I'll be stringing my first gut/poly hybrid today when I get home from work. I usually tighten knots with my starting clamp. Are you saying I should not do this?
It's fine to do this if you know what kind of force and bends that gut can handle. If you don't, it's VERY easy to get TOO much leverage with a starter or good pliers. Gut can and
will snap when tying knots, so it's better to err on the side of caution your first time or two. I will generally knot by hand on gut. To each their own, though. I won't say it's the best way to do it, but if you've ever snapped gut, you know that... gut-wrenching (snicker) feeling when it happens.
I used one piece..my reason was that even though I have new grommet strips I have had problems getting some string through some of the grommets towards the top and bottom. Also, I believe (and this is just an emotional thought) that one piece retains tension better.
I went to Walmart and they didn't have parafin wax and my car wax is a liquid/cleaner and I was afraid to use it.
I fanned like crazy but it would have been nice to have the crosses glide a bit easier.. Could I have used anything in lieu of the parafin.
There were alot of kinks which I made sure were straightened out before I pulled the crosses... There were kinks right our of the package... which BTW was a pain in the rear to open... I kept cutting and it wouldn't open... I was concerned about snipping an outside string.
The crosses made a strange squeking sound that I had never heard before.. I have strung everything except gut.
It made me a bit nervous... I didn't know if the string was going to snap or my racket was going to crack.
I strung it a 60 (OS) and am curious to see how it plays.
Will it raise my level from a 3.5 to a 5.0... I doubt it...but I had to experience it once in my life... I tried the indian gut and it sucked and shredded
Anyways.. thanks for all your advice
Regarding the "holding tension better" -- you should spend some time thinking about this personal feeling and use reason to confirm your logic. There IS one side of the string bed that doesn't have to deal with the tension loss from a knot, but what about the other side? There's some tricks you can do to mitigate some of the tension loss, but the tension isn't absolutely symmetrical across the string bed as a result. The less gut you pull through grommets/frame the better, but again, if you're comfortable with one piece, go for it. Just know WHY you're doing it. Saying you do something strictly for emotional/irrational reasons is kind of silly (but I'm an engineer, so that kind of stuff doesn't fly in my life).
If you don't have paraffin, you can get by with a little beeswax or chapstick (which is primarily beeswax), but it doesn't glide as smoothly. Again, wax is strictly optional and won't change your experience THAT much.
I have a feeling you're using "kink" incorrectly. A kink is strictly an extremely tight bend, and in gut, this will result in discoloration, and often times the string will unravel a little bit in the kinked areas (the twisted gut fibers will separate, but not peel). If you truly had kinks out of the package, something is wrong. Slight bending or imperfections are normal, so make sure you get your terminology straight.
As far as the packaging, plastic/foil is required due to humidity reasons, so there's no way around it. It shouldn't be too much of a pain to open, just make sure you're cutting below the seal.
Squeaking is normal on gut, it'll be a high pitched squeal - this is just due to the coating that is applied to the string at factory -- the string is slightly sticking to itself as you fan. Some wax may help here, but as long as you're fanning at a slow enough rate, you should be A-OK.
