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

tomp said:
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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What is your set up? The blades play best with a natural gut, or multifilament. I have found less vibration and enhanced feel with these type of strings. I have played with quite a few Blades and the string setup is key to maintain comfort and stability.
 
Arthuro said:
What is your set up? The blades play best with a natural gut, or multifilament. I have found less vibration and enhanced feel with these type of strings. I have played with quite a few Blades and the string setup is key to maintain comfort and stability.
Click to expand...

I have Alu Power Rough mains and Mantis comfort crosses at the moment and it just doesn't feel good unless I time it super well, which only happens about 1 out of 10 hours. When I demoed it, it had Tecnifibre Syn Gut and I used my coaches which had Pro's Pro syn gut and these both felt alright.

I probably will have to wait a month before I can cut these current strings out so I won't be able to tell if it is down to string setup, which in turn reduces the chance of picking up a third blade new. I have a set of Rip Control waiting to try. What would you recommend, preferably under about £10 ($16ish)
 
tomp said:
I have Alu Power Rough mains and Mantis comfort crosses at the moment and it just doesn't feel good unless I time it super well, which only happens about 1 out of 10 hours. When I demoed it, it had Tecnifibre Syn Gut and I used my coaches which had Pro's Pro syn gut and these both felt alright.

I probably will have to wait a month before I can cut these current strings out so I won't be able to tell if it is down to string setup, which in turn reduces the chance of picking up a third blade new. I have a set of Rip Control waiting to try. What would you recommend, preferably under about £10 ($16ish)
Click to expand...

I have tried most multifilament set-ups. I recently tried a Dynamite Soft 18 and Tecnifibre X-1 Biphase 18 hybrid. It played extremely well, but I did not like the power, but the spin was fantastic. I would try these:

1. Tecnibifbre X-1 Biphase (16.00 USD)
2. Tecnifibre NRG2 (14.00 USD)
3. Alpha Gut 2000 (5.90 USD)
4. Dynamite Soft 18 (11.50 USD)
 
Arthuro said:
What is your set up? The blades play best with a natural gut, or multifilament. I have found less vibration and enhanced feel with these type of strings. I have played with quite a few Blades and the string setup is key to maintain comfort and stability.
Click to expand...

+1 on this advice.

Most polys just don't work well in the Blade imo. I currently have natural gut mains and Gamma Live Wire crosses. I really like this combination.

If this gives you too much pop, try stringing with higher tension or maybe going with a soft poly in the crosses. If you can find the right string combination and tension, I think you will love the racquet. It is one of the most accurate and controllable racquets I've ever played with.
 
Thanks for the advice guys :)

Played with my looser Alu - Mantis combo today (53-56) and I was timing it reasonably well and it felt OK, nothing amazing. It also has warmed up about 10 degrees C, that could be a contributing factor.

Going to string one up with Rip Control tomorrow and see how that plays. If I like, a third blade will probably be on its way soon

I will also get a set of decent multis, would really like to try X-1 but it is £16 here and that is a bit too much at the moment.

Will keep you posted on my findings.
 
Just strung the Rip Control blade, not the easiest to string or my best string job but hey.

Will see how it plays tomorrow, fingers crossed.
 
Arthuro said:
What is your set up? The blades play best with a natural gut, or multifilament. I have found less vibration and enhanced feel with these type of strings. I have played with quite a few Blades and the string setup is key to maintain comfort and stability.
Click to expand...

I agree. Although now, my KBT is just collecting dust with its barely used, full gut job... the stick was still too stiff for my arm in the end. But boy did it serve some deadly accurate missiles.
 
Thanks for the advice :) The RIP Control played really well and that isn't even a proper multi. Looking forward to getting some decent stuff in.

In terms of getting a third blade, do you think it is a good idea whilst they still sell them?
 
tomp said:
Thanks for the advice :) The RIP Control played really well and that isn't even a proper multi. Looking forward to getting some decent stuff in.

In terms of getting a third blade, do you think it is a good idea whilst they still sell them?
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I think you should. I mean if you don't use it, you can sell it in the future and it will be worth even more.
 
Third blade on its way :) Starting to get a pile of them!

On a side note, today my loose alu - mantis setup played quite well probably helped by the much warmer conditions. Will just have to experiment a bit more.
 
