optic yellow
Legend
It's the idea of it. They don't feel right and a wood tournament is all about feeling anyways.
Best items you found at thrift stores (Goodwill)?
- Thread starter flashfire276
- Start date
Casey 1988
Rookie
I could see some being pissed off bamboo is allowed by the tournament becuse somebody is using a 1950's or older racquet that has a bigger head on frame like a 90--95 square inch head where Bamboo in layered strips as used for the head frame. Of course, the flaw is in some old racquets a kind of hard to find very thin gut or an older design of micro nylon type gut string has to be used on said racquet, maybe even wire like in some experimental models.
kevin qmto
Hall of Fame
What’s funny is what set them off was a picture of a Dunlop A-Player. That thing is like 82sq in. Barely any advantage at all lol.
Casey 1988
Rookie
Yes, because most wood racquets are 80--85 square inches.
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Casey 1988
Rookie
I could go on e-Bay right now and find some ProKennex racquets of the wood and graphite Copper/Bronze Ace on here, an early 90 square inch head and people would be pissed for buying such a racquet. One wood and graphite racquet is even an old Black Ace Micro nobody because the string pattern.
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kevin qmto
Hall of Fame
I don’t think the black Ace ever had a wood edition.
Casey 1988
Rookie
On e-Bay this one Black Ace micro is wood and graphite with possibly fiberglass outer/string side layers.
kevin qmto
Hall of Fame
Gonna have to see pics. The only black Ace micros I’m seeing definitely don’t look like wood hybrid frames.
Casey 1988
Rookie
You can see it on e-Bay if you want. Maybe model is a micro in a different model like a Power Ace Micro labeled wrong because model is even harder to find in the Micro style?
Grafil Injection
Hall of Fame
Wilson Pro Tour 95 sounds rather good for what must have been a Walmart special. Still is does use the same mould as the PS95 with its 20mm beam and 16x18 pattern.
It was the usual 358g strung, but now with just an OG is 350g, 32.25cm balance. Quite similar in feel to the Staff 100, which means pleasantly solid and a large sweet spot. Very easy depth and consistent responses. These don't seem to suffer from the erratic response of the tapered beam Ultras, but area bit less manoeuvrable.
KAR code means 1987 I believe, same as my SKU Comp 100, or should I look at the A for 1988? Anyway, hard to believe it's from the same time as the Profile, but I think I prefer it.
It was the usual 358g strung, but now with just an OG is 350g, 32.25cm balance. Quite similar in feel to the Staff 100, which means pleasantly solid and a large sweet spot. Very easy depth and consistent responses. These don't seem to suffer from the erratic response of the tapered beam Ultras, but area bit less manoeuvrable.
KAR code means 1987 I believe, same as my SKU Comp 100, or should I look at the A for 1988? Anyway, hard to believe it's from the same time as the Profile, but I think I prefer it.
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Casey 1988
Rookie
What makes you sure model is a Walmart/K-mart Special? most Racquets from mid 1980's on up from Walmart/K-mart are aluminum which can be very cheap now, Steel for a few really cheap 1980's--very early 1990's models, or since about mid 2000's some of top model being titanium or some kind of titanium graphite/aluminum graphite model.Wilson Pro Tour 95 sounds rather good for what must have been a Walmart special. Still is does use the same mould as the PS95 with its 20mm beam and 16x18 pattern.
It was the usual 358g strung, but now with just an OG is 350g, 32.25cm balance. Quite similar in feel to the Staff 100, which means pleasantly solid and a large sweet spot. Very easy depth and consistent responses. These don't seem to suffer from the erratic response of the tapered beam Ultras, but area bit less manoeuvrable.
KAR code means 1987 I believe, same as my SKU Comp 100, or should I look at the A for 1988? Anyway, hard to believe it's from the same time as the Profile, but I think I prefer it.
kevin qmto
Hall of Fame
He probably means the equivalent department store in the UK at the time. The ranges of racket models quality between big box stores here in the US varied from brand to brand. I remember a time when Sports Authority used to carry all the main like Head rackets like the Ti Radical (I can distinctly remember seeing it on the shelf for $129.99) and whatever model the current Prostaff was. They also had Prince and Pro Kennex, but I swear I can’t remember seeing Babolat there. Babolat definitely sells a lot of frames at Dick’s Sporting Goods though.
kevin qmto
Hall of Fame
And here’s an update on how the 3rd annual Woodie Classic went today. Today it was held at historic Tower Grove park in STL, and as usual we played 3 one set matches 1 match on Hard court, and 2 on Grass. But a little different this year was scoring. Basically every match was 1 hour, and you played as many games as you could in that hour. Sadly I forgot to charge my camera so I recorded the first 30 mins of round 1 and then it died.
