Head Graphite Edge and TXD
- Thread starter spksz
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galain
Hall of Fame
I'm not sur eif the Edge you're referring to is the TX series edge or the original. The TX series appeared in the mid 80's and were flagship lines for Head at the time. The claim to fame then was a very stiff frame that allowed for excellent control. The Director was the oversized model. I have a TXE that is all but dead now. The bumper strip and grommets are beyond all repair. It was nice enough racquet, although I usually tend to go for something softer. It had that 80's "stiff" feel to it though - still a very solid hit and not brittle stiff like some of the frames are today (at least - how they feel to me). I either played fantastic tennis with it or I had a godawful time of things.
I have a feeling the original Edge was a bit more flexible than the TX series one.
I have a feeling the original Edge was a bit more flexible than the TX series one.
Steve Huff
G.O.A.T.
The "special edition" of the Edge was the Graphite Edge TXE. The "special edition" of the Director, was the Graphite Director TXD. It was a larger-headed racket
yip kok kuin
Rookie
curious to know 'what so special'? different material or just differnt paintjob?
The Graphite Edge was Head's bedrock comp frame for several years, with a small (82) head, hollow core, and flexible shaft for comfort. Everybody likes this frame. Head started to use Twaron fiber in their frames in the mid-80s and made the TXE as part of that initial series (the Edge plus Twaron). Another frame everybody liked. Later, for reasons unknown to just about all, Head made a Graphite Edge 2 (late 80s), long after its usefulness had passed as a moveable frame.
The Graphite Director was the oversized version of the Edge, and was released circa '82. Most liked this frame. Elongated head. Never overroad the POG OS in terms of popularity, which Head's marketing decided to take on. The TXD was the Twaron fiber-ized version of the Director.
As most know from hanging around this neighborhood, the TXP of that series, with a midplus (for then) Pro-series head, would be paint-jobbed into the Prestige Classic 600.
The Graphite Director was the oversized version of the Edge, and was released circa '82. Most liked this frame. Elongated head. Never overroad the POG OS in terms of popularity, which Head's marketing decided to take on. The TXD was the Twaron fiber-ized version of the Director.
As most know from hanging around this neighborhood, the TXP of that series, with a midplus (for then) Pro-series head, would be paint-jobbed into the Prestige Classic 600.
proracketeer
Professional
Head Comfort Edge?
Was the Comfort Edge stiffer or flexier than the Graphite Edge?
How does it compare to a Premium Edge?
Was the Comfort Edge stiffer or flexier than the Graphite Edge?
How does it compare to a Premium Edge?
The Edges you refer to were never sold in the USA, that I remember, so I don't know.
vsbabolat
G.O.A.T.
There was a whole line of Edge racquets that were made in Austria and never sold in the U.S. They were just for Europe. The U.S. Only got the Graphite Edge, TXE Edge, and Composite Edge. All the Edge Racquets for the U.S. were made in Boulder, Colorado.
Here is a photo of a made in Austria Comfort Edge for the European Market.
Here is a photo of a made in Austria Comfort Edge for the European Market.
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Deuce
Banned
Wasn't there a Competition Edge here, as well?
vsbabolat
G.O.A.T.
Oh Yeah! There was a Arthur Ashe Competition Edge. Also I forgot another racquet, the Edgewood. How could I have forgotten these. I even have a Edgewood!
Thanks Deuce for jogging my memory!
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Leconte definitely played the Edgewood, and was playing the all-brown, 1st generation Prestige Pro by the time he finaled at Roland Garros in '88 (and probably as far back as 1986). If he played any Euro Edges, it probably would've been in the time gap between those two frames, because no Head players stayed with the Edge after the Pro headsize was introduced.
In between he might have used the black euro Graphite pro, the same time Mancini, Emilio & Javier Sanchez, Javier Frana, Sergio Casal were using it
Kirko
Hall of Fame
yeah it was white. kevin Curren used it.
vsbabolat
G.O.A.T.
The white HEAD racquet Kevin Curren used was the Composite Pro. But before Curren switched to the HEAD Composite Pro he used the Kneissl White Star Pro Master in the 1985 Wimbledon Final loss to Boris Becker.
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Kirko
Hall of Fame
you are right my error.
vsbabolat
G.O.A.T.
tandayu, nice racquet! I have not seen one of those in over twenty years.
Does anybody remember the old HEAD TV commercial with Arthur Ashe? He was at the Stadium in Forrest Hills. The tag line was at the end of the commercial "If I had this racquet there would be no telling how many U.S. Opens I would have won." Arthur then held up to the camera a Graphite Edge.
Does anybody remember the old HEAD TV commercial with Arthur Ashe? He was at the Stadium in Forrest Hills. The tag line was at the end of the commercial "If I had this racquet there would be no telling how many U.S. Opens I would have won." Arthur then held up to the camera a Graphite Edge.
I never saw the TV commercial, but I remember saw Arthur's ad on Tennis Magazine endorsing the Graphtie edge.
