Cube Collectors Club

[qwr]

I'm making this "club" so I can finally have a place to talk about my old cubes I've bought without putting them in other threads (I also made an account on twistypuzzles forum, but they seem to have this weird policy on "knockoff" puzzles like pretty much any chinese speedcube)

What cubes do you collect? I like to collect old Dayan and Alpha cubes, because those are the cubes I wanted when I started cubing (Mainly the Alpha V and the Guhong/Zhanchi), but I have stopped buying those because I have bought all the ones that I am interested in and are readily available. I also like buying 2x2s for some reason because they are all unique in feel (compare: little magic, valk2, xinghen, chuwen, wittwo, old dayan, they are all different feeling). I also like non-WCA puzzles that are simple in concept but not trivial, like cuboids, curvy copter, kilominx, master pyraminx, master skewb, etc. I want to get eventually a rex cube, helicopter cube, mosaic cube or equivalent, and maybe some constrained cubes (I find bandaging very frustrating though).

 

[Tabe]

I'm making this "club" so I can finally have a place to talk about my old cubes I've bought without putting them in other threads (I also made an account on twistypuzzles forum, but they seem to have this weird policy on "knockoff" puzzles like pretty much any chinese speedcube)

Yeah, that policy is really inconsistent, too. Oftentimes, it seems to be more important who is posting rather than the puzzle being posted.

 

[EngiNerdBrian]

I'm in. I definitely belong in the collectors club. I am a non-wca collector and also a budget cube collector. Non-WCA cube designs are timeless in terms of pure intuitive slow puzzling. There are so many unique designs and they just look amazing on a shelf...knowing how to solve them with twisty puzzle fundamentals is the icing on the cake.

Since my first cubes required full wrist turns modern budget cubes to me are absolutely mind blowing. I wish I had an original Guhong/Zanchi and other late 00's cubes that rocketed cubing hardware to new levels but that was right when I left cubing to focus on my new career. Now, because cubes are so cheap (on a relatively successful adult's budget) I want to have many of them for future reference...Seeing how hardware has progressed is just so fun to me. Similar to guitar picks, drum sticks, running shoes, and writing utensils I use ever day, I really enjoy the FEEL of different cubes. Long ago I committed to mindfulness and the different mechanics/feelings of individual cube models is so exciting to explore. While I know having many cubes won't make me faster or improve my times I gain a ton of enjoyment from just holding and noticing the different motions when turning different cubes. The subtle differences is immensely satisfying.

 

[qwr]

Since my first cubes required full wrist turns modern budget cubes to me are absolutely mind blowing. I wish I had an original Guhong/Zanchi and other late 00's cubes that rocketed cubing hardware to new levels but that was right when I left cubing to focus on my new career. Now, because cubes are so cheap (on a relatively successful adult's budget) I want to have many of them for future reference...Seeing how hardware has progressed is just so fun to me. Similar to guitar picks, drum sticks, running shoes, and writing utensils I use ever day, I really enjoy the FEEL of different cubes. Long ago I committed to mindfulness and the different mechanics/feelings of individual cube models is so exciting to explore. While I know having many cubes won't make me faster or improve my times I gain a ton of enjoyment from just holding and noticing the different motions when turning different cubes. The subtle differences is immensely satisfying.

It really is fun to look at. You should try different 2x2s. Every single 2x2 I own feels different which is quite amazing given that many modern 3x3s are all smooth and magnetic.

 

[EngiNerdBrian]

It really is fun to look at. You should try different 2x2s. Every single 2x2 I own feels different which is quite amazing given that many modern 3x3s are all smooth and magnetic.

Definitely! I am not an adamant 2x2 solver though...I upgraded from my old school Eastsheen 2x2 to a modern MGC. Then I got a Tengyun and the differences was quite noticeable. I still prefer the MGC for speed but use the Tengyun when my wife is around to be less obnoxious (quiet). What 2x2s do you recommend for a variety of feels?

