Determining a St. Vincent PS 85

tandayu said:
Is there any variation on the grommets of S. Vincent versiont, especially the 3 pieces at 6 o'clock position of the racket head? Are those the flat one or the concave shape?
Click to expand...

Early St. Vincent (bumperless) = concave throat grommets, looks same as River Grove throat grommets.

After that, all bumpered St. Vincent and all Taiwan = flat throat grommets, still in three pieces.

By the way, are the concave throat grommets interchangable between River Grove and St. Vincent? Because I think I had tried the more usual St. Vincent throat grommets in an old River Grove, and they were too short.

If they are interchangable, then wouldn't that suggest that the early St. Vincent molds were identical to River Grove molds?
 
I have a PS 85 in front of me with GYQ on butt cap, bumperless, recommended string tension 60-70, and oval lower grommets. Is this Chicago version?

If it is a "Chicago", then can I say it fits one of the version of the St. Vincent? The other PS 85 in front of me has JSQ code, bumperless, recommneded string tension 55-65, and also with oval lower grommets.
 
tandayu said:
I have a PS 85 in front of me with GYQ on butt cap, bumperless, recommended string tension 60-70, and oval lower grommets. Is this Chicago version?

If it is a "Chicago", then can I say it fits one of the version of the St. Vincent? The other PS 85 in front of me has JSQ code, bumperless, recommneded string tension 55-65, and also with oval lower grommets.
Click to expand...
Would you post some pics of that racquet so we can compare with my st.vincent pics?

I think it would be a great idea for everyone who has any versions of the st. vincents and the chicago, as well as the other chineese and tawaniese versions to compare all of them.
 
This has been an excellent thread on an excellent racquet.

I have three China made 85's. Two of them have Fairway leather grips and one has Wilson leather. Does that indicate anything?

Also do the Taiwan made models say China or Taiwan on the butt cap?
 
Determining a St. Vincent PS 95

I have one of the latest production china made. Pro staff 6.0. Very glossy looking. Buttcap black color, and the "W" is white inside of a red square. There is a a small sticker says "china". It comes with light brown leather grip written "Wilson" on it. 3 letter code "GFV". Inside a throat, it says "PWS.....", and under it says "Braided construction......Chiao Ta".

Again, I have seen several variation on the Taiwan & chinese version, but can't remember the details.

By the way, several posters on this thread are "very knowledgeable" on PS 85. I will come up with more questions.....
 
loubapache said:
This has been an excellent thread on an excellent racquet.

I have three China made 85's. Two of them have Fairway leather grips and one has Wilson leather. Does that indicate anything?

Also do the Taiwan made models say China or Taiwan on the butt cap?
Click to expand...

Both the Taiwan makes and the China makes have only a sticker on the butt cap that says either China or Taiwan. The early china PS 85 still came with Fairway grips and white butt caps as I have a few of them as well. All Taiwan makes has white butt caps and fairway grips and point to note again, there's no swing index printed after the word pro staff, only in the throat area.
 
hello,
i get 2 prostaff 6.0 85 with "recommended tension 50-60". With white W in to red square to the butcap ( from tennis warehouse)
and with this topic, i see that i don't get a real prostaff from St.Vincent :/
I want to get it!!!
PLz where i can buy it :°((((((
 
Does anyone know how many st vincents are in circulation? Also does anyone know how many Pete has owned and what he does when hes finished with them?
 
They made them for like seven or eight years, so there's plenty left in anything but brand new condition, of which there's still some. It's been said that when the factory closed, Sampras got about 200. Used about 15-20 per year and ran out. He gives his sticks to friends or to charity or other causes to auction.
 
I bought a PS 85 from a flea market for ONE BUCK. It has red primer underneath and the buttcap reads GT under the W. It's a 95 square inch head size with no bumperguard and the recommended tension is 70-75lb. The weight and head balanced of the racket is shown inside the throat area also. This would be the deal of a life time for me......................if some clutz didn't smash and cracked it at 3 o'clock = (.
 
PrestigeClassic said:
They made them for like seven or eight years, so there's plenty left in anything but brand new condition, of which there's still some. It's been said that when the factory closed, Sampras got about 200. Used about 15-20 per year and ran out. He gives his sticks to friends or to charity or other causes to auction.
Click to expand...
Edberg, and Courier also purchased large sums of the St. Vincents when the factory closed. Sampras had also broken numerous St. Vincents during matches through his career. This is mostly likely the high tension he strings is racquets to. I have a video of him doing one of his flying overhead smash and breaking the head of his PS 85. It was funny/amazing to say the least.
 
