Best items you found at thrift stores (Goodwill)?

kevin qmto

Hall of Fame
Noting the 1983 patent, I believe the International was just a re-issue of either the Classic or the Pro, which came out earlier. Not sure which one though. The Pro had better quality aluminium I believe, making it stiffer. Given its nice quality and the case I think the correct strategy would have been to buy it, then you could compare to your existing model and have given back the worse one.
That would be a good idea, but the Classic is technically my mother's racket so I couldn't give it up for sentimental reasons lol.

Metal price frames from the early 80s are a bit hard to define when one production stopped and another began for me. The classic and classic II were even sold at the same time I think, even though they were just the same thing with different colors? So maybe the international was more related to the Pro than classic.
 
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Grafil Injection

Hall of Fame
That would be a good idea, but the Classic is technically my mother's racket so I couldn't give it up for sentimental reasons lol.

Metal price frames from the early 80s are a bit hard to define when one production stopped and another began for me. The classic and classic II were even sold at the same time I think, even though they were just the same thing with different colors? So maybe the international was more related to the Pro than classic.
Yeah would make sense, and I think the plastic throat-piece quality in the Pro was superior to the Classic, and the International looks like the Pro there too.
 

Sanglier

Professional
The original US-produced Prince OS was made out of extruded 6061-T6 alloy. It was very flexible. The two examples I have measured out to only 35 RA.

Prince then wanted to make these using 7000 series aluminum alloy to increase their strength and stiffness, and ended up shipping ALCOA tubings (in both 7005 and 7046) to Kunnan to produce the "Classic", which looked very similar to the original, except for having a more rounded beam profile and a redesigned throat piece with one less cross bar, and the word "Classic" added to its cover. This was a rather expensive undertaking for Prince and was not a huge success.

Then Kunnan sourced 6061 tubing locally and developed the "Pro" to meet Prince's specs. The "Pro" cost Prince way less to produce than the "Classic", as there was no longer the need to buy expensive ALCOA tubings to ship to Taiwan, yet it performed objectively better than the "Classic", and was marketed as a superior product. The result was a very lucrative run for both Prince and Kunnan. At the height of the model's popularity, Kunnan alone was shipping 150,000 units of the "Pro" every month. After Prince cancelled Kunnan's contract due to the latter's egregious lapse in judgement during an ad campaign for PK, other vendors continued to produce the "Pro" for Prince for a while (perhaps that's why there exist some slight variations on the same theme). By some estimate, over 10 million examples of the "Pro" were made during its full run by all contractors combined.
 

kevin qmto

Hall of Fame
The original US-produced Prince OS was made out of extruded 6061-T6 alloy. It was very flexible. The two examples I have measured out to only 35 RA.

Prince then wanted to make these using 7000 series aluminum alloy to increase their strength and stiffness, and ended up shipping ALCOA tubings (in both 7005 and 7046) to Kunnan to produce the "Classic", which looked very similar to the original, except for having a more rounded beam profile and a redesigned throat piece with one less cross bar, and the word "Classic" added to its cover. This was a rather expensive undertaking for Prince and was not a huge success.

Then Kunnan sourced 6061 tubing locally and developed the "Pro" to meet Prince's specs. The "Pro" cost Prince way less to produce than the "Classic", as there was no longer the need to buy expensive ALCOA tubings to ship to Taiwan, yet it performed objectively better than the "Classic", and was marketed as a superior product. The result was a very lucrative run for both Prince and Kunnan. At the height of the model's popularity, Kunnan alone was shipping 150,000 units of the "Pro" every month. After Prince cancelled Kunnan's contract due to the latter's egregious lapse in judgement during an ad campaign for PK, other vendors continued to produce the "Pro" for Prince for a while (perhaps that's why there exist some slight variations on the same theme). By some estimate, over 10 million examples of the "Pro" were made during its full run by all contractors combined.
Wow, great info as always. As usual I have some followup questions. So when Kunnan locally developed the Pro, the Classic they were making changed as well? As it also gained the different beam shape and one-less throat bar. Is a Kunnan-produced Classic and Pro more or less the same thing? and likewise for the International?

