Gentle Jaws Diablo + Wise Review

[LttlElvis]

I've been having lots of marring problems with my Wise for the past few months. I primarily string gut. I have been trying to find that happy medium adjustment on the Wise gripper but I have been unable to find it. I have taken it apart, cleaned it, tried different settings, but it has continued marring my gut and 18 g NXT. This used to never happen. Couldn't find a simple solution. I had to always adjust the set screw between different strings, and testing the string to find the setting is time consuming.

I was out of power for about a week due to Hurricane Ike, and I pulled out the manual crank on my Gamma 6004 for the first time. It has a diablo, and I was impressed with how gentle it was on the string.

Thanks to these message boards and TW member JimE, I was referred to an ad for Gentle Jaws, a retrofitted diablo designed by Jim Zednick. Jim is the developer and is on the USRSA Cerification Testing Staff.

I called him, spoke with him about the product and he sent one to me immediately. Nice guy. He told me he trusted me, and I could either send my payment later or send the product back to him !!

Disadvantages:

• Price. $39 + $5 shipping and handling. Maybe expensive and not for you. Basically it's a plastic knob screwed on a piece of metal with some holes. In reality this is something you can probably make yourself. Buy a piece of metal. Cut it. Drill holes. Find a knob and screw it on.
• Supply your own screws. He told me this before I ordered it so no surprises here. Go to a hardware store, get your own for less than $1.
• Lost 360 table rotation. I had it before by moving my Wise as far as possible on the arm. I couldn't move it any farther. Really not a big deal. I can work easily without full 360 rotation. I moved the Wise unit closer to the table now.

Advantages:

• Simple to install
• Looks like it was made for the Wise
• Shape of the Diablo knob is perfect. I doubt you will find the right shape and size if you shop at hardware stores
• It may seem pricey, but if I were to fabricate a diablo on my own, it would cost way more than $44 worth of MY time. It may be different for you.
• Able to decrease the gripper setting. I strung synthetic gut, NXT Tour 18, and Babolat Tonic+. I set at at one of the lowest settings and didn't change between the strings. No marring at all.

Overall, I would recommend the Gentle Jaws. Mar a few sets of gut, and the price justifies itself. Easy to install, use, and gentle on strings. Contact John Zednick. 919-859-6788

 

[LttlElvis]

Now a caveat:

Before you purchase this or a Wise, think of what I have gone through and what I have paid to get to where I am at:

• Wise - $500
• Wise pedal - $40
• Gamma 6004 - 1300
• Gamma adaptor - $45
• Gentle Jaws - $44

I originally had my Wise for my previous Eagnas machine. I really like the mounting of the Gamma. In retrospect, I should have bought a Gamma electronic machine. Live and learn. Make your decisions wisely before you make your purchases. I am just telling you what I have gone through. Everything I have is really nice, but I just seem to be adding on. I think and hope that's it.

For people thinking about getting a crank now and add on a Wise later, I would seriously consider just getting a high quality electronic machine to begin with.

 

[Il Mostro]

Good advice Elvis, but for those who simply cannot afford one big pop it is nice to have such a capable upgrade path. The only downside to the Wise is that is really does not pull at different speeds -- it maintains the same deficiency of the original Ektelon in that it pulls at only one speed until about 80% tensions and then slows to different speeds. This in and of itself is a reason to not go the add-on route. Personally, I agree that a purpose-built electronic is the best way to go.

 

[Irvin]

LlltElvis, if you take the Gamma adapter off and just use the Gentle Jaws you will not mar your string and you will get your 360 degree rotation back. Of course you forgot to mention it was not the Gentle Jaws that limited your rotation it is the adapter.

BUT wait there is more...

Looking at the Gamma crank the tensioner is angled up a little bit and top of the diablo roller is in line with the racket string bed and the tension gripper. The Wise use is made to pull on a horizontal plane like all other tension and the gripper is in line with that plane.

If I were going to make one of these myself I would have two 0.25"x2.5"x2.5" plates cut to replace the plates that hold the gripper. Have four holes drilled / tapped so so the gripper could be mounted in between them. Then place the diablo in line with the gripper. You would have to have the groves milled into the inside of the plates also so that the gripper would work properly. Might be able to use the diablo off the Gamma crank since it is just a bold on.

The metal should not cost too much the millwork would be the only real expense. Then you should have nearly the same thing as you do on the crank version of the Gamma with an electronic tension head.

But I agree with your other assessment. Better to have thought the whole thing out better and got the electronic version. I got my Wise for an Eagnas too. lol You forgot to inlcude the price of the Eagnas in your list also. Just think with the price of the Eagnas added to your other $1929.00 you would have been able to buy a nice electronic stringer. Excuse me I mean we would have been able to buy nice electronic stringers. Live and learn.

Irvin

 

[iplaybetter]

this is nice as it shows the real cost of things, when i decided to step up from the revo the wise was in my mind only for a short time once i realized the real cost and the pro con comparison of a full on electric, once the picture was made clear the passing over the wise was not hard at all

 

[Steve Huff]

But, the nice thing about the Wise is that if the electronics fail, you take it off and send it back. You can handle emergencies with the crank, or in my case, a backup Wise. I don't have the money or space to have 2 electronic machines sitting around, but I do have the space for a 2nd Wise.

 

[Rabbit]

Now a caveat:

Before you purchase this or a Wise, think of what I have gone through and what I have paid to get to where I am at:

• Wise - $500
• Wise pedal - $40
• Gamma 6004 - 1300
• Gamma adaptor - $45
• Gentle Jaws - $44

I originally had my Wise for my previous Eagnas machine. I really like the mounting of the Gamma. In retrospect, I should have bought a Gamma electronic machine. Live and learn. Make your decisions wisely before you make your purchases. I am just telling you what I have gone through. Everything I have is really nice, but I just seem to be adding on. I think and hope that's it.

For people thinking about getting a crank now and add on a Wise later, I would seriously consider just getting a high quality electronic machine to begin with.

From my perspective, it was a good deal;

Prince Neos 1000 (cheaper today than when I bought it) $1000.00
Wise Tension Head $495.00

Total Cost $1495.00

Cost of getting a Gamma 5800 2-point $2399.00

So it's still a good deal for me.