Round 1 was played on Hard against a very tough team, a father/som duo, the son is ranked 5.0. We went down 3/6, then somehow had a miraculous rally and won 7/6.
Round 2 was on grass against 2 of my USTA teammates. We got the worse of the 3 available grass courts and struggled mightily. They were happy to play fast to get in as many games as possible, they didn’t even pause on changeover, just walked over to the other side to serve again. We went down 1/8… but once again found a strategy when we realized with their crappy no-name brand woodies (seriously, they were both using total bottom shelf junk, one was a Japanese made “Reindeer” frame, the other was a Taiwan made Spalding Award model, looked like it was from the late 60s, not even the 70’s lol) they basically couldn’t put hardly any spin on the ball and we’d crowd the net and force them to try lobs. We went 5/2 until time ran out for a score of 6/10.
Final match was against a team we’d bludgeoned 6/0 last year and on grass we weren’t much nicer. We adopted the quick play strategy we’d faced in our last match and quickly started running up the score. When time was called we’d smothered them 12/4.
In total we got 25 games. Good enough for 2nd place out of 24 teams. Annoyingly, the team we defeated 7/6 in round 1 got 1st place with 28 games.
As is typical for the Woodie Classic, we all got drunk afterwards with specially made event craft beer.
Round 1 was played on Hard against a very tough team, a father/som duo, the son is ranked 5.0. We went down 3/6, then somehow had a miraculous rally and won 7/6.
Round 2 was on grass against 2 of my USTA teammates. We got the worse of the 3 available grass courts and struggled mightily. They were happy to play fast to get in as many games as possible, they didn’t even pause on changeover, just walked over to the other side to serve again. We went down 1/8… but once again found a strategy when we realized with their crappy no-name brand woodies (seriously, they were both using total bottom shelf junk, one was a Japanese made “Reindeer” frame, the other was a Taiwan made Spalding Award model, looked like it was from the late 60s, not even the 70’s lol) they basically couldn’t put hardly any spin on the ball and we’d crowd the net and force them to try lobs. We went 5/2 until time ran out for a score of 6/10.
Final match was against a team we’d bludgeoned 6/0 last year and on grass we weren’t much nicer. We adopted the quick play strategy we’d faced in our last match and quickly started running up the score. When time was called we’d smothered them 12/4.
In total we got 25 games. Good enough for 2nd place out of 24 teams. Annoyingly, the team we defeated 7/6 in round 1 got 1st place with 28 games.
As is typical for the Woodie Classic, we all got drunk afterwards with specially made event craft beer.
Casey 1988
Rookie
Yeah Sheel's did similar in 2000's having all of Prince, ProKennex, Wilson, Head and the few top Babolat models only few Yonnex and now 0 ProKennex unless 2 classic models by Tennis Warehouse standers mainly 7g model, carrying all Yonnex, all Babolat models in bigger stores here is not just a single open floor of all around sports crap Like the smaller 1 of 2 in Rapid City where they do more camping/generic trail crap some okay all around sports/ expensive sports leisure crap or discount back, no super specific sports at all except in discount mainly shoes as this place was the discount store.
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Grafil Injection
Hall of Fame
Yeah, it's actually a but tricky to place this one because the graphics are very basic, but the performance is absolutely fine. I guess it would be retailed at the same sort of place you could get a Pro Matrix or a Reflex, which means department stores or non specialist sports shops in the UK. Just not quite 'good' enough to be in tennis specialist shops or the catalogues.
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Ronaldo
Bionic Poster
Posted this before. Walked into Target and discovered a 102"/660cm version of the Head Ti Radical for $12. Never found another deal again until MCSports was closing and found a Head Premier Tour for $9.99.
kevin qmto
Hall of Fame
Do you mean the Ti Carbon 5000?
