IV
Regular
I actually started with badmephisto and I just recently learned to do beginner without looking at the instuctions. As a result, I'll give myself a week more with this method before I move on to F2L.
New to the game, choosing my first speedcube!
- Thread starter IV
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I actually started with badmephisto and I just recently learned to do beginner without looking at the instuctions. As a result, I'll give myself a week more with this method before I move on to F2L.
DaBear
Regular
The Ghosthand I is basically an F I, thats probably the comparison you're hearing.
The F II is considered far superior to the F I because the F I tends to degrade over time. Both are very similar cubes otherwise. F II is a bit lighter and faster though.
As far as lube goes, you can pick up Jig-a-loo at a Home Depot, same with CRC. I prefer Jig-a-loo because Silicone based lubes(CRC) tend to build up excess silicone and get sticky over time and you have to clean them(I know I'm lazy). Another option is shock oil which is very comparable to Jig-a-loo in my opinion, maybe slightly faster, the problem with it is you have to be careful with how much is put in, too much shock oil will make the cube very sticky. Jig-a-loo you tend to have more leeway, just be sure to not let Jig-a-loo sit without working it in as the lubricant it uses can melt plastic for the first couple of minutes, aka your cube will fuse in position.
The F II is considered far superior to the F I because the F I tends to degrade over time. Both are very similar cubes otherwise. F II is a bit lighter and faster though.
As far as lube goes, you can pick up Jig-a-loo at a Home Depot, same with CRC. I prefer Jig-a-loo because Silicone based lubes(CRC) tend to build up excess silicone and get sticky over time and you have to clean them(I know I'm lazy). Another option is shock oil which is very comparable to Jig-a-loo in my opinion, maybe slightly faster, the problem with it is you have to be careful with how much is put in, too much shock oil will make the cube very sticky. Jig-a-loo you tend to have more leeway, just be sure to not let Jig-a-loo sit without working it in as the lubricant it uses can melt plastic for the first couple of minutes, aka your cube will fuse in position.
IV
Regular
I was really supposing that Ghosthand was just a cooler name than F-II and therefore a seemingly more interesting and cool cube.
But just like most things, that isn't the case.
I ordered a Shengen F-II and Ghosthand stickers(because I've heard the stock stickers are crap and the Ghosthand matte finish looks cool).
But just like most things, that isn't the case.
I ordered a Shengen F-II and Ghosthand stickers(because I've heard the stock stickers are crap and the Ghosthand matte finish looks cool).
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Edward
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I wouldn't. My Ghost hand is better than my F2 (RIP F2. You were no match for the car window)
DaBear
Regular
i feel as if that is quite a story
IV
Regular
I sense an act of frustration and hilarity at work here.
Ghosthand is awful... the first one.. the stickers are awful, the plastic is very poor.. its a bad cube. Id reccomend a type C over the ghosthand. AV is good, especially after modding. The stickers aren't great, but cubesmith.com can fix that easy. I would actually reccomend a what a previous post say about stick with you rubiks brand. If you don't know about the lube crc or jigaloo, then you probably should try that before going with a diy. But since you already buy the cube, oh well! Lol. The f ii is very good as well, but stickers are good, but I don't use this cube much anymore because I haven't make cubesmith order to try the f ii sticker... I think av is best cube. When I learn to speedcube, I use rubiks brand and it actually got pretty smooth after a while and with all the lockup frustration, I learned to turn slower and acurate and it improved lookahead... I would not be as fast today if I had an av lol. Smooth turning, f ii. Fast and little lockup, av. Goto cubesmith for stickers!
puzzlemaster
Veteran
I have tried both the F-II and the AV. For me, the F-II is better than the AV but the GuHong is just so so much better. It can move so fast and with shock oil it is absolutely perfect.
Edward
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Acctually it's not. I was slinging my bag around (thin plastic). There was a small hole in the bag, and it got ripped open from the momentum. The cube flew out of the bag (along with some gummy worms and a Gatorade) about 50 feet smack into a car window. The cube shattered into a flurry of sugar covered pieces across the road. A homeless man was across the street. The car was white. It was about 8:30 PM. It was a saturday. I was wearing jeans, a plaid shirt, and nike's. I got to sit in the front seat because it was my week. I whistled for a cab. When it came near the license plate said never gonna give you up, never gonna let you down. I eventually did become the very best like no one ever was. Feels good man...
IV
Regular
I see a lot of opinions that are in direct opposition to other opinions.
A-V vs. F-II
Then again, the purchase set me back less than $20.
I pay $60 or more for one yo-yo.
This hobby is drastically cheaper than my other one.
$20 is chump change compared to what I'm used to. I don't see why I can't try out other cubes in the future.
A-V vs. F-II
Then again, the purchase set me back less than $20.
I pay $60 or more for one yo-yo.
This hobby is drastically cheaper than my other one.
$20 is chump change compared to what I'm used to. I don't see why I can't try out other cubes in the future.
Ask 10 people here, you're likely to get 10 different answers.
And you're correct- there's no reason why you can't get another cube in the future. The cubes you're looking at are of comparable quality, so just go with one. Or both. It's really not too big of a deal.
