing all these reviews saying its very hard if to pop this cube, mine pops regularly. It could just be that I am very much a beginner and I turn the cube roughly, but even my friend with a GuHong has had it pop. I think it coincides with the fact that it locks up so much. When I play with my friends's cube, there is never a thought in my mind that it'll pop. I just transitions so smoothly that I never feel that a piece is in danger of popping. Mine, I have to make sure not to too anything too hard or fast (which is probably a big beginner mistake) or else I risk popping it or locking it up.
I am really starting to think that I got a counterfeit or some defect (not that Lightake would do that, but still) because I bought the cube, broke it in with a lot of solves, lubed it, and it performs so much worse then my friend's GuHong.