Ahhh... the KBlade Tour. The KBT, about three years ago, was were I really started my racquet journey. Got pretty acquainted with the KBT for about a year. Then decided on a whim in the winter to try out some new frames. Tried out a TON of frames the next two years. And what am I using now?..... The KBlade Tour.Lol back to it, nothing beats it.

Anywho, been trying to replenish my stock of KBTs since i sold them over the years. if anyone has one in 3/8 or 1/4 i'd be interested.Good to be back in the club.
 
Hi Zidane,

I usually have tons to switch out, but I'm out. The KBT is going for 129 in most places now if you are interested.
 
tomp said:
Third blade on its way :) Starting to get a pile of them!

On a side note, today my loose alu - mantis setup played quite well probably helped by the much warmer conditions. Will just have to experiment a bit more.
Click to expand...

CONGRATS!! I knew you would get another one...
 
Hello all!

Newbie to the forum ask permission to join to the greatest club on earth (sorry my English).

I have one K Blade Tour and ordering another one. And then maybe another one...
 
Hi everybody !!
Just made a switch from k-blade 98 to k-blade tour, loving my new frame, will be getting more of them.
 
My third came today :) Strung with BB Ace and Mantis Comfort. I feel like I have got used to them now and am hitting a really good ball.

If anyone wants to see some pictures I can put them up tomorrow?
 
Here are two pictures. You can view them all on my flickr page http://www.flickr.com/photos/tomp8

Enjoy
The family:
5546368258_acb44671ac_b.jpg


The new addition:
5546370454_f7c2ac1c92_b.jpg
 
grip size

I'm new to KBT and demoing TW KBT, one with 4 3/8 and another with 4 1/2.

I don't know why but 4 3/8 feels like 4 1/4 and 4 1/2 feels like 4 5/8 to me.
I double checked the grip sizes on the frames and they are correct.

I was wondering what experiences of others were with grip size. Do you guys recommend one size smaller or bigger ?

Thanks,
ultradr
 
So i recently bought 2 brand new k blade tours, one from tw and the other from r a c q u e t d e p o t due to finding the same grip size since tw only had one available. I had to buy one in 4 3/8 and the other and 4 1/4 (from tw). The first thing i noticed was the leather grips were different shades. Ive heard wilson having bad qc but i didnt think it was this bad. I popped open the buttcap from r a c q u e t d e p o t and it was foam filled just like the one from tw. I highly doubt the one from r a c q u e t d e p o t is fake and ive heard they are a reputable store. Anyone else have this issue with their leather grips?
 
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I own 3 KBT, and I agree the QC by Wilson is like a joke. The lightest vs the heaviest stick is as much as 10g different! I had use lead tape to bring the weight and balance pt as close as each others.
 
Yeh I agree about the quality control, not too great! The first two Blades I bought were only 2 grams out and once that was corrected, were identical. The grip size on the first two was also identical. The third one however was 5 grams out and the grip felt a bit smaller but it does look like the leather was stretched more which could be why. I have yet to have them all unstrung together so I can match them up, will let you know what I find then.

Also the demo K Blade tour I took out had an almost even balance and I think it was quite a bit heavier than the standard K Blade specs. So I suppose it is just luck of the draw really.
 
Well my dad recently tried out my blades and has become rather fond of them, so hopefully there will be 2 more blades in the family that I have access to soon! :)
 
i use a kblade 98, i always go back to it after i demo racquets and this thing is just easy to swing.
i also wouldnt mind picking up a few more if someone offered.. ;)
 
I guess you can add me to the club now...tried out the KBT after getting it in a trade and I love the accuracy I'm getting. This one has full gut though and I find it really hard to swing out with it, thus I'm considering a gut/poly hybrid. I was thinking around 58/53..anyone have experience with this setup?

I got 2 more and they all weigh around the same...either my scale is broken or I just got lucky :)
 
Two more blades came today, pictures tomorrow when I finish stringing 4/5 of them :)

Interesting to note that the leather grip that comes with the racket weights 30 grams trimmed!! I removed one leather grip and replaced with synthetic and it took about 15-20 grams off the total weight and brings the racket much closer to evenly balanced! I will be very interested to see how this lighter version plays, even though I prefer it with the leather on. (around 330-335 grams strung with synthetic grip and overgrip).

I will hopefully get some more readings from the other new blade when I string that tomorrow.