 

[qwr]

Well the Eastsheen 2x2 is just bad for speed solving. As of writing this I avg about 6.1 seconds so not fast but not casual solving. I described some of the 2x2 feels in my 2x2 main poll. The cube that stands out the most to me is the Valk2; it is very heavy and smooth and a slow ootb. The MGC and the Tengyun are the two modern 2x2s I don't have actually, but I think I will buy them someday. The WitTwo v1 is an excellent rough scratchy ootb 2x2 that you could still probably main today because the corner cutting is that good. And if I can convince my friend to sell me his old plastic dayan, I will finally know if it is as good as people claim it is (I think the mechanism, which is prone to popping on loose tensions, probably isn't that good)

 

[Jam88]

Well the Eastsheen 2x2 is just bad for speed solving. As of writing this I avg about 6.1 seconds so not fast but not casual solving. I described some of the 2x2 feels in my 2x2 main poll. The cube that stands out the most to me is the Valk2; it is very heavy and smooth and a slow ootb. The MGC and the Tengyun are the two modern 2x2s I don't have actually, but I think I will buy them someday. The WitTwo v1 is an excellent rough scratchy ootb 2x2 that you could still probably main today because the corner cutting is that good. And if I can convince my friend to sell me his old plastic dayan, I will finally know if it is as good as people claim it is (I think the mechanism, which is prone to popping on loose tensions, probably isn't that good)

Where can you get the WitTwo v1 from?

 

[qwr]

Where can you get the WitTwo v1 from?

I got mine from ziicube for $2 on sale.

 

[Jam88]

I got mine from ziicube for $2 on sale.

thanks

 

[qwr]

I'm in. I definitely belong in the collectors club. I am a non-wca collector and also a budget cube collector. Non-WCA cube designs are timeless in terms of pure intuitive slow puzzling. There are so many unique designs and they just look amazing on a shelf...knowing how to solve them with twisty puzzle fundamentals is the icing on the cake.

Since my first cubes required full wrist turns modern budget cubes to me are absolutely mind blowing. I wish I had an original Guhong/Zanchi and other late 00's cubes that rocketed cubing hardware to new levels but that was right when I left cubing to focus on my new career. Now, because cubes are so cheap (on a relatively successful adult's budget) I want to have many of them for future reference...Seeing how hardware has progressed is just so fun to me. Similar to guitar picks, drum sticks, running shoes, and writing utensils I use ever day, I really enjoy the FEEL of different cubes. Long ago I committed to mindfulness and the different mechanics/feelings of individual cube models is so exciting to explore. While I know having many cubes won't make me faster or improve my times I gain a ton of enjoyment from just holding and noticing the different motions when turning different cubes. The subtle differences is immensely satisfying.

I should mention too that half the fun for me is setting up the puzzle by tensioning and lubing it. This can turn a bad puzzle into a decent one and a decent one into an excellent one. Some older cubes come completely dry and have very harsh and grindy turning, the kind that feels like it would damage the mechanism over time. But just put in a tiny bit of traxxas onto the pieces and after only a few turns the feeling changes rapidly, becoming nicely smooth and very speedsolvable. Some puzzles come with a sandy "new cube" feeling too that's nice to experience.

My go-to lubes right now are traxxas 50k as a thicker piece lube and core lube and silk for a smooth cushioned lube. I plan on getting the Angstrom lubes to slow some of my 2x2s down because I felt a Angstrom cube a long time ago and it had a nice controlled feeling without being as gummy as traxxas.

 

[EngiNerdBrian]

I should mention too that half the fun for me is setting up the puzzle by tensioning and lubing it. This can turn a bad puzzle into a decent one and a decent one into an excellent one. Some older cubes come completely dry and have very harsh and grindy turning, the kind that feels like it would damage the mechanism over time. But just put in a tiny bit of traxxas onto the pieces and after only a few turns the feeling changes rapidly, becoming nicely smooth and very speedsolvable. Some puzzles come with a sandy "new cube" feeling too that's nice to experience.