And I also spotted, but left this. I was kinda surprised to see that Prince performed some cosmetic updates as late as 1987 on the Pro 110 like they did to the rest of their lineup. It still has a Taiwan sticker on it (was this after the Kunnan contract was dissolved?) , but updated and shortened patent info, along with the headsize posted on the top of the hoop. Tension levels dropped from minimum recommendation of 72lbs (lol) to a measly 65... Left it for the same reason I left the International 110 as I probably wouldn't use it much, but still thought it was interesting enough to take photos.

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Grafil Injection

Hall of Fame
Wow, great info as always. As usual I have some followup questions. So when Kunnan locally developed the Pro, the Classic they were making changed as well? As it also gained the different beam shape and one-less throat bar. Is a Kunnan-produced Classic and Pro more or less the same thing? and likewise for the International?

And I also spotted, but left this. I was kinda surprised to see that Prince performed some cosmetic updates as late as 1987 on the Pro 110 like they did to the rest of their lineup. It still has a Taiwan sticker on it (was this after the Kunnan contract was dissolved?) , but updated and shortened patent info, along with the headsize posted on the top of the hoop. Tension levels dropped from minimum recommendation of 72lbs (lol) to a measly 65... Left it for the same reason I left the International 110 as I probably wouldn't use it much, but still thought it was interesting enough to take photos.

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I think that would just be the trend over the years for lower lbs. It's still goes to the same max.

Here is the advert mentioning stiffened upper hoop for the Pro.
Screenshot-20240128-044424-2.png

The bridge of the Pro being nylon and fiberglass was also an upgrade over the Classic I believe.
 
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Sanglier

Professional
The "Pro" had been planned all along to be a step-up from the "Classic". The design specs came from Prince, but Kunnan worked out the rest. The trickiest part of metal-working is heat treatment. Kunnan's team received training from ALCOA engineers when they were working with imported ALCOA tubing for the "Classic", apparently they were quick learners...

I believe the 1987 model you have came after Prince canceled Kunnan's contract. Different people remember different things today, but it's a matter of record that, right after that costly cancellation, Kunnan received a huge chunk of investment from the government, which some of his peers interpreted to be a form of financial bailout. Suddenly flush with cash, Kunnan went IPO in 1988, which, ironically, set him up for his ultimate downfall, as he lost sight of his own limitation at the worst possible time.

The drawings in that ad are a little misleading. The tubing on the "Pro" is not nearly as pinched in the middle as on the "Classic"; which might explain why the "Pro" feels stiffer somehow, even though it's made from a more ductile alloy. That said, I have never measured the flex of an aluminum "Pro". The magnesium version of the "Pro" has a flex in the low to mid 60s. I can't imagine the aluminum ones are more than 10 RA lower than that in flex.

Correction: I now see the sectional drawing is for the "J/R Pro", not the regular "Pro". It makes sense to give it more flex using the same pinched tubing as on the "Classic".
 
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kevin qmto

Hall of Fame
To round out the Prince postings, here's a group of Princes I found and left at PIAS. All priced between 20-30 and in good shape. Just decided to let someone else enjoy them hopefully.

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This last one I left due to condition, but its on my 'to buy' list provided its in good/great shape. I'd never seen one of these Prince Response 90's before, and am very interested in seeing how different it plays from my Power Pro 90 from the same era. I dig the maroon color, especially since they even colored the leather grips the same shade, very nice indeed. Was this one of the more expensive Prince midsizes in that range during the mid-late 80s before the CTS came out?
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Grafil Injection

Hall of Fame
To round out the Prince postings, here's a group of Princes I found and left at PIAS. All priced between 20-30 and in good shape. Just decided to let someone else enjoy them hopefully.

ElyLPxy.jpg

EXiDoUq.jpg

vctIwDE.jpg

pdihddy.jpg



This last one I left due to condition, but its on my 'to buy' list provided its in good/great shape. I'd never seen one of these Prince Response 90's before, and am very interested in seeing how different it plays from my Power Pro 90 from the same era. I dig the maroon color, especially since they even colored the leather grips the same shade, very nice indeed. Was this one of the more expensive Prince midsizes in that range during the mid-late 80s before the CTS came out?
ol4DQOc.jpg

2A9HLdV.jpg

2AjX7Cq.jpg

The Response was the last Prince thin-beamed model that came out with the 4-stripe POG in 87, and has the same high quality as that and the 1986 Spectrum. Exactly as shown in the Prince flexibility graphic, it's a bit more flexible than the Spectrum, but still has plenty of power (it's not a noodle). The pseudo-inverted bridge means the mains are all the same length if you count the part that goes through the large bridge. That bridge gives it a slightly unusual stability (air resistance) in the middle, is less whippy than a Spectrum, and has less power than a POG, but still hits a solid ball. Yes, UK adverts show the POG at £120, Spectrum 90 and Response 80.