Ronaldo
Bionic Poster
Yes, Yes, Yes!!! Got the idea to look from a TW Post BITD https://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/index.php?threads/head-ti-carbon-5000-any-good.189044/
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kevin qmto
Hall of Fame
Ok here's batch number one of my recent splurge. People talk about prime day like its some sort of actual day to look forward to? Please... The real deal day is when Play it Again Sports decided they finally had too many rackets and threw this sign up:
Well there was no way I was gonna let this opportunity pass me by. But first of all, I had to grab a bag to put them in. Luckily they had the perfect option. For $9.99 was this 12 racket bag from a familiar place.
And I'll start in no particular order. A Yonex R-7. As with the R-5 before it, my studio does not like these frames to look like their actual color. These are a lovely leather brown color in everyday lighting conditions. The case captures its color a bit better. In 9/10 condition, lets see if I like it more than the R-5. Most R-7's I see online have a little text blurb on the inner throat, which is painted on, not a sticker, but it's absent here. I wonder if that means its an early, or later run?
Well there was no way I was gonna let this opportunity pass me by. But first of all, I had to grab a bag to put them in. Luckily they had the perfect option. For $9.99 was this 12 racket bag from a familiar place.
And I'll start in no particular order. A Yonex R-7. As with the R-5 before it, my studio does not like these frames to look like their actual color. These are a lovely leather brown color in everyday lighting conditions. The case captures its color a bit better. In 9/10 condition, lets see if I like it more than the R-5. Most R-7's I see online have a little text blurb on the inner throat, which is painted on, not a sticker, but it's absent here. I wonder if that means its an early, or later run?
kevin qmto
Hall of Fame
Next up is a frame that has scant info about it anywhere on the internet, the 90's edition of the Dunlop Black Max. I tracked down and asked our very own former Dunlop rep CoachRick on facebook about it, and he had no idea such a frame ever existed. He suspected it was after he'd left in the early 90's. I'm gonna suspect due to the prominent Widebody text that means its from between 1992-1996, because it's not in the 1997 Dunlop tennis catalog which was posted in a vintage tennis ad page on FB.
The main thing that strikes me about this OS Black Max is just how HEAVY it is. If this was an entry level model you'd think it'd be light but nope. Static weight is 352g with a Swingweight of 361! One of the highest graphites I've measured from my collection SW wise. Rivaling the 381 of the Dunlop Max Predator, but that's extended length! I don't know if there's any info to be gleamed from the 3 letter buttcap code like a Wilson, but here it is anyway.
The main thing that strikes me about this OS Black Max is just how HEAVY it is. If this was an entry level model you'd think it'd be light but nope. Static weight is 352g with a Swingweight of 361! One of the highest graphites I've measured from my collection SW wise. Rivaling the 381 of the Dunlop Max Predator, but that's extended length! I don't know if there's any info to be gleamed from the 3 letter buttcap code like a Wilson, but here it is anyway.
kevin qmto
Hall of Fame
And finally, what trip to PIAS is complete without picking up a neglected Pro Kennex frame? This time it's a Graphite Acclaim 110. Thought this felt like a mid end Thailand sourced frame but nope, its from their home factory in Taiwan. Features a tapered beam similar to the Prince CTS Approach 90 but OS. This one has a lot of scratches that seem due to being knocked about during storage rather than on the tennis court, though it has some moderate head rash too. But for $2.99? I care not. It'll make it into the bag for the next "Pro Kennex Day" whenever I decide that'll be. As always I'm a sucker for magenta and purple 90's radical colors.
Grafil Injection
Hall of Fame
That Dunlop Black Max looks somewhat similar to the early Revelations. How 'wide-body' is the svelte looking beam? At that weight I suspect it originally came with a leather grip as standard making it more like 360g static.
Didn't you fancy the Vilas Pro (which looks in good nick) or the Edge series next to the Acclaim?
Didn't you fancy the Vilas Pro (which looks in good nick) or the Edge series next to the Acclaim?
kevin qmto
Hall of Fame
I don’t actually have a mm tape measure handy right now but I’d guess pretty wide in the 25mm range?
And yeah you’ve spotted 2 others I nabbed but those pics are still on the camera memory card.
