slippery strings

[asdf1991]

one characteristic of durable strings is that they slide and come back right in place, so if i put oil or some kind of lubricant, wouldn't this help the string glide and reduce friction therefore enhance durability, of course only apply oil/lub to water resistant strings like luxilon.

im curious has anyone ever tried this, and if so what was the result.


also why does string which slide and come back are more durable, shouldn't the extra gliding cause extra friction, which SHOULD wear the strings out quicker?

 

[snoflewis]

one characteristic of durable strings is that they slide and come back right in place, so if i put oil or some kind of lubricant, wouldn't this help the string glide and reduce friction therefore enhance durability, of course only apply oil/lub to water resistant strings like luxilon.

im curious has anyone ever tried this, and if so what was the result.


also why does string which slide and come back are more durable, shouldn't the extra gliding cause extra friction, which SHOULD wear the strings out quicker?

good question...but actually, strings that are more durable like poly and kevlar are stiffer compared to natural gut and nylons, so they don't move around as much, which results in more spin on the ball. the strings don't actually return exactly in the spot they were in, but because of hte stiffness, they don't move as much, so string movement is pretty minimal. also, poly's don't notch as easily as softer strings because it's a stiffer, more durable material. once a string notches, the notches only get bigger as time goes on, but if the string doesnt notch...string life is prolonged.

as for your lubrication method, i think it would be a valid method as long as you oiled it everytime before playing...however, from my experiences w/ luxilons and poly, they don't break from shredding and freying, but rather from just snapping as a result of constant stretching...if that made any sense.

 

[Midlife crisis]

one characteristic of durable strings is that they slide and come back right in place, so if i put oil or some kind of lubricant, wouldn't this help the string glide and reduce friction therefore enhance durability, of course only apply oil/lub to water resistant strings like luxilon.

im curious has anyone ever tried this, and if so what was the result.

If you use a lubricant that is oil based, and then pick up dust and grit from the ball/court, the resultant mix is a lot like a grinding paste or rouge, which will wear out the strings much faster than if that dirt and grit didn't have something like the lubricant to make it stick to the strings.