What's with the talk all the time about River Grove models having red primer? I've had three River Grove models, one of which I still own (anybody interested?). If mine had red primer, then it must have been secret disappearing ink, or someone simply put an old River Grove butt cap on a St. Vincent. Regardless, you'd know what it is when you play with it. I had one River Grove with very glossy paint, not as glossy as a Taiwan, but glossy in a big way. That one also had very smooth edges around the PWS buldges and in general. There's as much variance in that first year's run than there was during the whole St. Vincent run. Here's some photos that I took this weekend of my River Grove (my St. V is in one photo):

buttcap.jpg

side.jpg


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v72/mmmmmilk/Tennis/hoop.jpg
 
iwantarealprostaff said:
hello,
i get 2 prostaff 6.0 85 with "recommended tension 50-60". With white W in to red square to the butcap ( from tennis warehouse)
and with this topic, i see that i don't get a real prostaff from St.Vincent :/
I want to get it!!!
PLz where i can buy it :°((((((
Click to expand...


If you can break into Pete's garage, you should find a few.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Yup, Edberg seemed to have a stash of the early St. Vincent frames without bumperguards, and/or later St. Vincent frames with the older bumper-less strips (not sure if they were interchangable though).

Not sure if Courier ever purchased large sums of St. Vincent frames. As I recall, he didn't have very many and was left pretty much scratching his head.

Sampras broke a frame every couple years or so. I was watching a Wimbledon match on TV when he must have caught a serve a bit high, snapping the frame cleanly, which was help together by its strings only. On the way to his chair, Sampras flung it into the crowd and some British ladies had it. Has to be some sort of combination between a high tension and Sampras' brute strength.
 
Just get an 85 if you want, and if you like it, keep it. If you're not sure, get another 85 and keep which one you like the best. Who knows what you like. There's St. Vincent, and then there's all other 85's.
 
lol..thats some good logic. That's the best way to find out I guess.
 
We can see the difference between the original St-Vincent and the others made in china or taiwan by some slight paint. But what is the difference from the playability??
 
I have the Chinesse version, and the St Vincent. The St Vincent is a lot stiffer, heavier, plays line a baseball bat. Only Samprass could play with this racquet. Super small sweet spot. You have to be a 5.0 player to appriciate this racquet. A pure weapon of destruction. The paint job is smooth. The St Vincent is the best made racquet ever.
 
I have one of the origional SV (No Bumper gaurd and no labels on the inside), which I am trying to sell. It is in pretty good shape. Can anyone tell me what would be a good price?
 
gmorr001? It depends on the condition of the racquet, grommets, and fairway grip. How much are you looking to sell it for?
 
The Frame is in pretty good shape. The grommets are ok, they could be replaced and it needs a new grip. Im just looking for a ballpark figure.
 
Guys - sorry to bring up an old thread but since there's so many on this subject I thought I'd just add to this one.

My pro staff seems to be a st.v or taiwan - it has red primer, no 6.0 marking, says mid size on one side and braided graphite etc. on the other, has squarded off grommets, recommend string tension of 50-60, white but cap with some letters that are hard to read (look like QS) but on the inside throat next to the PWS explanation it has a white box with a black number in it (2315). Any opinions appreciated.

Edit- it also has a bumper guard.
 
ilvanakis said:
Guys - sorry to bring up an old thread but since there's so many on this subject I thought I'd just add to this one.

My pro staff seems to be a st.v or taiwan - it has red primer, no 6.0 marking, says mid size on one side and braided graphite etc. on the other, has squarded off grommets, recommend string tension of 50-60, white but cap with some letters that are hard to read (look like QS) but on the inside throat next to the PWS explanation it has a white box with a black number in it (2315). Any opinions appreciated.

Edit- it also has a bumper guard.
Click to expand...
Have you had it from new or did you acquire it 2nd-hand?
 
doriancito said:
the frame gmslam has is unque i would pay up to 1,000 for that frame! nice pics and thanks for sharing
Click to expand...

Please dont tell em you mean $1000 US? You can buy a SV PS for pretty cheap (compared to earlier years) on e-bay
 
Galactus said:
Have you had it from new or did you acquire it 2nd-hand?
Click to expand...

I got it second hand a year or so ago. I had no idea there were so many versions of the pro staff (I may be aging myself) until some one pointed me to this board/thread. Although I joined the board a while ago, I pretty much just came here and bought a couple racquets but didn't do a lot of reading in the racquet forum because I had been using the same racquets for a while (yonex r-50). But I have not been able to find any more r-50 and the pro staff was similar looking so I gave it a try and liked it.
 
Sv 85

Hi ppl,

I got some doubts to ask about SV 85.

1. Is the SV ProStaff 85 slightly longer than the China(Chiao Ta) version? because I found my SV to have a slightly longer handle compared to my chiao ta version.