Grafil Injection
Hall of Fame
Looks like a Graphite Edge or Magnum (or a Comp Pro)? The Vilas is VGC; most have the text at the top of the hoop warn away.
kevin qmto
Hall of Fame
I picked up about 4 more from that box that aren’t visible in the photo.
djNEiGht
Legend
nice score @kevin qmto especially that bag
kevin qmto
Hall of Fame
Yeah it’s actually the first TW piece of gear I own.
Casey 1988
Rookie
And finally, what trip to PIAS is complete without picking up a neglected Pro Kennex frame? This time it's a Graphite Acclaim 110. Thought this felt like a mid end Thailand sourced frame but nope, its from their home factory in Taiwan. Features a tapered beam similar to the Prince CTS Approach 90 but OS. This one has a lot of scratches that seem due to being knocked about during storage rather than on the tennis court, though it has some moderate head rash too. But for $2.99? I care not. It'll make it into the bag for the next "Pro Kennex Day" whenever I decide that'll be. As always I'm a sucker for magenta and purple 90's radical colors.
The Pro Kennex is very similar era as my cheapies early 2000's 2002--2003 when I bought 1, I use 4 red & blue most bought in 2022 and 2024. in 2024, 2 in later yellow & black 2003--2005 model here one came and in very lightly testing strings one without original paper in yellow & black broke so I am sending in, to Tennis-Point for a restring in basic nylon (free as bounus) 55 pounds (guess on tension) as my guess is person used one as racquet with an over grip directly on the seal and wore out strings.
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kevin qmto
Hall of Fame
Tonight one of the guys in the group of older men I hit with insisted I take a T2000 off his hands. He couldn’t believe that with my vast collection of oddities that I don’t have one. I didn’t bother telling him that was by choice but now I suppose I have one and didn’t have to pay anything to get it. I even hit with it briefly. Yep, hits like a T2000.
Casey 1988
Rookie
Lots of Sinfield Krammer fans would use one restrung in Alu power/ Tourna Silver Series for look only better durability or an old multifilament string as was on when Jerry tossed in the trash before Kramer grabbed after/as leaving apartment. All during the most Tennis heavy episode of the show.
BDAZ
Hall of Fame
Found two Max 200G’s (different paint jobs), with carrying case, for $3.99. Case seems like it would hold maybe three racquets. It’s just like an oversized racquet case. No pockets for anything else.
kevin qmto
Hall of Fame
Alright here's the next couple frames from my big splurge. A couple related Head frames from the early 80s. The Composite Director and TXD. What was the price difference between these two, they seem to be the same mould. Starting with the Composite, which is in much better cosmetic condition, I was surprised to see it was the heavier of the two, I assumed it'd be lighter than the TXD, but they sat at 368g strung for the Composite, and 362g for the TXD, both are 4 5/8 grips. I was originally planning on using taking some of the better condition grommets from the Comp and using it on the TXD, but after further thought, I've decided it's not worth ruining the Comp. to try and save the TXD when the TXD is already not worth restoring. I found replacement head guards and grommets on the Bay, but after factoring in new string and buying the grommets, I'd be in nearly $50USD, when I can buy a less scratched and less broken one on the Bay for about $40 currently.... So I'm going to use each frame as is, and look at the last string stats on the TXD! Strung in 1991 at 72lbs, it's a wonder it's still holding together!
I'm sure there's some oldsters that would say this is still the best Head Buttcap ever made.
The TXD traveled 29 hours to get from that shop in CA to me in STL. Google maps says it's still around, same location and everything! Good for them.
I'm sure there's some oldsters that would say this is still the best Head Buttcap ever made.
The TXD traveled 29 hours to get from that shop in CA to me in STL. Google maps says it's still around, same location and everything! Good for them.
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Grafil Injection
Hall of Fame
The TXD was about twice the price of the Comp Director when it came out (1984?), around $160 vs $80, but the TXD was rapidly reduced to be more like $120 vs $80 by 1986. The Comp held its price better, presumably because it was still rather an expensive model to produce, considering it is 60% graphite and had a nice leather grip etc.
Fibreglass is slightly heavier than graphite, so the extra 20% of it could be the weight difference, but I expect the difference is just QC. My question is, is the beam the same? The TXE and TXP of course had the slightly wider beam and thinner profile (19mm x 9mm) compared to the other Edges and Pros (17mm x 11mm). Your TXD does look a little more slender face-on and thicker?
