***Official K Blade Tour Club Thread***

NadalFan1990 said:
you can include me in the club too :)
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Wow, that is super cool with the RF stencil!
Did you make that?
You should sell that!
 
lucasschneider said:
Wow, that is super cool with the RF stencil!
Did you make that?
You should sell that!
Click to expand...

Thanks, yes that is a custom stencil I made. you can get the supplies you need at your local Michael's store...
I might sell one of the stencils I made in the near future...
 
So I took my new Blade Tour out for a spin today, and oh...my...god. It felt absolutely amazing, it was like an extension of my arm. I was running Lux ALU Power Fluoro at 52 Lbs. and a L5 grip size. The leather grip was pretty sublime. Feel and touch were exceptional. If you're on the fence I suggest you demo it more, it is a magic stick.
 
As promised, here are the photos I took at Roland Garros of Sorana Cirstea.
I saw her practicing and she was playing with a blacked out frame, some sort of prototype maybe.
Took these photos and in one I was able to get closer to the racket when she was talking with her coaches Sven and Darren.
Could be a Blade BLX or another BLX frame.
And looks like pink or purple in it.


http://www.flickr.com/photos/50759082@N06/4662371862/in/photostream/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/50759082@N06/4661750011/in/photostream/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/50759082@N06/4661758477/
 
I want to join the club as well..now I have 4 KBL Tour rackets and really love them..I usually string them with Luxilon 16 main 50 and crosses Wilson Stamina 16g 52...it seems to play pretty good..recently, I changed the Lux to Kevlar and it seems to give me tennis elbow, I think I made a mistake by going up to 55 for Kevlar and it caused the elbow issues..I just bought RPM Blast (Nadal String) and planning to use for mains with Stamina in the crosses..
Any suggestions for tension for this new hybrid I am trying? I have read that Blast is not good with low tension but I do want to go too high because of elbow problems..I am thinking of 53 mains and 55 crosses...Any other hybrid suggestions for Tour as I have 4 rackets and try different combos till finally find the best hybrid..I am a 4.5 player in Kansas City area and play 2-3 times a week...I rarely break a string as I hit very flat and hit big serves with precision using KBLADE Tour...I love this racket..I never owned a Wilson racket until this KBT...I always had Prince and now Wilson KBT fan...
 
And how much do you add to 3 and 9?
I tried 3 grams at 12 and tried to wipe the ball to get more topspin but thing didn't work.
Just removed lead tape at 12 and tried 5 grams each 3 and 9 but balls sailed long many times.
 
banter said:
Is this thread still alive?
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You just revived it. The funny thing is, I didn't realize I was the one that started it. I wasn't on TT for a long while (working and traveling and not playing a lot of tennis) and I have been playing the Bab PSLGT all year. However, the KBT is still in my family as my son is a faithful user now.
 
thejuice said:
You just revived it. The funny thing is, I didn't realize I was the one that started it. I wasn't on TT for a long while (working and traveling and not playing a lot of tennis) and I have been playing the Bab PSLGT all year. However, the KBT is still in my family as my son is a faithful user now.
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Welcome back. Glad to hear the KBT is running through the family.
 
Is the K Blade Tour still relevant given the marketing of the BLX line? It seems to me that it is a marque stick that has stood the test of time and can't be dismissed because of the new BLX paintjob, but I am interested in some thoughts between the two.
 
---NEWSFLASH---
I bought another KBT recently. First one was about 1 year before that.

First one was pretty much close to spec as per listed... about 335g and 320SW.

The recent one is 346g and 340 SW!! This is the closest balance compared to my first. I went through another 2 but they were around a few g lighter in weight and SW but was a bit more head heavy. (All at TW Australia)

What I noted was my wilson hologram was on the inside of my throat with (Txxxxxx serial) and the new batch is (Wxxxxxx serial).

Anyone else found the same thing as me?

EDIT: Yes.. the new batch is Wxxxxxx serial with the hologram on the outside near the handle.
 
Last edited:
^^^ Yes, actually.

I bought 3 KBT's in Feb of 2010. One of them developed a crack in the throat around, say, July. So I sent it back and got a replacement. The replacement was slightly defferent than my older two.