2. Is the throat(near the handle, where the words "Graphite Kevlar" is written) of the SV 85 slightly slimmer than the chiao ta version?

Thanks
 
Blank said:
Hi ppl,

I got some doubts to ask about SV 85.

1. Is the SV ProStaff 85 slightly longer than the China(Chiao Ta) version? because I found my SV to have a slightly longer handle compared to my chiao ta version.

2. Is the throat(near the handle, where the words "Graphite Kevlar" is written) of the SV 85 slightly slimmer than the chiao ta version?

Thanks
Click to expand...

Hi,
1. I don't think so. Did you measure/compare the frames?
2. Yes. The molds are different.
 
didnt Federer beat Sampras with the China prostaff version? So if your style is eastern forehand and pure S&V player like Pete, St. Vincent is way to go...but for younger guys nowadays, the china version of P.S 85 is no different.
 
Sv 85

PrestigeClassic said:
Hi,
1. I don't think so. Did you measure/compare the frames?
2. Yes. The molds are different.
Click to expand...


Hi PC,

Thanks, for the info.
yes, I did compare the two frames. I have both version. The handle of the SV is longer, thus making the overall length of the frames longer by about a centimeter or so.

Just to confirm the authenticity of my SV:
1. It has bumperguard
2. Nothing is written on the inside throat of the racket.
3. Serial ends with "Q"
4. There are spots of red primer on the scratched areas.

Thanks
 
Blank said:
Hi PC,

Thanks, for the info.
yes, I did compare the two frames. I have both version. The handle of the SV is longer, thus making the overall length of the frames longer by about a centimeter or so.

Just to confirm the authenticity of my SV:
1. It has bumperguard
2. Nothing is written on the inside throat of the racket.
3. Serial ends with "Q"
4. There are spots of red primer on the scratched areas.

Thanks
Click to expand...

Wow, I would be surprised to see such a variance in length between these two frames. The frames are so stiff and sturdy that I'm not sure if they could lengthen 1cm just from improper stringing. Since the handles are longer, perhaps a butt cap was placed too far off of the handle. That might be the case if you line up the two frames from the head, and see if the heads are the same length, and distance from the head end of the frame to the neck are the same. It's definitely not normal to have such a variance in length in these frames.
 
Sv 85

PC,

I measured my SV Mid to be 68.8cm
while the Chiao Ta version to be 68.3cm

TW indicates that the lenght of the PS 6.0 to be 27 inch(69cm)

So I guess the SV is closer to the specs....;)

Has anyone compared all the different versions?
 
:) My wilsonn is 68,5 sm ,but it is not a St.Vincent one so??
I don't know -is it possible

On my first it is written:
ProStaff 6.0 The Font is like the new ones
1.Recommended Tension Range :23-27 kg / 50-60 lbs
Head Size :85 sq.in/548cm
Use Wilson Sensation String and Fairway Grip
2.PWS,the original Permeter Weighting System,gives
you the advantage of repositioned weight to provide
extra stability ,power and control in a headlight racquet.
Braided Construction Exclusively Manufactured by CHIAO TA
At the but cap CHINA


The second one:
Pro Staff The font is like SV but with small size

1.Recommended Tension Range :25-29 kg / 50-60 lbs
Higher tensions give you more control
Lower tension give you more power
For optimum playbility Use
Perf.Plus and Fairway Grip

It is written 85 SQ.IN at the side of the frame (at the vertical second string)
The but cap is GHU

Can someone tell me what kind of racquets i have ?
 
Posted earlier:

"Even the earlier Taiwan versions were made from the same molds as the Vincents, and have even been found to have the red primer (I have never seen one). However, I believe if I am correct (someone correct me if I am wrong) the Taiwan had a different "make-up" of the graphite/kevlar composition."

Not correct. The original molds were destroyed in a fire in the st vincent factory. Taiwan used only new molds, white primer and the grommett channels were rounded or U shaped. The China molfs which came later apparently had more squared gromett channels, but completely different graphics, mainly the 6.0si on the throat.

The chicago frames, usually with GRI on the cap, are identical to the early st vincents as the chicago molds were sent down to St Vincent when the factory was opened.

After the pro staff was introduced, bumper guards were added, then the inner throat stickers became stencils with different language (this happened in the last year of production at St Vincent) This made the appearance very similar to Taiwan. The ONLY way to tell a St Vincent for certain is the square gromett channel with the original graphics, and the existence of red primer if there is a scratch allowing the primer to show through.

I used the St Vincent pro staff for 20 years, researched it through wilson and traded emails with Nate Ferguson.
 
checked my PS85 and it has the GRI and square grommet channel. maybe SV maybe Chicago. doesn't matter to me since i'm keeping it anyway. :mrgreen:
 
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