Good job you didn't try and replace the TXD grommets since it's 16x20 vs 18x20 for the Comp. Seams like the TX models all suffered from grommetitis the most. I wonder if the grommets were produced somewhere different to those for the earlier models.
Fibreglass is slightly heavier than graphite, so the extra 20% of it could be the weight difference, but I expect the difference is just QC. My question is, is the beam the same? The TXE and TXP of course had the slightly wider beam and thinner profile (19mm x 9mm) compared to the other Edges and Pros (17mm x 11mm). Your TXD does look a little more slender face-on and thicker?
Good job you didn't try and replace the TXD grommets since it's 16x20 vs 18x20 for the Comp. Seams like the TX models all suffered from grommetitis the most. I wonder if the grommets were produced somewhere different to those for the earlier models.
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Ronaldo
Bionic Poster
Black Gold, Tennis Tea!
Grafil Injection
Hall of Fame
The MAX 200G bag is cool (and rare). The font and chevron design indicate it came out with the Graphite Injection paintjobs (which included the JMac signature model).
kevin qmto
Hall of Fame
The beam looks identical. I wasn’t going to replace the main grommet strips from the Comp to the Director, only the throat ones, which I think are the same. But yeah, after factoring in all costs, it’s not worth it to spend that much restoring it. Also some of the mains that have no grommets are starting to cut into the graphite. I think I’ll just try playing with it as is and see how that 72lbs feels lol.
Grafil Injection
Hall of Fame
72lbs was probably necessary to work properly as a snow-shoe!
At the last resort, read the instructions! I found the catalogue entries, although no Comp shown, just the TXD and Graphite:
This suggests the TXD was a thinner mould than the other Directors, like the other TXs. Perhaps just 1mm. Just like the TXE the TXD has a Fairway rather than Cowhide grip too. Note the interesting 85:15 layup, and 70-30 for the Graphite Director. This means they made 60 (Comp), 70, 80 (Graphite II), 85 and 100% (S.E.) graphite versions. A true smorgasbord of Directors!
retrowagen
Hall of Fame
The TXD was Head’s most expensive frame in North America when it was available in 1984 and 1985. Today, it’s a forgotten orphan, borne out by dismal auction valuations and utter dearth of chatter in this community here. Perhaps it’s because its creators attempted to make an oversized racquet with a head as narrow as their midsizes’, and in doing so, failed aesthetically (snowshoe!) as well as functionally (trying to limit that dreaded bugaboo of the Prince oversize shape, viz., “trampoline effect”, by having shorter crosses, yet negated by doing so via longer mains).
It is a slightly different mold than the Graphite and Composite Directors, narrower in beam as seen in plan view (looking at the face). No other Head frame used this mould, and all of them originated from the Boulder factory. Based on the price, and availability of just two years, they’re fairly rare. However, it’s probably not worth investing too much labor or money into restoring one that’s pretty rough.
It is a slightly different mold than the Graphite and Composite Directors, narrower in beam as seen in plan view (looking at the face). No other Head frame used this mould, and all of them originated from the Boulder factory. Based on the price, and availability of just two years, they’re fairly rare. However, it’s probably not worth investing too much labor or money into restoring one that’s pretty rough.
BDAZ
Hall of Fame
Other than differences in the paint jobs, is there any difference between these two racquets?
The bag is actually in really good shape. In what timeframe did it come out? Did it come with a racquet, or was it sold separately?
Grafil Injection
Hall of Fame
Your two rackets are 4 years apart (Graphite 1982-84, Grafil Injection 1988-89). There are no meaningful differences, but the trend was to lower weights over the years. I have a Graphite 'L' for example which is 388g, and a Grafil Injection 'L' that is 362g. I think the bag would be 1985-87 range which were the peak selling years for 200Gs, but I haven't seen that precise one before. It certainly wasn't the usual cover provided with the racket, but may have been given in 'luxury' combos like if buying two rackets together. Probably also available on it's own. There were extensive matching gear offerings in the mid-80s.
BDAZ
Hall of Fame
Head Ventoris 600… from Goodwill for $5.00. Solid 9/10 condition, other than the deteriorating grip. Came with the case, which is in great shape, also. Anyone know what the number on the butt cap sticker means?