First, and most notably, the orange-gold color of that I find so striking in the racquet was slightly duller on the new one. It wasn't the kind of thing that you could notice without a side by side comparison, but still, it was defintely real.

Secondly, the hologram sticker was moved from the inside of the throat to the outside, at the very base of the throat. You could actually argue that it was in fact the top of the handle. Whatever the exact location, it was an odd thing to change.

Finally, the replacement developed many, small, "micro cracks" in the base of the throat. You might call it the "crotch" of the racquet. They just sort of appeared one day, and they slowly but surely grew. I would inspect my racquet before hitting the courts, play for three hours, then afterwards notice that they were ever-so-slightly longer and there was a tiny amount more of them. (I later sent the replacement back, for yet another replacement)

If there was a difference in specs, I never noticed it. Partially because I never measured any of my frames, and partly because I am on the "try-every-string-on-the-market" craze and no two of my frames are ever strung alike.

Take from this what you will, and just know that you are not alone in your struggle to understand the enigma that is Wilson Quality Control.

By the way, I regret to inform you that I am effectively leaving the KBT club. Through sheer fortune, I stumbled upon the Prince EXO3 Tour 16X18, and while I much prefer the stability and feel of my KBlade, I cannot deny the fact that I am playing better with the Prince. Out of respect and fondness, however, I refuse to part with my KBlades. Maybe one day I will return.
 
I hope to be a member of this thread soon :)

I have been trying some KBT's out and there is some really bad quality control from Wilson! I had one that had a much more head light balance than of the four my coach has and he had to send two back because they were very different to the others!

As long as I get two the same I am happy :)
 
Here are some pictures of my blades!

Alu Rough Mains, Mantis Comfort Crosses. The one with the overgrip weighs 350g strung, with dampener etc. When I got them, one was 326g unstrung and the other 324g, so I made the lighter one identical to 326g one with some weight in the handle. Enjoy the pictures.

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Add me, I play a pro room KBT (same thing just a little lighter). I've got lead in the head and in the handle with a center of mass 13cm to bring me to a strung weight of 353g with a 32cm balance.
 
Great pics Tomp...

I would really like to see the K Blade constituency continue to thrive despite the release of the wilson BLX Blades. I may be alone here, but I personally think wilson went the wrong way with this technology. The K Blade Tour is vastly superior to the Blx version. While I certainly understand the captialist demand for more money, I cannot see how taking profit, axiomatically, justifies the eradication or discontinuance of the KBT. In many ways, I think it will be impossible to recreate the aesthetic beauty or functional success of this frame in the future.
 
Arthuro said:
Great pics Tomp...

I would really like to see the K Blade constituency continue to thrive despite the release of the wilson BLX Blades. I may be alone here, but I personally think wilson went the wrong way with this technology. The K Blade Tour is vastly superior to the Blx version. While I certainly understand the captialist demand for more money, I cannot see how taking profit, axiomatically, justifies the eradication or discontinuance of the KBT. In many ways, I think it will be impossible to recreate the aesthetic beauty or functional success of this frame in the future.
Click to expand...

Thanks :)

I would like to see this too, I am so impressed with the blades, contemplating getting a third while I still can. I don't know anyone who has got a BLX Blade Tour and I know about 5 people who have the K Factor version, that says it all. I have yet to play with the BLX version but hear it is heavier, stiffer and just not as good. Very well said!
 
I'm just getting back into playing after a considerable break. I tore a muscle in the arch of my foot in a match a couple of years ago it took a long time to heal.

I played the K Blade Tour and Microgel Radical Pro when I was forced to stop. I ended up giving the K Blade's to an exchange student from Argentina that I played with a lot. He loved the racquets and I was unable to play, so I gave them to him before he returned home.

Since starting back, I've been using the Head racquets. There is something about this racquet that causes me to have golfers elbow (pain on the inside of my elbow). I actually had them professionally matched. They are identical and the balance is now 8 pts. HL. This helped to minimize the elbow problems, but didn't completely eliminate them.