You could fill three 12-packs with Prince mid-range rackets from 1989-95, like the others shown. They are all easy to hit, and by far the best value sticks at the time. I prefer them to the head-heavy feeling CTSs and Synergys, but you only need one.
 
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vsbabolat

G.O.A.T.
To round out the Prince postings, here's a group of Princes I found and left at PIAS. All priced between 20-30 and in good shape. Just decided to let someone else enjoy them hopefully.

ElyLPxy.jpg

EXiDoUq.jpg

vctIwDE.jpg

pdihddy.jpg



This last one I left due to condition, but its on my 'to buy' list provided its in good/great shape. I'd never seen one of these Prince Response 90's before, and am very interested in seeing how different it plays from my Power Pro 90 from the same era. I dig the maroon color, especially since they even colored the leather grips the same shade, very nice indeed. Was this one of the more expensive Prince midsizes in that range during the mid-late 80s before the CTS came out?
ol4DQOc.jpg

2A9HLdV.jpg

2AjX7Cq.jpg
My memory of the Response 90 is my coaching using it in 1988. In 1989 he switched to the Graph Tech DB 90
 

Grafil Injection

Hall of Fame
My memory of the Response 90 is my coaching using it in 1988. In 1989 he switched to the Graph Tech DB 90
The Response is as classic feeling as the Spectrum and POG, just a touch lower powered. But the GraphTec is much easier to hit like the TriComp too, so makes a lot of sense for a coach. Those are probably my top-five Prince sticks.
 

Grafil Injection

Hall of Fame
Trap doors to remove tiny plastic bits that rattle in frames should be standard equipment in all tennis rackets, and I have no idea why they aren’t.
I think those P-Keys came out when they moved to wide-bodies and stopped filling the voids with foam that would previously pick up any internal chips.
 

Bisquick

Rookie
Got a new old stock Dunlop Revelation Superlong Tour Pro +1.00 over the wkend for $2.00. Not a mark on it
Had to replace the grip as it was disintegrating badly and leaving residue everywhere.
Found a favourable review on here - look forward to giving a go - if it doesn’t work out it will go on the for sale bin.
 

kevin qmto

Hall of Fame
Got a new old stock Dunlop Revelation Superlong Tour Pro +1.00 over the wkend for $2.00. Not a mark on it
Had to replace the grip as it was disintegrating badly and leaving residue everywhere.
Found a favourable review on here - look forward to giving a go - if it doesn’t work out it will go on the for sale bin.
Part of the joys of racket restoration is meticulously removing all the tar-like residue of old grips that somehow migrates to all other parts of the frame. I picked up this Pro Kennex Ceramic Elite looking like this:
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Turned it into this, it was actually in great shape under all that dirt and rotted grip lol.
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Here's what I don't understand... It really looked like the previous owner tried to actually use this racket with the deteriorating grip. Like they drove to the courts, started playing, and after the grip started falling apart, they must have just said "screw it" and kept playing. That seems like the only way they could have gotten so much junk spread around the whole frame by handling it...
 
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Bisquick

Rookie
Got a new old stock Dunlop Revelation Superlong Tour Pro +1.00 over the wkend for $2.00. Not a mark on it
Had to replace the grip as it was disintegrating badly and leaving residue everywhere.
Found a favourable review on here - look forward to giving a go - if it doesn’t work out it will go on the for sale bin.
Put this into play second set of my match this evening- racket felt solid right Away. Knocked the Pro Kennex Silver Aces from play. Like this better than my Prince Chang long body’s!
 

kevin qmto

Hall of Fame
I bought a racket last night that’s so Un-noteworthy that I haven’t even bothered taking pics of it yet (usually my giddyness to clean and document the new acquisition overrules everything else). It’s just another classic wood frame but the clear ‘store brand’ nature of it led me to buy for $3.

It’s a blue and white 65sq in mono shaft wood from Taiwan like so many others. Called the Sports Action - Championship. By the buttcap shape, it appears to come from the same factory that made lower end Rawlings frames.
 

