K Blade Pro Stock 16x19

[Jbuoy]

Hello Tennis folks! I'm thinking of purchasing a pro stock K Blade with a 16x19 pattern. Apparently its a very popular mold with the pro's and some use it as is (18x20) and there are some made with a 16x19 open pattern. Has anyone ever tried one? Any thoughts? Also, if you have one or happen to know, where can you get extra grommets with it? I'm a grinder when I play (I sometimes hit the ground on my serve follow through), and other times I hit the ground on slices. The last thing I want is to have a racket where I constantly have to be careful not to bang it up or scrape it.

 

[Deleted member 775108]

Hello Tennis folks! I'm thinking of purchasing a pro stock K Blade with a 16x19 pattern. Apparently its a very popular mold with the pro's and some use it as is (18x20) and there are some made with a 16x19 open pattern. Has anyone ever tried one? Any thoughts? Also, if you have one or happen to know, where can you get extra grommets with it? I'm a grinder when I play (I sometimes hit the ground on my serve follow through), and other times I hit the ground on slices. The last thing I want is to have a racket where I constantly have to be careful not to bang it up or scrape it.

Have you even tried the retail KBlade 98? If not I would get a couple retail KBlade 98s with 18x20 and give them a shot first. If you dont like a quick resale at a small loss.

No retail KB 16x19 existed but im sure you know that, and there will be no retail grommet that will slot in.

Independently
How many grommets have you replaced on a new purchased racket (or pair) in your tennis life so far?

 

[Jbuoy]

Yes, played with it many years ago. I finally stopped a few years back as I just wanted more spin and easier launch angle. Getting older….wanted a less demanding racquet. However I’ve tried all of the blades since the KBlade and they didn’t come close in feel.

 

[eric42]

Pro stock (K-Blade mold) Blade 98 16x19 is one of my favorite feeling frames of all time. They're very soft and damped, but without the vague rubbery feel on contact of the V7 thru V9 retail frames, or the overly muted feel of some soft Yonex frames. Not sure why, maybe the glossy clearcoat actually makes for a slightly crisper feel. They tend to come in around 300 SW unstrung and are generally a little heavier to swing than retail Blades, but they have great plow, are very solid and stable feeling (extra hoop mass) with a tiny bit more pop partially because of the plow. Ignore RA numbers - I have a few ranging from 66 to 68 and they all still feel soft. WAY softer than a 60 RA H22 I had. Otherwise, they play like a Blade should play. Forget about finding grommets for these. Strategically placed head tape is your friend for bumper protection. I only tend to scrape in a small area of the frame. You can replace individual grommets with Fittex, but have never had to do this.

And I do not think pro stock Blades feel like the old retail K-Blades even though they share the same mold. Different layup it seems.

 

[Jbuoy]

Wow thanks so much for this information! I can’t wait to get my hands on it. I LOVED the K Blade 18x20…probably the racquet I’ve used most in my adult life, was sad putting it down. if it feels anything like it I’d know it instantly. I was thinking the same thing on just using head tape. My technique could probably be better on serve as well. My friend who plays with a Regna sometimes lets balls go when he knows his racquet will hit the ground….don’t want that!

 

[Deleted member 775108]

Yes, played with it many years ago. I finally stopped a few years back as I just wanted more spin and easier launch angle. Getting older….wanted a less demanding racquet. However I’ve tried all of the blades since the KBlade and they didn’t come close in feel.

The smaller grommet holes and the crisper layup is unbeatable. The sweet is just that much sweeter at the penalty of a smaller sweet spot. There is no chance you will get that feel in anything new as everything has bigger grommet holes now.

@eric42 - do your KB 16x19 pro stocks have small grommet holes or V5 and later style holes?

Ask for photos of the grommets on the 16x19 pro stock version as see if they are old style (small) or new style (bigger holes)? Also check if drilling is parallel or normal?

I suspect the answer probably is - you will have to try it to find out. Also everyone has fond memories of their youth.