I just ordered 2 more K Blade Tour's. I played some of my best tennis with them and they never bothered my arm. I'm looking forward to using them again. They are so controllable and accurate. I plan to play them for awhile, and then have them matched as I did with the Head racquets. I like having this done, because they will be to my specs without the use of lead tape and I can alternate them and the feel is exactly the same.
 
Welcome Back JoeEllis...

I hope to keep this thread going with updates on the KBLADE TOUR...the best Wilson racquet in the Blade series. Be sure to post pics when you get a chance.
 
Arthuro said:
Welcome Back JoeEllis...

I hope to keep this thread going with updates on the KBLADE TOUR...the best Wilson racquet in the Blade series. Be sure to post pics when you get a chance.
Click to expand...

Thanks Arthuro. It's good to be back here and able to play again.

I'm having them sent Fed-Ex 2 day, so I hope to have them on Friday. I'm really excited. I really enjoyed playing with them before. I have a TW balance board, so I can check the balance of each when they come. I don't have a postal scale, but I will try and have the weight checked at the P.O.

I will probably send them off in a couple of weeks and have them matched. I want to see how they play first before I decide what I want to change, if anything.
 
I received my 2 K Blade Tour's yesterday and hit with them for about an hour. Since it had been roughly 2 years since I played with these racquets, I had forgotten what the exact qualities were.

I have just started back playing due to a foot injury that I stated in an earlier post. I have been playing with Head Microgel Radical Pro's since beginning again. The Head is an extremely good racquet in its own rite, but the K Blade feels so good to me that I have the Head's for sale on ****.

The thing I noticed with the K Blade is the added amount of control I get compared to the Head. Many more balls tend to end up where I'm trying to hit them. That includes serves, groundstrokes and volleys. The Wilson is definitely more firm with less feel than the Head, but that isn't necessarilly a bad thing. The pancake factor is excellent with the K Blade. I can really feel the ball compress. The ball seems to dwell slightly longer on the K Blade.

Two things that surprised me is I could impart more spin with the K Blade and there was a little more pop. The stiffer frame of the K Blade may have contributed to the extra power, I'm not sure. I didn't expect the K Blade to have more spin due to the denser stringbed, but it did.

Another quality I love with the Wilson racquets I've owned, is the great slice backhands that can be created fairly effortlessly. I can knife them on a very flat trajectory. The ball tands to skid and stay low. With the head, it seemed I had to work harder to achieve this.

I'm glad to be back in the K Blade camp. I dearly hope my old tired body will hold up better this time:)
 
I received my 2 K Blade Tour's yesterday and hit with them for about an hour. Since it had been roughly 2 years since I played with these racquets, I had forgotten what the exact qualities were.

I have just started back playing due to a foot injury that I stated in an earlier post. I have been playing with Head Microgel Radical Pro's since beginning again. The Head is an extremely good racquet in its own rite, but the K Blade feels so good to me that I have the Head's for sale on ****.

The thing I noticed with the K Blade is the added amount of control I get compared to the Head. Many more balls tend to end up where I'm trying to hit them. That includes serves, groundstrokes and volleys. The Wilson is definitely more firm with less feel than the Head, but that isn't necessarilly a bad thing. The pancake factor is excellent with the K Blade. I can really feel the ball compress. The ball seems to dwell slightly longer on the K Blade.

Two things that surprised me is I could impart more spin with the K Blade and there was a little more pop. The stiffer frame of the K Blade may have contributed to the extra power, I'm not sure. I didn't expect the K Blade to have more spin due to the denser stringbed, but it did.

Another quality I love with the Wilson racquets I've owned, is the great slice backhands that can be created fairly effortlessly. I can knife them on a very flat trajectory. The ball tands to skid and stay low. With the head, it seemed I had to work harder to achieve this.

I haven't checked the weight or balance yet, but one of them is definitely more head light. I plan to play with them for a few weeks to determine how I want them set up and I will then send them to **** and have them matched. They do an exceptional job.