Grafil Injection

Hall of Fame
I bought a racket last night that’s so Un-noteworthy that I haven’t even bothered taking pics of it yet (usually my giddyness to clean and document the new acquisition overrules everything else). It’s just another classic wood frame but the clear ‘store brand’ nature of it led me to buy for $3.

It’s a blue and white 65sq in mono shaft wood from Taiwan like so many others. Called the Sports Action - Championship. By the buttcap shape, it appears to come from the same factory that made lower end Rawlings frames.

Some of the really low level woods look like they've been painted with the sort of thick gloss you would apply to your garage walls!
 

kevin qmto

Hall of Fame
Some of the really low level woods look like they've been painted with the sort of thick gloss you would apply to your garage walls!
Indeed, though at least it’s durable. I mainly decided to buy this for a couple reasons. 1. Good shape, no warping. 2. Surprisingly small grip. Most old woods I find are 4 5/8 or 4 3/4. This one feels like it might be 4 1/4 or even smaller. It makes it easy to get really whippy with the thing. It’s lightweight also makes that feasible. But usually I avoid trying to get too wristy with old woods, because a bad shank can spell the end for the frame. But since this is a no-name racket that has little to no historical value (certainly no monitory value), oh well!
 

kevin qmto

Hall of Fame
Used my Yamaha 90 in another night league match. Played even better this time than the first time I tried it a few months ago. Won 6/1, 6/2. If only you could swing a heftier stick, @teachingprotx, this is the flexy Yammy you were wondering about. Smashed a ton of winners and aces/ unreturnable serves.
 

BDAZ

Hall of Fame
Speaking of Prince Responses... I picked up a CTS Response Oversize the other night for $5.99. 24mm Constant Taper beam. Other than the deteriorated grip, it looks to be nearly perfect shape.
 

kevin qmto

Hall of Fame
Anyways, here's the 'rare ... probably' Sports Action - Championship. The only other Sports Action racket I could find was an aluminum midsize on the bay that’s likely a decade newer. These folks were so choosy they never even found a single pro worthy of being sponsored by them. Nobody is good enough! Featuring an 18x20 pattern and 7-ply lamination so you know this stick prioritizes precision shotmaking. SA made sure to paint the entire frame to not give away their exclusive wood selection and layup shape. Ok so the buttcap isn't identical to Rawlings but that odd indent seems more than a little coincidental. I hit with this briefly and it does feel similar to my Chemold Swinger which is nice, as I was really bummed when I snapped that one.

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kevin qmto

Hall of Fame
I’d like to take a moment to make a Victory Lap post to whatever guy made that BST thread here in the classic section. And when I just proposed he might have accidentally posted in the wrong section he got all standoffish saying “I’ll post here if I want, where are the mods, oh right they don’t exist.”

And then I reported the thread and it was gone a couple hours later lol. Get wrecked.
 

WYK

Hall of Fame
At this point in my racket collecting days, I realize my biggest weakness when deciding whether to buy or leave an old racket is condition. I'm an absolute sucker for buying frames, literally anything, if they appear basically 10/10 condition. This thing looks like it's seriously never been used, and I don't really need it but how could I pass up a nice looking Prince Os frame for under $5? This Prince Ice Ti Os dates from 2004 according to a NOS price tag I found on an example online, is pretty light and I'm sure it wasn't particularly expensive. After looking into it, it appears the Force 3 line of rackets replaced the Synergy line of the mid to late 90's, and lasted from 02-05ish, until the O3 stuff really took over Prince's lineup. I have so many rackets to get out to the court in my backlog that my body would fall apart long before I could put much of a dent in it. Maybe its time to try dumping a few frames on CL again. Though I haven't tried doing that in about a year as it was a lot of work listing about 20 frames, and after reposting them for 3 months straight I sold a grand total of 2 of them (and my prices were reasonable I swear, just enough to make it worth my time).

Anyways, no one on this forum has even brought up this frame in 20 years, so it must be a hidden gem!!!

