Kneissl racquets up at TW
- Thread starter Voltron
- Start date
Wow, I haven't seen a Kneissl since I stopped playing with my White Star Twin, years ago. I think I still have an old White Star and Red Star in the attic somewhere. The Red Stars were an early boron/graphite composite. They were both great for topspin back in the day.
Good to see Kneissl making a comeback.
Good to see Kneissl making a comeback.
Voltron
Hall of Fame
But the RDS is beautiful, unlike the nasty vomit machine.
WhiteSox05CA
Hall of Fame
Whoa, where'd those come from?
IT WAS IN!!!
Semi-Pro
hey does kneissl make a heavy players frame?
N23
Semi-Pro
Tom's Machine was Kniessel's copy of the Head Pro Tour 280. It was designed for Thomas Muster when he was #1 in the 90s when Kneissel signed him away from Head. I don't believe it was green like this but the graphics might have spruced up a bit since then.
jayserinos99
Hall of Fame
Tom as in Thomas Muster. Muster switched from Head to Kneissl in the mid 90s; the story is that he went to an extended length frame after he used the Pro Tour 280 (or was it 630?). Michael Chaho is very familiar the Kneissl frames such as the Tom's Machine and Tom's Reach Machine.
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No respect for the classics!! These were cutting edge in the late 80's and early 90's
And by the way, the Wilson Kramer racquets weren't named for the Michael Richards' character on Seinfeld.
retrowagen
Hall of Fame
Thanks for the heads up.
I played competitively with the classic Kneissl frames from 1983-1987, the White Star Pro Masters and Masters 10, specifically--the tiny headed, super stiff graphite-Kevlar composites that were of the identical mold (but different composition) as the Adidas Lendl GTX Pro frames. They were good rackets - Kneissl was really ahead of its time in regards composite technology and engineering, but they were poorly represented in the USA.
Seems as though Kneissl Tennis went away in the early 90's for a few years, re-inventing itself with the advent of their signing of Muster late in his career. The Tom's Machine had little or nothing to do with the classic Kneissl frames of yore and much more to do with the 1986-up Taiwanese "Spark" series. I'm curious if these new Kneissls are still made in Kufstein, Austria, or even in Austria at all. Anyone know?
Are tennis rackets made in Austria at all anymore? Head in Kennelbach is now pro-only, Fischer has outsourced everything to the far east (or has it?); Völkl stopped making its frames in Germany in the early 90's too...
I wish Kneissl the best in its return to the American marketplace. Hopefully, they will regain a cult following. (I fear they might need a rather more recognizable face other than Jürgen Melzer to sell rackets in Good Ol' Uh Merica, however...)
I played competitively with the classic Kneissl frames from 1983-1987, the White Star Pro Masters and Masters 10, specifically--the tiny headed, super stiff graphite-Kevlar composites that were of the identical mold (but different composition) as the Adidas Lendl GTX Pro frames. They were good rackets - Kneissl was really ahead of its time in regards composite technology and engineering, but they were poorly represented in the USA.
Seems as though Kneissl Tennis went away in the early 90's for a few years, re-inventing itself with the advent of their signing of Muster late in his career. The Tom's Machine had little or nothing to do with the classic Kneissl frames of yore and much more to do with the 1986-up Taiwanese "Spark" series. I'm curious if these new Kneissls are still made in Kufstein, Austria, or even in Austria at all. Anyone know?
Are tennis rackets made in Austria at all anymore? Head in Kennelbach is now pro-only, Fischer has outsourced everything to the far east (or has it?); Völkl stopped making its frames in Germany in the early 90's too...
I wish Kneissl the best in its return to the American marketplace. Hopefully, they will regain a cult following. (I fear they might need a rather more recognizable face other than Jürgen Melzer to sell rackets in Good Ol' Uh Merica, however...)
Pro_Tour_630
Legend
old toms machine same as the lime green only white
http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/showpost.php?p=1195488&postcount=5
http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/showpost.php?p=1229150&postcount=4
http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/showthread.php?t=108879
Pro_Tour_630
Legend
yeah don't buy these frames they are no good,
more for me and the real players who appreciate them;-)
more for me and the real players who appreciate them;-)
classic tennis
Semi-Pro
Nope the Kneissl racquets are made bt YMA & the Kevlar ones by Chao Ta. THe Head racquest are mainly all ex China (with a some frames branded as Austrian being blanks sent from China & painted in Austria) Under the EU content rule that allows the to say made in Austria.
Does the same apply to Head rackets "made in Czech Republic"? So how many companies/factories are there in China that make all the frames we find on our stores?
Kevin T
Hall of Fame
Other than the aforementioned, not a lot of big names, Deuce. Markus Hipfl, Sergi Brugera (spelling?), Katerina Maleeva, Horst Skoff, Gilbert Schaller, Barbara Schett and I believe Boris Becker for a time early in his career.
Hey Michael, you gonna swipe up a green T Machine? You know you wanna!
retrowagen
Hall of Fame
Let's see, off the top of my head: Horst Skoff, Andreas Maurer, Kat Maleeva, Matt Anger, Heinz Gunthardt, Milan Srejber; oh, and some guy named Pete Sampras used the Kneissl Aero 20 back in his Almost Pro, 2-Handed Backhand junior days.
*edit* oh crap, while I was writing this, Kevin beat me to the punch. I think Boris used the Adidas GTX, though, not the Kneissl. Seems like most Austrian pros of the 80's-90's cut their teeth on the Kneissl sticks (except perhaps Judith Wiesner, who was a Head player).