I'm glad to be back in the K Blade camp. I dearly hope my old tired body will hold up better this time:)
 
Possibly getting a third blade to use as a string testing racket for my business and me :) Not sure wether it is worth getting a new one over a used, what do you think?
 
tomp said:
Possibly getting a third blade to use as a string testing racket for my business and me :) Not sure wether it is worth getting a new one over a used, what do you think?
Click to expand...

It probably depends on what you can get a used one for. I know where you can get new frames for $114.00 + shipping.

I may get 2 more frames and hold on to them for the future. Once they're all gone, that's it.
 
That's what I did. I have two playing racquets and one I use for string tests. Then I have 6 I am saving until my others break which include 2 Blx Blades I got from wilson as replacements.
 
tomp said:
I have found a used blade for £40 in 7.5/10 condition and a new one is £80, what do you think?
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A used on for 55 USD is not bad, but why not just pay the extra 45 for a new one? 7.5 condition is debatable in my view as I only sell 9.5 or above.

Its your call, but with the price drop I would go with hte new one.
 
tomp said:
Would a used model play very differently to my new models as I would them to be reasonably similar?
Click to expand...

Yes and no. Yes in the sense that the used racquet could be damaged more than the seller is letting on. It could also have lost some of its stiffness, it could have gone soft, so it could not have the same feel and pop as your new racquets, or it could just be weighted differently. Wilson has terrible quality control of its racquets.

No, in the sense that with wilson's quality control your new Blade can be just as off as a used one...there is not guarantee on this issue either way.

Given the price I would opt for the new one, but that is me...you its unpredictable either way, but with the new one you can at least send it back or trade in for the BLX model which you would have to sell to buy more K Blades.

Good Luck.
 
Arthuro said:
Yes and no. Yes in the sense that the used racquet could be damaged more than the seller is letting on. It could also have lost some of its stiffness, it could have gone soft, so it could not have the same feel and pop as your new racquets, or it could just be weighted differently. Wilson has terrible quality control of its racquets.

No, in the sense that with wilson's quality control your new Blade can be just as off as a used one...there is not guarantee on this issue either way.

Given the price I would opt for the new one, but that is me...you its unpredictable either way, but with the new one you can at least send it back or trade in for the BLX model which you would have to sell to buy more K Blades.

Good Luck.
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Thank you very much, that is very helpful information indeed. I will most likely go for a new one, just need to sort some finance out :) I will keep this thread posted.
 
Recently I began playing with one.

Precise, great at net, a weapon at midcourt. Plus that Wilson grip shape. Love it so far, 6632837x better than the 6.1 IMO.
 
mark1 said:
Recently I began playing with one.

Precise, great at net, a weapon at midcourt. Plus that Wilson grip shape. Love it so far, 6632837x better than the 6.1 IMO.
Click to expand...

Quoted for truth...I agree. I have demoed tons of racquets and can say in earnest the KBT is the best players racquet I have hit with. While I know this is subjective, it just plays wit that old school graphite feel, but with power and precision.
 
Thanks, I'm really happy to be back playing and especially with the K Blade Tour. They are my favorite racquet.

I'm now using a 4 3/8" grip. I used to use a 4 1/2", but I am really somewhere in between, so I dropped back in size. This helps me to whip the racquet easier when I have to add top spin on a sharp angle shot.
 
Liking the collection joeellis :)

I am having problems with the grip size on mine, had to buy a 4 1/2 and I am definitely a 4 3/8 or less and I am trying to reduce the grip size but it isn't the easiest thing. I have seen the Laserfibre Grip Reducer but the shipping to the UK is super expensive. Any ideas? Are the K blades pallet grips?

Rgds
 
tomp said:
Liking the collection joeellis :)

I am having problems with the grip size on mine, had to buy a 4 1/2 and I am definitely a 4 3/8 or less and I am trying to reduce the grip size but it isn't the easiest thing. I have seen the Laserfibre Grip Reducer but the shipping to the UK is super expensive. Any ideas? Are the K blades pallet grips?

Rgds
Click to expand...

Thanks tomp. I also have a Bancroft Borg model that I forgot to take pictures of. The 2 racquets I currently own aren't the one's I owned as a teen. I went on **** and bought them because I played with each model when I was a teen. Another racquet I once owned that I want to buy is the Head Vilas model. Finding them is a little more difficult and costly if you do, but I'm still searching.

