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[ta0]

These are four very well played peg tops my wife brought me back from Uruguay.  They are narrower than other tops I have from that country.  She bought them from two different street vendors selling at the edge of the traditional black neighborhood in Montevideo, so they may be more typical of that part of town.  Their shape is reminiscent of drums used in the Candombe music that originated there.



One of them is almost missing a tip, but closer inspection shows that it was rammed in:



The wood around the tip has split.  This matches the theory I have of how tops can split in two during battle: when they are struck from above the tip is pushed in by the ground, splitting the top from the tip up.  This would happen with cheap tops, specially those made by hammering a nail for a tip, thus starting the crack.  In fact, the crown of this top has what look as several battle scars.

[Joel Norris]

Wicked tops!

[the Earl of Whirl]

I love that fact that they are well played!

It is surprising to me that they are so slender.  Maybe part of the reason they like that shape is because the tops are more deadly that way?

The rammed in tip and the split wood around it surely does seem to lend itself to the "split top from the bottom" theory.

[jim in paris]

hello!
these tops have a story to tell! what about the wood ? heavy ?
any chance to be the mythical "guava wood"?

jim

[ta0]

hello!
these tops have a story to tell! what about the wood ? heavy ?
any chance to be the mythical "guava wood"?

jim

No guava wood here.  The woods vary from medium-light to medium-heavy.

Yes, if they could talk they would tell us some interesting stories . . .

[ta0]

By now I have found enough examples of these tops to know that they are traditional Uruguayan tops, even though I don't recall seeing them while I grew up there.
Here is a video that a young top player from there, Brandon, sent me:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=19l3RpnAPso

I know Jeremy must be pulling his hair at the aspect ratio of these tops

[paxl13]

This is cool!!! Remind me of the Hornet 

[Jeremy McCreary]

These are four very well played peg tops my wife brought me back from Uruguay.  They are narrower than other tops I have from that country.  She bought them from two different street vendors selling at the edge of the traditional black neighborhood in Montevideo, so they may be more typical of that part of town.  Their shape is reminiscent of drums used in the Candombe music that originated there.

Wonderful tops, ta0! Maybe we should call them "Candombes" after the cool drum connection.

I know Jeremy must be pulling his hair at the aspect ratio of these tops

But I'm an equal-opportunity top maker! All aspect ratios are beautiful. Just depends on...
1. How you want the top you're designing to look?
2. What you want it to do, and how well?
3. Which has priority -- form or function?

So what were the Candombe top makers after? Given the battle scars, have to wonder if a particular battle style drove the high aspect ratios -- one valuing fast precession over long spin time or quiet sleep.

Then again, the tops could have been designed to "dance" to Candombe music in some sense.