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Pro_Tour_630
Legend
you forgot your girl petra mandula http://www.mandulapetra.com/11_hun.html we have already one forum member who has the new green as well as the older white muster, maybe he can give us a review on both
everyone, the redstar that TW has is not the new 2007 model it is the 05/06 previous year model, it is just as nice, I prefer the old cosmetics IMO, the green kneissl is the 2007 model
Pro_Tour_630
Legend
care to tell use where exactly, the muster stiffness is 66 while the redstar is 63/64 IMO I think it plays softer more like 60 because it has Kevlar tendons while the Muster is pure graphite
Ok I see you are talking about the blackstar, it is even 115 not 110 as TW states, I doubt TW rating on this one, it is a stiff tweener which is discontinued,
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haerdalis
Hall of Fame
Well I wasnt referring to this particular racquet just that wherever you look you see different numbers for most racquets. Kneissl has the blackstar at 65 and TW has it 58. Maybe thats why wilson doesnt put any stiffness numbers on their racquets. Maybe too hard with quality control these days.
TW Staff
Administrator
All our specs are for strung racquets. Not sure if the specs on the Kneissl website are strung - this changes the stiffness as a strung racquet will have a lower stiffness rating by a few points.
The Black Star racquets we have in stock all state 110sq. inches inside the throat. Not sure why the Kneissl website states 115sq. inches at this point and can only assume it's a misprint until we get confirmation. The racquet definitely looks more 110 than 115. We measured five Black Star racquets and took the average spec. It should be noted that all the Kneissl racquets offered a VERY tight spec tolerance, which was impressive.
Chris, TW
Edit - Red Star cosmetics:
We received two cosmetic versions and went with the one shown. This is the one we'd be testing and had imaged ahead of time.
The Black Star racquets we have in stock all state 110sq. inches inside the throat. Not sure why the Kneissl website states 115sq. inches at this point and can only assume it's a misprint until we get confirmation. The racquet definitely looks more 110 than 115. We measured five Black Star racquets and took the average spec. It should be noted that all the Kneissl racquets offered a VERY tight spec tolerance, which was impressive.
Chris, TW
Edit - Red Star cosmetics:
We received two cosmetic versions and went with the one shown. This is the one we'd be testing and had imaged ahead of time.
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Bolt
Semi-Pro
Well Bolt, it's up at TW, so you're going to have to look yourself.
Clever.
To clarify for those that might think I'm incapable of reading, I'd like to know if Tom's Machine plays as stiff as it is listed.
WhiteSox05CA
Hall of Fame
What happened to the VLOG this week? (#6)
N
ne1410is
Guest
i like the red star's specs. and bruguera isn't a total unknown. he did win TWICE in roland garros BACK-to-BACK and has graced the cover of tennis magazine. Not exactly a nobody. I didn't know he used kneissl. I remember him playing with a yonex rd-7.
federer_nadal
Professional
The green one looks pretty nice and the specs look even better, too bad i cant demo one in australia!!!!!!
snoopy
Professional
There's so much for to like about these frames: extended length, simple materials (none of the fake technology), unique paint jobs (I'm sure some will say they're ugly but face it you have bad taste). I'm a bit iffy about the string pattern, I'd prefer 16x19. But damn, the swing weights are a deal breaker for me.
Pro_Tour_630
Legend
just though you might take a look at these posts
say hello to new 07 redstar, notice the kneissl in white on frame with the signature flairs on the side of the frame, this is the 07redstar, IMO I like the 05/06 model better that TW carries, to each his own I guess
http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/showthread.php?t=115216
bye bye whitestar for 07 not so sure about blackstar for 07 kevin T ?!?!
http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/showpost.php?p=1135664&postcount=22
not too sure about black star since in the Vblog i saw the new graphics for 07, so if it is indeed 100 and 58, then I agree it sounds very interesting
say hello to new 07 redstar, notice the kneissl in white on frame with the signature flairs on the side of the frame, this is the 07redstar, IMO I like the 05/06 model better that TW carries, to each his own I guess
http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/showthread.php?t=115216
bye bye whitestar for 07 not so sure about blackstar for 07 kevin T ?!?!
http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/showpost.php?p=1135664&postcount=22
not too sure about black star since in the Vblog i saw the new graphics for 07, so if it is indeed 100 and 58, then I agree it sounds very interesting
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DownTheTeeAce
New User
IMO, for Kneissl to make a comeback, lowering their price may be a good start ...
Pro_Tour_630
Legend
butcaps of kniessl old toms reach in the far back then redstar then 27 old toms then PT630, notice the difference in length
http://i18.tinypic.com/450w1ax.jpg
this is what IMO plays the closest to the PT630, it is the same length 27 to start
http://i14.tinypic.com/2hgbc6x.jpg
Kneissl old toms the beast machine reach
http://i10.tinypic.com/2z9b8yv.jpg
the New Kneissl Redstar has a nice red color with yellow pin stripes, very retro
http://i10.tinypic.com/2ytr53k.jpg
http://i18.tinypic.com/450w1ax.jpg
this is what IMO plays the closest to the PT630, it is the same length 27 to start
http://i14.tinypic.com/2hgbc6x.jpg
Kneissl old toms the beast machine reach
http://i10.tinypic.com/2z9b8yv.jpg
the New Kneissl Redstar has a nice red color with yellow pin stripes, very retro
http://i10.tinypic.com/2ytr53k.jpg
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Pro_Tour_630
Legend
the top part of the racquets, PT630 far left then Old toms machine standard, then NEW Redstar then the old Toms reach machine far right
http://i16.tinypic.com/2hmiulg.jpg
http://i16.tinypic.com/2hmiulg.jpg
RafaN RichardG
Semi-Pro
noooo, so when will you guys be getting the new cosmetic? i take it not for a while if you got the old over the new
oh and i think the reason that the Black Star on kneissl's website is 115 sq inches, is because they havent put their new frames up on their site yet. TW has the new tom's machine and Black star(110), but the red star is the old cosmetic.