FatBoyXPC
Veteran
There has been some chatter that Ghosthand cubes are "F type" cubes. Personally, I use an FII as my main speedcube, and have used a GHI and GHII. Had I ordered a GHI or GHII before I ordered my FII, I would have been satisfied. My cube progression was: storebought(5 or so of these)->Type A/B(Hybrid)->FII. The Hybrid might have had some potential had my excessive use of Jig-a-loo not killed the plastic.
Honestly if all you want is a fast, smooth turning cube, that can cut corners, I recommend any of the following: GHI, GHII, FI, FII, AV, Haiyan, Haiyan Memory, Dayan GuHong. I'm sure I've missed some but those are by far the most popular.
At your speed you will not see much of a difference in the Ghosthand and F type cubes.
I recently received an AV and Dayan GuHong, but I haven't been able to test them out yet (been busy all week).
I recommend you visit:
Speedsolving Wiki - a lot of great information here ranging from hardware, solve methods, and other great links
Stefan Pochmann's Speedcubes.net - information about various twisty puzzles and associated items (like timers)
Honestly if all you want is a fast, smooth turning cube, that can cut corners, I recommend any of the following: GHI, GHII, FI, FII, AV, Haiyan, Haiyan Memory, Dayan GuHong. I'm sure I've missed some but those are by far the most popular.
At your speed you will not see much of a difference in the Ghosthand and F type cubes.
I recently received an AV and Dayan GuHong, but I haven't been able to test them out yet (been busy all week).
I recommend you visit:
Speedsolving Wiki - a lot of great information here ranging from hardware, solve methods, and other great links
Stefan Pochmann's Speedcubes.net - information about various twisty puzzles and associated items (like timers)
IV
Regular
I had LOTS of fun reading the articles on the different brands, so many different styles and companies are involved.
Is the lettering system just a way of simplifying what the cubes are really called in their asian counterpart languages? Really, it just seems that the different letters differentiate the different brands and styles from eachother but the only source for the letters seems to be the community itself and a few of the shops.
hic0057
Veteran
For a good cube I recommend Av.It feels alot faster then the fii but the Av is a very noise cube.With Lube DO NOT USE WD-40. Anything made by them will destroy your cube. Also buy from lightake instead of C4Y. C4Y got very expensive shipping but lightake I've heard that some of the cube are missing thing like part of an edge or something.
convinsa
Regular
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try a dayan 2
FatBoyXPC
Veteran
I think for the most part the whole lettering system denotes which brand, but I know that is not in full. For example, Types B and F are both made by Sheng En (B sucked, F was much better but when compared to FII it seems like there shouldn't be a comparison). I think I've read somewhere that Type A is made by GuoJia (I might have butchered that spelling). You should also check out this thread as it contains explanations for abbreviations on Lightake.com and has several links to the various cube types (and they have free shipping).
IV
Regular
I bought from Cube Depot, they're a USA based company so it shouldn't take too long. It also said that their cube was a genuine Sheng En.
I'll be picking up some silicone lube to use on most of my cubes as damaged plastic is never good. I can always clean it up.
By the bye... anyone with a white cube.
Check out my flickr.
www.flickr.com/interverse
Those splattered and textured plastic yo-yos are plastic dye jobs.
If you'd like a dyed cube, hit me up.
It's not like a paint, it's an actual dye. The plastic looks like it was meant to be that color from that point on.
FatBoyXPC
Veteran
You could probably set yourself up a small little business dying the white cubes. The GuHong stickerless cube had some chatter about it.
As for lube: I recommend something like shock fluid or possibly this new Lubix, it seems to have high reviews. I'm curious as to what lubes you used with your yo-yo hobby and also what types of yo-yo's you had? The only brand I'm familiar with is the all popular Duncan lol.
Is there any way you could die the cube on just the side exposed instead of each individual cubie? It would be legal that way. According to the WCA if you can see the color of a cubie without being able to see the sticker side it's illegal (I paraphrased that a bit). Basically the one completely tile/paint/stickerless cube right now isn't legal because you can do half a U turn and see the colors of the cubies by looking at the sides of the cubies.
As for lube: I recommend something like shock fluid or possibly this new Lubix, it seems to have high reviews. I'm curious as to what lubes you used with your yo-yo hobby and also what types of yo-yo's you had? The only brand I'm familiar with is the all popular Duncan lol.
Is there any way you could die the cube on just the side exposed instead of each individual cubie? It would be legal that way. According to the WCA if you can see the color of a cubie without being able to see the sticker side it's illegal (I paraphrased that a bit). Basically the one completely tile/paint/stickerless cube right now isn't legal because you can do half a U turn and see the colors of the cubies by looking at the sides of the cubies.
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Yes We Can!
Veteran
As you are a beginner, I suggest a type C.
I've been seeing this thread for a while now, and seeming as you said you average 2:30 - 3:00, you shouldn't really get a good DIY cube until you break the 1 minute mark. You wont truly see what an AV, FII or GuHong or whatever you're gonna buy can do to your speed until you're doing 4LLL. I'm not really sure if someone's already said what I've just said but I can't really be bothered to look through the whole thread lol. So yeah, stick with your storebought/rubik's brand until you start to be getting lower times, under 1 minute.