My go-to lubes right now are traxxas 50k as a thicker piece lube and core lube and silk for a smooth cushioned lube. I plan on getting the Angstrom lubes to slow some of my 2x2s down because I felt a Angstrom cube a long time ago and it had a nice controlled feeling without being as gummy as traxxas.

Ahh yes. I went through a phase this year where I became obsessed with magnetizing and setting up cubes myself. I have 6 original YLMs specifically for this reason. It was a ton of fun reverting back to the old days of cubing where all the cubes came DIY and we had to tinker and build them ourselves...like erector sets but for cubes! Traxxas is classic. My college roommate circa 2009 raced RC cars so that was always my lube of choice back then; it's cool to see that Traxxas has stood the test of time! The Dignatis/Gravitas lubes are amazing but if over applied they can get very gummy, a little goes a long way. My 2 favorite cubes are still an original cubicle Angstrom YLM and a YLM I magnetized with a black face + Angstrom lubes.

 

[qwr]

You are lucky to know about traxxas in 2009. Most people like me were still using spray on silicone and that stuff sucked. I think the bad ones could actually melt the plastic.

 

[DNF_Cuber]

You are lucky to know about traxxas in 2009. Most people like me were still using spray on silicone and that stuff sucked. I think the bad ones could actually melt the plastic.

Yeah, it's amazing that we had traxxas all this time and it is the only one modern speedcubers would touch, even though it wasn't used that much in the early days.

 

[EngiNerdBrian]

You are lucky to know about traxxas in 2009. Most people like me were still using spray on silicone and that stuff sucked. I think the bad ones could actually melt the plastic.

Definitely! I was using CRC and Vaseline at the time and I recall it just destroying the plastic in my cubes. I remember my roommate was setting up his RC diffs before a race while I was complaining & making a scene about my cubes when he handed me some Traxxas casually as an experiment...I never looked back!

 

[SH03L4C3]

I use Dnm 37. Oh I mean WD 40

Sent from my SM-G950U1 using Tapatalk

 

[qwr]

So I recently acquired two puzzles I've been eyeing for a while: a black Alpha V and a WitEden/Oskar's Mixup Cube. Interestingly the mixup cube came with a promotion for a Chinese TV show. While the Alpha V is nothing new (crunchy and loud old speedcube), I can't resist saying some words about the mixup cube. It's one of those designs that seems impossible but is so amazing in its simplicity and concept. The first time you do the 45 degree move it will blow your mind because a 3x3 is not supposed to move like that, yet it does! It will stretch your mind and I definitely recommend it for anyone interested in non-WCA puzzles. I haven't solved it yet but I'm looking forward to solving and maybe writing a guide on my method.

 

[qwr]

Here's a trivial dilemma I have: when I have old cubes I don't like the completely dry and rough feeling they have, but I try not to use modern lubricants to maintain an "authentic" feel. However I use traxxas on the core anyway because I hate spring noise. Idk if it's authentic (probably for you @EngiNerdBrian ! ) because I didn't even know about core lubricants and I would've used useless silicone spray lubricant designed for hinges and metal parts. But traxxas was a thing back then so I think it's authentic.

 

[ender9994]

People used to just take non-cube lubes and use them on puzzles, so I think any industrial metal-on-plastic lubricant would qualified back in the day. I remember trying to put some sort of light gear lube on the core of my type-a and having it work pretty well. The lack of collection pictures in the thread is depressing. I love seeing how people arrange their shelves.

 

[qwr]

People used to just take non-cube lubes and use them on puzzles, so I think any industrial metal-on-plastic lubricant would qualified back in the day. I remember trying to put some sort of light gear lube on the core of my type-a and having it work pretty well. The lack of collection pictures in the thread is depressing. I love seeing how people arrange their shelves.

I considered WD-40 back then but didn't try it.

I have a mini shelf but half my cubes are scattered around my desk and elsewhere in the house in boxes and laying around. I don't think you will find it very pleasing.

 

[Nir1213]

I use Dnm 37. Oh I mean WD 40

Sent from my SM-G950U1 using Tapatalk

please read this cause i dont want to rant about WD-40 as lube for cubing.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Cubers/comments/8fv43a