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Really puts to shame the junk Wilson passes for a paintjob nowadays.
 

kevin qmto

Hall of Fame
Annoyingly, I cannot find one of my main rackets anywhere, after using it in USTA last week. And of course it’s one of the irreplaceable ones, my prototype 2010 Adidas Barricade. I just dumped out every tennis bag I own looking for it on the off chance I stashed it away. I think I left it on the sideline of the court when I went to change. I’ll stop by the place in the morning but I have that sinking feeling. Mostly because I’m about the only person on the planet using the recent Adidas frames full time, not to toot my own horn too much, but I’d think someone there would have known it was mine if it was found.

To make myself feel better I made this edit of me smashing winners.
 
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jxs653

Professional
Annoyingly, I cannot find one of my main rackets anywhere, after using it in USTA last week. And of course it’s one of the irreplaceable ones, my prototype 2010 Adidas Barricade. I just dumped out every tennis bag I own looking for it on the off chance I stashed it away. I think I left it on the sideline of the court when I went to change. I’ll stop by the place in the morning but I have that sinking feeling. Mostly because I’m about the only person on the planet using the recent Adidas frames full time, not to toot my own horn too much, but I’d think someone there would have known it was mine if it was found.
Sorry to hear that. I hope you find your lost gem.
 
Annoyingly, I cannot find one of my main rackets anywhere, after using it in USTA last week. And of course it’s one of the irreplaceable ones, my prototype 2010 Adidas Barricade. I just dumped out every tennis bag I own looking for it on the off chance I stashed it away. I think I left it on the sideline of the court when I went to change. I’ll stop by the place in the morning but I have that sinking feeling. Mostly because I’m about the only person on the planet using the recent Adidas frames full time, not to toot my own horn too much, but I’d think someone there would have known it was mine if it was found.

To make myself feel better I made this edit of me smashing winners.
That inside in is awesome son ..
 
Annoyingly, I cannot find one of my main rackets anywhere, after using it in USTA last week. And of course it’s one of the irreplaceable ones, my prototype 2010 Adidas Barricade. I just dumped out every tennis bag I own looking for it on the off chance I stashed it away. I think I left it on the sideline of the court when I went to change. I’ll stop by the place in the morning but I have that sinking feeling. Mostly because I’m about the only person on the planet using the recent Adidas frames full time, not to toot my own horn too much, but I’d think someone there would have known it was mine if it was found.

To make myself feel better I made this edit of me smashing winners.
This young buck is practicing the dark arts with the barricade
 
Dude .. they best have your Oreo at the lost and found . Or we gonna have to break out some hard pipe hittin on em . Let em know who ya are son !!!
 

mavsman149

Hall of Fame
I saw a KBlade 98 that was kind of beat up once, I still regret not snagging it for 3 bucks though. Played the KBlade Tour back in the day and that was a great racquet, I bet the 98 was great too
 

WYK

Hall of Fame
Annoyingly, I cannot find one of my main rackets anywhere, after using it in USTA last week. And of course it’s one of the irreplaceable ones, my prototype 2010 Adidas Barricade. I just dumped out every tennis bag I own looking for it on the off chance I stashed it away. I think I left it on the sideline of the court when I went to change. I’ll stop by the place in the morning but I have that sinking feeling. Mostly because I’m about the only person on the planet using the recent Adidas frames full time, not to toot my own horn too much, but I’d think someone there would have known it was mine if it was found.

To make myself feel better I made this edit of me smashing winners.
That looks familiar. Is it near Olivette area? Looking good there, Kevin.
 

atatu

Legend
I worked for John Newcombes and the on campus full time live in pros were sponsored by prince and fila at my time there .
It was absolutely amazing when I recieved my first kit of prince graphite 90’s with a reel of topspin . I felt so important! :)
When I graduated from college and had my first "real" job, I bought a pair of 90's, they were amazing frames. I lost them in a breakup with an ex girlfriend, I actually asked for them back but she didn't respond.
 

Ronaldo

Bionic Poster
When I graduated from college and had my first "real" job, I bought a pair of 90's, they were amazing frames. I lost them in a breakup with an ex girlfriend, I actually asked for them back but she didn't respond.
Thank goodness If she did respond they may appear more twisted than an Ergonom
 

jxs653

Professional
I found this today. Prince Magnesium Pro 90, in my grip size, for $4.
People used to say this racquet is notorious for its head's being "spooned" because magnesium is so soft a material, and this one looks to be in decent shape. Good find. It is one of those I've wished to come across in a local thrift/frea market.
 
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