 

[eric42]

@eric42 - do your KB 16x19 pro stocks have small grommet holes or V5 and later style holes?

Interesting - they all have the small barrel grommets except for one oddball frame that I bought outside of a batch (the strung one here) which has the larger barrel retail size grommets. Odd there would be a difference. The larger diameter grommets also protrude further above the frame than the small ones. Small barrels are .130" outside diameter, larger ones are .154" O.D.

https://imgur.com/a/xI9K9Lj

 

[Tan Tennis]

If you like Blade and want something superior then Kblade pro stock it is. It hits heavy balls, easy to maneuver but with high swingweight, easily over 330. Better spin than retail Blade 16x19 and has higher launch. And quite powerful. And definitely better feel than retail Blade with much less dampened. It was my favorite until I try Kblade 18x19 pro stock…

 

[Deleted member 775108]

Interesting - they all have the small barrel grommets except for one oddball frame that I bought outside of a batch (the strung one here) which has the larger barrel retail size grommets. Odd there would be a difference. The larger diameter grommets also protrude further above the frame than the small ones. Small barrels are .130" outside diameter, larger ones are .154" O.D.

https://imgur.com/a/xI9K9Lj

Look into if that one closely and determine if it is a parallel drilling or not.

 

[colan5934]

"KBlade" pro stocks are not always KBlades under the paint. Sometimes they're BLX or nBlades. Nearly impossible to tell the difference between them without cutting them open and/or having the product code/name on the UPC tag that is usually removed before it gets to any secondary sources outside of the pro room. Sometimes the pro room even sends pros the wrong ones.

 

[eric42]

Look into if that one closely and determine if it is a parallel drilling or not.

Some holes are, some aren't. My retail V9 appears to have more parallel holes on the sides of the hoop than my pro stocks. The actual drill pattern between the large and small grommets on my pro stocks appears to be the same.

 

[colan5934]

Some holes are, some aren't. My retail V9 appears to have more parallel holes on the sides of the hoop than my pro stocks. The actual drill pattern between the large and small grommets on my pro stocks appears to be the same.

You probably have a v5 under the paint if the v9 has an extra (maybe 2) parallel drilled hole.

 

[eric42]

You probably have a v5 under the paint if the v9 has an extra (maybe 2) parallel drilled hole.

Yeah I definitely don't know for sure, just that the seven frames I have from three different batches and two different cosmetics all appear drilled the same.

 

[colan5934]

Yeah I definitely don't know for sure, just that the seven frames I have from three different batches and two different cosmetics all appear drilled the same.

Pm me some more pictures. I’ll see if I can help

 

[dl32]

Pro stock (K-Blade mold) Blade 98 16x19 is one of my favorite feeling frames of all time. They're very soft and damped, but without the vague rubbery feel on contact of the V7 thru V9 retail frames, or the overly muted feel of some soft Yonex frames. Not sure why, maybe the glossy clearcoat actually makes for a slightly crisper feel. They tend to come in around 300 SW unstrung and are generally a little heavier to swing than retail Blades, but they have great plow, are very solid and stable feeling (extra hoop mass) with a tiny bit more pop partially because of the plow. Ignore RA numbers - I have a few ranging from 66 to 68 and they all still feel soft. WAY softer than a 60 RA H22 I had. Otherwise, they play like a Blade should play. Forget about finding grommets for these. Strategically placed head tape is your friend for bumper protection. I only tend to scrape in a small area of the frame. You can replace individual grommets with Fittex, but have never had to do this.

And I do not think pro stock Blades feel like the old retail K-Blades even though they share the same mold. Different layup it seems.

Need to echo this.

My two 16/19 units came basically direct from pro labs through one intermediary. I specifically got the XL’s.

The most interesting part is RA is listed as 66–68 but is just absolutely butter soft with excellent feedback, not jarring whatsoever and just perfectly communicative without being overly “buzzy.”

I have 18x19’s and 18x20 pro stock K Blades, 18x19 was probably my least favorite and also most muted. The 18x20 is a gem but super demanding.