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[ta0]

From Daniel Lassanske's collection, this top patented August 17, 1869:





I was patented by Thomas E. Sparks of Norwich, Connecticut (US Pat. 93760):



There are a couple of differences: it doesn't have a point to spin upside down and it does not have a grove on the rim. But it has the most important feature of the patent, the split bearing tip. This tip rotates independently, not just of the body, but also of the knob (that you hold when starting the top). From the patent: "The lower end of the spindle is slit or forked, for the purpose of resting astride any suitable line, as a thread, or the edge of a sword."

I do not have a sword or katana, but here is my recreation using a kitchen knife:

[JODA9395]

That's pretty neat. It looks like a gyroscope without the concave tip.

[Texture]

Wow, that's very interesting. I wonder what surfaces they were intended for originally? Mabye spinning them on the side of a wooden bowl? Or a pocket knife?

[Jeremy McCreary]

Very nice top!

Mechanically, if the stem is locked to the flywheel, it's the finger top equivalent of a bearing peg top, just with a cruder bearing and a stem in lieu of a crown. Where is that bearing exactly -- at the bottom of the flywheel where I see some oil?

[ta0]

Wow, that's very interesting. I wonder what surfaces they were intended for originally? Mabye spinning them on the side of a wooden bowl? Or a pocket knife?

Mostly to be used along a string. This was very likely inspired by the visit of Japanese Kyokugoma performers to the US. But this is not the way they do a wire walker or a sword walk (there is no gimmick on the koma).
I do have a photo I printed from an auction for this top from about 15 years ago that shows a different tip, and not the one on the patent. Perhaps it was sold with a tip cover that went over the forked tip. But it will spin fine on the ground with the forked tip.

Mechanically, if the stem is locked to the flywheel, it's the finger top equivalent of a bearing peg top, just with a cruder bearing and a stem in lieu of a crown. Where is that bearing exactly -- at the bottom of the flywheel where I see some oil?

There are two "bearings": the tip spins and, independently, the upper knob spins. These are just sleeve friction bearings. The tip seems to have little mass, so I'm guessing it only extends just beyond the first crimp on the tube.
I wouldn't call it a finger top as it's spun by wrapping a string and pulling while holding the knob.

[Jeremy McCreary]

There are two "bearings": the tip spins and, independently, the upper knob spins. These are just sleeve friction bearings. The tip seems to have little mass, so I'm guessing it only extends just beyond the first crimp on the tube.
I wouldn't call it a finger top as it's spun by wrapping a string and pulling while holding the knob.

So, can you get this top to stand by holding the stem with one hand and swiping the flywheel with the other, like a roulette wheel?

Question that's bugged me a long time, because I make and see so many of them: What the heck do you call a non-throwing top that needs a starter because you can't get it to stand by hand, perhaps as in this case? I'd also lump in tops that you can start by hand with limited success but really need a starter to reach their true play value.

As you know, this category also figures prominently in many big vintage top collections. Often, much of the play value resides in the starters themselves.

[ta0]

One clarification: the knob and the stem below the body/flywheel spin together. The stem between the knob and the body, where you wrap the string, spins with the body. The forked tip spins by itself.

So, can you get this top to stand by holding the stem with one hand and swiping the flywheel with the other, like a roulette wheel?

I cannot spin it fast enough to stand up by doing a roulette sweep while holding the knob.
I can succeed by holding the knob with my left hand while doing my strongest snap start of the rim.

Question that's bugged me a long time, because I make and see so many of them: What the heck do you call a non-throwing top that needs a starter because you can't get it to stand by hand, perhaps as in this case? I'd also lump in tops that you can start by hand with limited success but really need a starter to reach their true play value.
As you know, this category also figures prominently in many big vintage top collections. Often, much of the play value resides in the starters themselves.

Following Gould this would be a supported top (supported while starting it with a string). I prefer to call it a ripcord top (sounds more exciting than pull cord top and Beyblade players shout Rip It!  ).

[Jeremy McCreary]

Following Gould this would be a supported top (supported while starting it with a string). I prefer to call it a ripcord top (sounds more exciting than pull cord top and Beyblade players shout Rip It!  ).

Whenever I think about using Gould's "supported" term, I can't help adding "But wait, just during spin-up!". You couldn't either.

After all, a true top must be free to fall below critical speed. You support finger tops while twirling them. And while some extra tilt contol during spin-up can be a huge benefit at low scrape angles -- or when you really, really want a quiet sleeper -- starters are usually mostly about launch speed. All of which leaves me cold about "supported".

A year ago, I threw out a top classification based on starting method. Great discussion! After adding a few more methods I'd forgotten about, I think we came to a pretty useful system.

But I'm still looking for a 1- or 2-word catch-all to finish the sentence, "Well, its not a throwing top, and it doesn't really shine as a finger top, but it's still a nice ________."

Non-throwing, non-finger top? Starter top? Assisted top? High-speed ground top? Ralph?

Case in point: These tops have critical speeds far beyond anything I can reach by hand. And I've had lots of practice. But with the right starter, they stay up long enough to create some pretty interesting virtual surface and transparency effects (especially in person)...

[Iacopo]

That's an interesting top.  The top spinning on the katama probably is different, because it can walk along the edge. Who knows how they do...

[ta0]

That's an interesting top.  The top spinning on the katama probably is different, because it can walk along the edge. Who knows how they do...

Well, they treat it like a magician secret. If I knew for sure, I wouldn't publish it for respect to the performers
This is what I can say. I have seen it performed closed up and from different angles by Mr. Fujita and by Takechan and could not "see" any trick. Even when Takechan did it with two swords!



I remember that Ochan showed me the new sword he had got for the event but when I extended the hand to feel the blade he withdrew it immediately! Last year Taka had a miniature traveling version that was kind of funny and he let me inspect it:



He must have tried the trick about 8 times for the photo and was only once successful, so skill is certainly involved.

There is a US patent for a toy version of the trick, from 1867! It was no doubt inspired by the Japanese artists, although the patent doesn't mention them  The Matsu Gensui troop was touring Europe on those years and probably also the US. The toy idea is simple, with a deep groove where the top travels and a cup to hold it at the end of the sword. The nice thing is the starter built into the hand guard. The inventor was William Mullally of Boston, US Pat. 71,319, Nov. 26, 1867.

[Iacopo]

Well, they treat it like a magician secret.

I'm not too surprised.  It is something spectacular to see, and the trick not so obvious.  Magicians too are often jealous about their tricks.

[ta0]

For completeness, another patent for a toy sword to use with tops, US Pat. 1,274,295, issued July 20, 1918. This one is mostly about how to manufacture it cheaply from sheet metal but it's very similar to the one from 51 year earlier!  I wonder if there was another tour of Japanese performers 



The inventor, Robert John Logan, was from St. John in New Brunswick, (Dominion of) Canada, although the patent mentions that he is a subject of the King of Great Britain. A curious fact I just learned thanks to this, is that Canada wasn't an independent country until 1931 and only became a completely independent nation with its own constitution in 1982.