Manhattan Captain
Rookie
Ace Rivington $170 linen shirt for $3.
kevin qmto
Hall of Fame
wow, that's a find for sure^^^
Anyways, here's another set of rackets I pulled from the $2.99 box at PIAS. I'm still seemingly on my quest to own every edition of the Wilson Sting, up to 8 now.
Here's the midsize edition, quite possibly the most common of any Sting model? Weird buttcap code, I'd never seen a parenthesis used in a code before. I've also never seen such excellent color matching in the strings they chose, look absolutely fitting with the blue. I have no idea what strings they are though. Overall condition is good, it was quite dusty before I wiped it down, likely spent a long time in a garage on a shelf. You'd never know that now though.
Then we have the SC2000, similar to the black midsize, but the beam is not identical and is far more squared off than the older one. it's also 6 grams lighter strung (354g) than the older midsize. I wonder which came first, the Sting SC (no crossbar) or Sting SC2000? I don't have sqing weight data for either yet.
far more traditional code.
Anyways, here's another set of rackets I pulled from the $2.99 box at PIAS. I'm still seemingly on my quest to own every edition of the Wilson Sting, up to 8 now.
Here's the midsize edition, quite possibly the most common of any Sting model? Weird buttcap code, I'd never seen a parenthesis used in a code before. I've also never seen such excellent color matching in the strings they chose, look absolutely fitting with the blue. I have no idea what strings they are though. Overall condition is good, it was quite dusty before I wiped it down, likely spent a long time in a garage on a shelf. You'd never know that now though.
Then we have the SC2000, similar to the black midsize, but the beam is not identical and is far more squared off than the older one. it's also 6 grams lighter strung (354g) than the older midsize. I wonder which came first, the Sting SC (no crossbar) or Sting SC2000? I don't have sqing weight data for either yet.
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Grafil Injection
Hall of Fame
I've seen the parentheses butt-cap code on some other early 80s Wilsons, and I guess they were just separating the date details from the manufacturer (SanHoSun). Perhaps there was also a manufacturer that used the Z code, so they wanted to make it clear it wasn't that. Your Sting Midsize is from 1984 (G), and your SC-2000 is from 1988 (A) I believe. It's weird to think it was sold at the same time as the Profile and Ultra 95 Tapered Beams, which seem lightyears ahead. The Sting should be 17mm beam, and it looks like the SC-2000 is 18mm.
kevin qmto
Hall of Fame
Moving right along, we have the early widebody edition of the Head Graphite Edge. Called Plus, even though it's not extended reach, nor is it midplus in size by any traditional measure at only 93sq in, maybe the thickened beam is the explanation of the Plus name. coming in at 346g strung, that's about right where I like them, and with 18 mains it should be well controlled. my balance table is buried in my closet somewhere otherwise I'd update those numbers as well, I'm just horribly lazy.
Grafil Injection
Hall of Fame
Moving right along, we have the early widebody edition of the Head Graphite Edge. Called Plus, even though it's not extended reach, nor is it midplus in size by any traditional measure at only 93sq in, maybe the thickened beam is the explanation of the Plus name. coming in at 346g strung, that's about right where I like them, and with 18 mains it should be well controlled. my balance table is buried in my closet somewhere otherwise I'd update those numbers as well, I'm just horribly lazy.
Looks interesting being straight beam. 23mm? It appears that they've solved white grommet disease too.
kevin qmto
Hall of Fame
23 or there about. The only ruler I have with mm measurements is a rigid one and that causes a certain amount of guessing when laid against a curved beam. The reason the white grommets and head guard are in good shape is simple, this was made in Taiwan, and the Taiwan sourced Head rackets don't have those issues with the white grommets crumbling like the USA and Austrian ones did.
A quick search on the bay revealed two versions of this Edge Plus, one with 4 individual throat grommets, and another with a single strip. I'm going to assume the one above is the earlier edtion.
Grafil Injection
Hall of Fame
Yeah, my Hot Edge has good grommets too. I wonder if the Austrian and USA Head factories made their own (dodgy) grommets, or whether there was a giant grommet factory in Taiwan / China for all companies, and they somehow deteriorated through shipping.
