Blackburne Double Strung Racquets

[CaliTennis85]

Hello All,

Has anyone played with the Blackburne Double Strung Racquets?

I have seen others talk about it on this forum, but only as to weather or not it is ITF/USTA approved. From what I have found online, it is approved.

How well does it play? Spin? Power etc?

Thank you.

[El Diablo]

An elderly colleague of mine used one and I once hit briefly with it. Nothing special. The premise of avoiding shanks because each layer of string is nearly flush with the edge of the frame seemed bogus --- it was a relatively large head frame, not one you're likely to shank many balls with. The guy once told me sometimes it felt like each string bed was playing a little differently, an alarming thing to have to be concerned about while playing.

[seekay]

I don't have any first-hand experience, but I'm told they're a pain to string. Stringers normally weave the crosses with one hand above and one below the string bed. Once one face of the racquet is strung, your stringer only has access to one side of the (second) string bed they're working on.

I'm told that many stringers refuse to restring Blackburnes for that reason.

If you find someone to do it, restringing will cost twice as much because there are two string beds, plus I would probably charge an extra fee to cover the extra time required to string the second face. It's not hard to imagine a restringing (justly) costing $50-$75 for standard synthetic gut, and upwards of $100 for natural gut.

I'm already skeptical that the design is better than a single string bed, so the pain of putting fresh strings in it is more than enough for me to steer clear.

[SFrazeur]

Stringing labor in my area of the USA is $15 per racquet. I would have to charge that much twice plus an extra $10 for the unusual hassle of string the second set of crosses. 15 + 15 + 10 = $40 in labor alone.

Not worth it in string cost or labor cost alone.

[tennisjon]

I played with them when they came out around a decade ago. Not a lot of power, but very good at the net. For serves I found the sound of the strings going through the air in two different beds to be annoying. This is very similar to the Prince racquets with their holes. It is nearly impossible to frame the ball with this racquet, which is good for people with bad hand-eye. I guess one benefit could be that you could string with two different tensions: one for the backhand and one for the forehand. Although, the racquet is not legal if the tension drops to the point that the two string beds collide on impact. I have never strung the racquets. It looks like it would be a major pain.

[SFrazeur]

While some racquets and string are more spin friendly than others, the primary source of spin production is proper technique.

-SF

[CaliTennis85]

I totally agree. So just imagine having the opportunity to brush an entire string surface without risk of the ball contacting the frame. Not to mention what players are saying about the tremendous sweet spot. I can't wait to get it on the court. Will be here in a couple of days.

[Baloo]

A friend at my club used to use one, gave him TE so he switched to a prince EXO.

[CaliTennis85]

Racquet has arrived and Love It! The spin was even better than expected. Great at the net and as a topspin baseline player, I almost never went to the net unless forced. I don't ever see myself changing to a serve/volley game, but will go up much more with confidence. Massive Sweet Spot! Will be filling my bag with more. Thank you again to all.

[seacard]

I've looked at the racquet, and thought about picking one up, but I am not sure about the weight and balance. I'm used to playing with heavy, head-light oversizes (Agassi Radical, Wilson Largehead, Avery M5, POGO). What does the Blackburne weigh strung and what is the balance? My understanding is that it is a pretty light racquet these days, and is very head-heavy.

[CaliTennis85]

Hope this helps.

RACQUET SPECS:

Weight : 10.3 ounces ( fully double strung and including vibration dampener )

Balance: Even balance

Material: 100% High Modulus Graphite

Head size: 107 Square inches

Frame length: 27 inches

Beam width: 1”

Head Frame Width: 11”

Head Frame Height : 14”

String Pattern: 20 crosses x 16 mains

String-beds: Two parallel string-beds overlie the frame - “double strung”

Pre-strung String spec: Blackburne Synthetic Gut - 16 gauge

Pre-strung string tension: 53 - 54 lbs

Re-stringing tension recommendations: Range between 50 lbs and 59 max

[Automatix]

Wow! A Blackburne plant... nothing new.

But you lack the boldness of the plant we kicked off our forum.

The guy was a lot of fun when he stated - Now with this racquet I beat players better than me.

On a side note: IIRC the racquet has an unstrung balance of 340mm. You know what happens when you add 2 sets of string? It will be quite head heavy.

[CaliTennis85]

Hey Automatix,

What plant? Who was the user? Why were they kicked off?

[CaliTennis85]

Still loving the DS!!

Anyone else pick one up yet?

[CRWV]

Originally Posted by CaliTennis85

Still loving the DS!!

Anyone else pick one up yet?

lulz...way to be discrete and avoiding fueling the suspicion of being a plant.

[coachrick]

I didn't bother to weigh it at the time, but the one I picked up just after they were introduced was WAY over 10.3oz strung(and that was a good thing, IMO).

It took/takes a special type of salesman to sell these, I reckon .

AND an even more special stringer to only add $10 to string one! SF is correct...TWO sets of string and over twice the labor involved would NOT equal only a $10 'upcharge' to restring.

[6-2/6-4/6-0]

Just because the chap has been here for a month and made 7 out of 8 of his current posts in this thread touting the wonders of the double-strung racket doesn't mean he's a plant does it?

[CaliTennis85]

Thank you El Diablo. Found this site while searching for the Blackburne DS. If you Google the DS racquets, you will find that this racquet has been discussed on this forum for several years. Pretty sure that if I was speaking well of the Prince racquets that I have played for years in the past, my post would never be questioned.

Thank you again.

[Steve Huff]

I have one (the 107). It feels soft when you hit with it. It doesn't feel bad, but the grommets exit the frame at a bit of an angle. I imagine they are what cause the stringbed to feel soft. It has plenty of power. In my opinion, "feel" is lacking. Haven't tried the 97" one. It might be better.

[CRWV]

Pretty sure that if I was speaking well of the Prince racquets that I have played for years in the past, my post would never be questioned.

A Prince plant would be just as annoying...