Did Arthur ever use Graphite Edge in the Pro tour? I can only think of the Gulliksons and Leif Sheiras used the Graphite Edge.
Good call on a great frame, tandayu. I'm currently rotating 3 Euro black Graphite Pros in my racquet bag - so forgiving, excellent feel and control, surprising snap - excellent!
I hope you can give more of your review on this black graphite pro.
I love the racquet - it's been my default frame for a couple of years, and as I said, it's the frame I'm currently competing with. I first bought one of these in France in 1988, after Head had tweaked the model by adding a white bumper, white grommet strip, white grip collar, white leather grip, and white butt cap. Cosmetically, same frame (glossy black with simple silver and red stripe accenting). Loved it then, and eventually gifted it to a classmate as I was using US-made Head Prestige Pros by then.
Well, I had an opportunity a couple years ago thru the miracle of the Web to purchase three 1st generation Graphite Pros, the black model with no bumper and a brown leather grip (no white parts). You're absolutely right, tandayu, many of the Head pros who moved to the PP 600 around 1989 had earlier using the Euro GP (add Jelen to your group - ANYBODY ELSE???). In fact, Mancini was still using the GP after the PP 600 was already available, when he went insane during the Euro clay court season of 1989, winning Monte Carlo and Rome (he later played the PP 600).
This is a honest, straight-forward graphite mid with superb energy return and ball feel. Definite flexing in the shaft coupled with a firmer head, a classic Head combination. Damping is superb, as is ball control. An excellent frame to rip one-handed backhands with. Touch takes some work, moreso than just ripping from the backcourt, because it's a heavier (but not crazy heavy - maybe 12.4 oz. strung and overgripped) frame with a smaller stringbed than one today might be used to. But this frame does it all, and it's over 20 years old! Last, a refreshing touch is how little "literature" there is on the frame - nothing on one side of the beam or inside the throat, and on the other beam side it says something like "Vibration Control System - Besonders Armschoend" (gotta love the German). Naturally, these are Austrian Heads.
Compared to the PP/PP 600, the GP is a little less manuverable and a little less stiff - the feel is equally great, but different, as if the GP is a little "bulkier" because of the boxier frame geometry (make sense?). All in all, moving from the GP to the PP 600, which are different moulds, must have made perfect sense to Head's pros.
Well done Colpo, THANK YOU for an interesting post. I have 2 of the 1st generation euro GP, but the grip size is huge at 4 5/8 (mine is 4 1/4 plus tourna grip). The pallet from PC600 will not fit, so I am still trying to figure out how to find the replacement pallet.
By the way, the PP600 I bought from you is my main frame now.....until I try my euro GP
Deuce
Banned
I have one of these - same limited 'literature' on it.Colpo said:
Mine actually does have a bumper - it's made of some sort of white rubbery material, and is integrated into the frame - and painted over with the same glossy black finish as the rest of the frame.
Looking at it, one would think that it's bumperless.
Nonetheless, I tried putting CAPs on it (and strung it) - I had to tube a couple of grommets becayse they were short. With the CAPs (and the integrated bumper), the thing was just too damn heavy, though.
I hear you, Deuce - I think this model had an integrated, putty-white colored bumper under the paint - like you said, you wouldn't know it unless you scratched the surface.
proracketeer
Professional
Do new Head pallets fit on old Edges ???
Duzza
Legend
The competition edge is like the succesor of the Arthur Ashe Competition line
The one on the right is the best racquet I've ever seen
FedererClone
Semi-Pro
Edge TXE (or original Edge) vs JK Staff 85 (80% graphite/20 fiberglass) vs Wilson Graphite Force (graphite "composite") vs Wilson Ultra... thinking of adding an edge to my game...
I saw a black "special edition graphite edge" . Is this the same racket as txe just different paint or did you mean "special edition" not so literally.. like txe was like the VERY VERY special edition..
So what is differen in thosece rackets? Graphite edge/GE SE/TXE??
vsbabolat
G.O.A.T.
Graphite Edge was Graphite and fiberglass with 18x19 string pattern. The SE Edge was 100% Graphite with 18x19 string pattern. The TXE was Graphite and fiberglass with a 16x18 string pattern.
Oh thanks for clearing it up. I bought a used head Premium Edge and it has an 16x16 string pattern. I guess it was strung wrongly because the grommets look just like the orher edge racket i have which is standard 18x19 (or 18x20). But i think 18x19 when you say it is standard.. so now my BIG question:
Can i safely string all those Edgr rackets 16x16?? That would be great i guess. I am used to bigger rackets and open string patterns. In the edge 16x16 would fit great i think..
What do you say. Can i also string the old Pro(sized) Rackets a little more openly than standard? I will send pictures if the premium edge.. i dont think thec16x16 was standard..
Cheers
1010
Rookie
I think you can, but you need to realize the absurd consequences.