Rgds
 
Add me to the list. I got a few in trades and I really like them, but am trying to tune the rackets properly, as they are really sensitive to string. Here's what I found:

X-One works really well strung at around 54 and can really grab the ball. At high 50s the racket starts to feel brittle. But strung low 50s it eventually becomes a rocket launcher, at about the time the strings start to fray.

I strung one as a hybrid with X-1, 54 and 42 (Cyclone), and this for some reason is also a rocket launcher.

52 Gosen (M) and 42 Cyclone is the best combination so far in terms of control and spin, at least for me. It's also cheap, but I think some combination of X-1 with a poly would be the best if I can get the tension right.

I tried a full bed of poly and I don't think it works for this racket at any tension. It feels brittle again, and the string pattern doesn't have enough bite to do a really low poly tension like 20.

Next I'm going to try X-1 crosses, Cyclone mains.
 
I got a K Factor Tour about a month ago, and I love it. I leaded it up to about 356 with Big Banger Original at 58, and it feels great.
 
cdubdub said:
i use a kblade 98, i always go back to it after i demo racquets and this thing is just easy to swing.
i also wouldnt mind picking up a few more if someone offered.. ;)
Click to expand...

I have emailed you.

I was an ex Blade Tour and ex Blade 98 user, Some of the greatest sticks I have played.
 
just got a kblade tour and strung with poly/multi hybrid 53/57.

All i can say is WOW, where have you been all of my life. I was previously hitting with the blx blade tour and the blx 90. they both feel like clubs in the hand more so the blx blade tour.. this stick is special
 
Glad to hear it. I suppose I should post some of my engraved racquets soon. I have to leave out of town for a while, but when I get back I will post.

I am happy to hear that the KBT is still going strong. I really think it is a classic stick and want to make sure we preserve its greatness instead of just going with "cosmetic updates."
 
how many kbt users use poly? if so what poly and tension? been experimenting with b5e/ogm and i must say im impressed with the spin potential
 
what tension do you use on the b5e/ogm setup? I tried tornado/ogm at 52/56, love the spin potential but somewhat lost some feel on my drop shots.

mrtrinh said:
how many kbt users use poly? if so what poly and tension? been experimenting with b5e/ogm and i must say im impressed with the spin potential
Click to expand...
 
alanl228 said:
what tension do you use on the b5e/ogm setup? I tried tornado/ogm at 52/56, love the spin potential but somewhat lost some feel on my drop shots.
Click to expand...

48/52... I felt the same way, took awhile for me to adjust. I think im going to try a multi set up next
 
Current using NRG2 17 at 58lb. It hold tension very well up until it breaks. at 58lb still feels a bit too powerful w/ NRG2. I may try 60lb next time.

mrtrinh said:
48/52... I felt the same way, took awhile for me to adjust. I think im going to try a multi set up next
Click to expand...
 
alanl228 said:
Current using NRG2 17 at 58lb. It hold tension very well up until it breaks. at 58lb still feels a bit too powerful w/ NRG2. I may try 60lb next time.
Click to expand...

thanks for the tip, I was thinking about stringing nrg2 at 58 too. what would you recommend? before I really enjoyed gosen og micro 17 at 54lb but I want a little more power and spin
 
I once hit w/ og micro 17 full bed at 58 on kbt. NRG2 at 58 gives alot more power and spin compare to og micro under the same tension.
 
Here are a few pictures of the extended K Blade Tour family :)
Enjoy!

The new two, stripped down:
jg7beg.jpg

The full collection:
29kyzv6.jpg

zl3qc5.jpg


and my brother also just bought 2 K Blades, so that is 7 under one roof :P

Just to note, my favourite string setup so far is: BB Ace @ 57lbs and Mantis Comfort @ 59lbs on a lockout machine.
 
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I had a moment of weakness

As many of you may know, for the last few days I was debating over whether or not to switch racquets to the new Donnay's. This decision was not impulsive or the product of some lustful desire for "new technology," but rather an attempt to better compensate for nagging injuries which were not and are not related to the KBT.

Instead of absolving my three year affair with the KBT, I decided to purchase a Prince Precision Tuning Center.
 
Anybody in here played with the youtek prestige pro? I'm debating on possibly switching to the KBT or the YT, impossible to demo these nowadays so hopefully I can find some feedback here.
 
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