I'm not sure what the deal with Wilson racquets are. The 4 3/8" on my current K Blade's seem correct, maybe even slightly large, but I have read that some have tried these racquets and the 4 3/8" felt more like a 4 1/4". I know that some things such as shoes are sized larger for the American market. I assume that research indicates that typical Americans are slightly larger. Who knows?

There is a company in New York that will install new handles, amoung many other modifications and their rates are fairly reasonable. I don't know what the mailing cost would be for you, but it may be reasonable if you use the British Postal Service. I've found that using other couriers for international shipping is extremely outragious.

I had them install Wilson style handles on my Head racquets and match them to have the same weight, balance, etc. I plan to have my K Blade's matched also. This really helps, because if you need to exchange racquets during a match, they feel exactly the same. My K Blades are very close but one is slightly more head light. They both weigh 12.2 ozs. with an overwrap and dampener.

The company is ****. Do a search on this and it will come up. They do a great job.

I wish I had a more economical suggestion.
 
mark1 said:
Recently I began playing with one.

Precise, great at net, a weapon at midcourt. Plus that Wilson grip shape. Love it so far, 6632837x better than the 6.1 IMO.
Click to expand...

They are very accurate and controllable. I think you will continue to like them.

Different string types and tension change these racquets as much as any I've tried, which is a plus imo. I'm 51, so I can use a little more pop. I have mine strung with a natural gut/multifillament combo. I also have them strung at a medium tension part of the year. I generally use more tension in the hot months to tame this a little. I still have great control. I can swing away and keep the ball in consistently.

I hit with our pro quite a bit and he's told me several times that I hit a heavier ball with the K Blade's than with the Head's.

Enjoy!
 
joeellis said:
Thanks tomp. I also have a Bancroft Borg model that I forgot to take pictures of. The 2 racquets I currently own aren't the one's I owned as a teen. I went on **** and bought them because I played with each model when I was a teen. Another racquet I once owned that I want to buy is the Head Vilas model. Finding them is a little more difficult and costly if you do, but I'm still searching.

I'm not sure what the deal with Wilson racquets are. The 4 3/8" on my current K Blade's seem correct, maybe even slightly large, but I have read that some have tried these racquets and the 4 3/8" felt more like a 4 1/4". I know that some things such as shoes are sized larger for the American market. I assume that research indicates that typical Americans are slightly larger. Who knows?

There is a company in New York that will install new handles, amoung many other modifications and their rates are fairly reasonable. I don't know what the mailing cost would be for you, but it may be reasonable if you use the British Postal Service. I've found that using other couriers for international shipping is extremely outragious.

I had them install Wilson style handles on my Head racquets and match them to have the same weight, balance, etc. I plan to have my K Blade's matched also. This really helps, because if you need to exchange racquets during a match, they feel exactly the same. My K Blades are very close but one is slightly more head light. They both weigh 12.2 ozs. with an overwrap and dampener.

The company is ****. Do a search on this and it will come up. They do a great job.

I wish I had a more economical suggestion.
Click to expand...

Thanks for such a detailed response, really helpful. I think I would probably cost too much to get them customised for me at the moment. I will however try experimenting with different overgrip and undergrip combos. In theory I am a size 4 grip but it just feels too big for me. I have two blades and one was 2 grams heavier, 2 grams of lead in the handle of the lighter one made them identical, hope if I get a third, it will be this easy!

Rgds
 
As a sidenote, JoeEllis, I'd be careful with the adhesive from the overgrip on the leather. It creates a soft spot in the leather over time and discoloration...
 
Thanks for the advice Arthuro. I don't worry about it too much. I change the leather grips periodically. I'm a heavy prespirer and I really need tacky wraps. I change them after every practice sesion and match. I just don't get the grip necessary with leather or synthetic grips.
 
Will probably be getting my third blade in soon as stocks are starting to dry up here. Still not quite sure about it as I have yet to really click with my blades, this could just be my string setup which feels too stiff.
 
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