Recent content by Plainsman83

I have documented the bulk of my collection on the "My First Racquet" thread, but it basically consists of the frames I have used over the past 45 years. I have kept at least one of each, but there are a few that I don't have for various reasons. I am not a collector per se, but like many here...

The Profile was a huge mistake driven by moving from hard courts at high altitude to clay at sea level. I mistakenly thought I needed more power since I wasn't putting balls away like I used to. The Profile had just been introduced and a couple guys on my league team had switched to them...

I have kept at least one of each racquet that I have played with in the past 45 years, with several notable exceptions. I take one out every once it a while just for fun. My progression starting at age 10 is as follows: Cheap John Newcombe Autograph (Rawlings??)>Head Master>Head Ashe Comp...

Treat your tennis equipment like you would a cherished car. The first and most important thing is to always keep your frames clean, so wipe the sweat and court dust off after every use. A very mild, high quality automotive polish followed by a wax can make these old glossy frames look really...

Today at GW I saw a racquet I was totally unfamiliar with, a Donnay 725 Pro. It looked very late 70's, with an open throat but with what appeared to be a separate throat piece (imagine a black Head Pro "redhead" from the 70's). It was Belgian made, graphite construction, black with the...

I recall those things and I think there were several on the market. I tried one but I remember it being made of a more silicone like material. It was stupidly heavy and totally messed up the balance of the frame. There were also individual u shaped snap on plastic things too that you...

My understanding is that the Weed was originally developed by a guy in the ******* (Ohio I think). I was a bit surprised to find that Weed is still around. One of my occasional playing partners plays with one (strong 4.5/5.0) and I am amazed that he can control the thing let alone play very...

Today's post barber visit to the neighboring Goodwill revealed a Pro Kennex Power Ace in rough condition and several Wilson Impact frames in various color ways also in garage find condition (passed on all of them). The Wilsons all had that Wal Mart vibe to them, but I wonder why there would be...

I have never seen one of those either. My junior doubles partner back in the early 80's was a sponsored Snauwaert player but used the Gerulaitis wood. Very neat to see this.

I had a chance to hit with the recently acquired Maxply McEnroe and Spalding frames I mentioned a few posts ago. The Maxply was fantastic, even strung with whatever mystery string that was in there at an indeterminate tension. I really didn't need to make any adjustments to my strokes, and my...

My lovely wife was at a church charity shop today and found me a really nice condition 9/10 Dunlop Maxply McEnroe (wood) for a whopping $3.99. She does not play tennis but has an eye for nice old things and after almost 30 years years of putting up with me she has an idea of what to look for...

Yes, similar but different. The pallet to shaft transition on mine is different, with more of a pronounced taper. Interesting that vsbabolat mentions that it was made in the Snauwaert factory since the first thing that came to my mind when I saw it was "that looks like a Snauwaert". I have a...

Oops, I misstated something in my previous post. My first ever racquet was a RAWLINGS John Newcombe, not a Spalding. Also, the green Spalding was not something like a Gonzales or Casals, which I would have snapped up.

And now for something a little different. I made my monthly visit to the Goodwill next to the barbershop and actually bought something. It is a Spalding "World Championship Tennis Impact 500" wood racquet for the usual $3.99. One side of the shaft says "Handcrafted of North American Ash and...

Two of my least favorite racquets that I have owned are mentioned in this thread. The first is the Profile 2.7. As I have mentioned before, I was an early adopter of the POG and played great with it. When I moved from the Mountain West to Florida in the late 80's and started playing on clay...