If you skip 2 holes in the central mains, from 18 to 16, you end up with a unhealthy spacing between mains, which allow for the ball to push aside 'em too much, I mean, those maina that are still there after you missed 2 of them. Are you trying to pass trou the bed? Not the mention that by skipping holes in a one-in-one-skip pattern, you make your bed laterally unbalanced.
If you skip 2 holes in the lateral mains, by rewiring the holes which are designed for crosses or maybe sharing that holes, well ok, but who cares? you're not supposed to hit with those lateral mains, and if you do, it's a crap shot anyway because they are so out of sweetspot. Should I need to mention that old sticks have sweetspots half that of an APD?
On the crosses from 19 to 18.
Central crosses are vital.
Upper crosses should admit some tweaking, because people hit with the upper crosses during serves and today's inside-outs. Even Babolat did some work there, and called it today's newest tech.
I think you may end end up with a 18x18 at best, or an unhealthy 16x16, you choose.
If you skip 2 holes in the central mains, from 18 to 16, you end up with a unhealthy spacing between mains, which allow for the ball to push aside 'em too much, I mean, those maina that are still there after you missed 2 of them. Are you trying to pass trou the bed? Not the mention that by skipping holes in a one-in-one-skip pattern, you make your bed laterally unbalanced.
If you skip 2 holes in the lateral mains, by rewiring the holes which are designed for crosses or maybe sharing that holes, well ok, but who cares? you're not supposed to hit with those lateral mains, and if you do, it's a crap shot anyway because they are so out of sweetspot. Should I need to mention that old sticks have sweetspots half that of an APD?
On the crosses from 19 to 18.
Central crosses are vital.
Upper crosses should admit some tweaking, because people hit with the upper crosses during serves and today's inside-outs. Even Babolat did some work there, and called it today's newest tech.
I think you may end end up with a 18x18 at best, or an unhealthy 16x16, you choose.
Thanks for the explanations.. i just wanted to look at how my premier edge differs from the excellence edge i have in terms of stringing and..... WTF... my excellence is strung 16x21 !!! i bought both of them this way. i show you the pictures..
on the white premier the main strings look fine.. kind of like a prince open pattern racket, with the spacing betwen the lateral mains getting larger. but the crosses in the upper section look troublesome.. but on the othe hand upper crosses allow for some tweaking you said... i guess you meant other tweaking than just leaving out a cross?
the green excellence looks ok i think in terms of the spreading of the strings.. what would be more spin friendly.. 18x19 or 16x21.. some people argue the lesser crosses the better.. some say 16x21 is more open than 18x19..
does anyone have a picture of a rightly strung edge series racket? here are the two rackets overlapped so one sees the differences:
in your explanation it seems as you alude to that 18x18 is the way to go with these rackets IF one wants to experiment. but can 18x18 be done on a 18x19 stock pattern? i am just a noob sorry but i always thought one has to change more than one string when experimenting, but 18x18 sounds fine if that is possible to try.. i mean i got the racket for 7 bucks.. i don't care if i ruin it.. it is a good experimenting platform for me.
thanks for all the insights, i appreciate it alot..
1010
Rookie
Disclaimer: I'm not responsible for what will happen if you go down this route. You stated "I don't care if".
Shared holes. It's just that the original string job was avoiding it at all costs and ended up 16x16 (itself a red alert) and missing 2 crosses which is a big NO-NO.
You need to max out at 3 shared holes per-corner in the second proposal.
The first one leaves 1 hole completely unused.
Shared holes. It's just that the original string job was avoiding it at all costs and ended up 16x16 (itself a red alert) and missing 2 crosses which is a big NO-NO.
You need to max out at 3 shared holes per-corner in the second proposal.
The first one leaves 1 hole completely unused.
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1010
Rookie
Your input is very valuable.
Can you double check Special Edition Edge for me?
Last time I checked was 18x20, would love to see a pic of 18x19 (SE edge, not the others)
Thanks 1010 for the explanation. So how does one do the official 18x19 version (or is the official 18x20 although some say 18x19)?
Anyway i guess 18x19 would mean putting in the last 2 lower crosses but just one more cross at the top (leaving out the very last top cross in your 18x20 version)??
i just checked some other excellence edge against on the web.. they have the same pattern, 18x20. i guess only theg graphite edge was 18x19.. all other later edges 18x20?
so it is best to leave the 18x20 alone i guess..
Anyway i guess 18x19 would mean putting in the last 2 lower crosses but just one more cross at the top (leaving out the very last top cross in your 18x20 version)??
i just checked some other excellence edge against on the web.. they have the same pattern, 18x20. i guess only theg graphite edge was 18x19.. all other later edges 18x20?
so it is best to leave the 18x20 alone i guess..
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vsbabolat
G.O.A.T.
Double checked and Counted 18x19.
The USA Graphite Edge is 18x19.
http://www.80s-tennis.com/pages/headrackets83.html
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1010
Rookie
Thanks! I'm arranging for the mandatory pic and then I'll fork in a new thread. we have news from EU.
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vsbabolat
G.O.A.T.
What news is that?
