Connor Sttec
New User
I recently found this ProKennex Graphite Ace at a thrift store for $3, but i couldn't find any info on it.
Anybody know anything about this racket?
Anybody know anything about this racket?
ProKennex Graphite Ace Info
- Thread starter Connor Sttec
- Start date
Sanglier
Professional
Kunnan made a number of "specialty" PK models for volume retailers; this was one of those. It came out in 1985, and was ostensibly made for Nevada Bob's. It is not a cheapie frame by PK standards - selling for only $6 less than the Black Ace according to Nevada Bob's mail order ad, and almost $20 more than the Silver Ace; which should give you an idea of where it stood relative to the regular "Ace" series.
Connor Sttec
New User
Thanks so much for that. I never knew they made these "specialty" frames. I guess that would be why something in the ace series hasn't been mentioned here before.
Steve Huff
G.O.A.T.
The original had a red stripe
coachrick
Hall of Fame
I believe that is correct. Some earlier discussions touched on the Prima name.
When I was a rep for Dunlop, Nevada Bob's was our number 1 tennis ball account(in the southeastern US) until...POOF...they were gone! Dang
Sort of a ToysRUS scenario on a much smaller scale
coachrick
Hall of Fame
I can't even imagine a comprehensive catalog of the myriad tennis racket models made by Kunnan over the years...it would be astounding!
Sanglier
Professional
Your mind is working just fine. It's me who might have to have my head examined!
The original "Prima" Graphite Ace that came out in 1984 was shaped and strung like the Ace Plus (with a stepped bridge that was flat at the bottom). The "Prima" label was definitely a Nevada Bob's exclusive, as they added more models that bore the pseudo-trademark the following year.
The plain Graphite Ace launched in 1985 that was also supposed to be a Nevada Bob's SMU was actually the rebadged Golden Ace, not the one that OP posted above, at least this was implied in a blurb published in The Stringer's Assistant. This is the only Graphite Ace I own.
The thing that threw me off was that Don's Discount Golf & Tennis also advertised a "Graphite Ace" in 1985, which was priced between the Boron Ace and the Black Ace. That one clearly could not have been the rebadged Golden Ace (which sold for about half of what the Black Ace was going for), or a Nevada Bob's exclusive.
So between 1984 and 1985, there were at least three completely different "Graphite Ace" models being sold in the US; which makes tracking them in a spreadsheet a confusing task. I wrote my initial answer to OP based on a faulty reading of my own notes before I was fully awake.
OP's Graphite Ace is clearly not a 1984 Prima or a Golden Ace clone, but it could be the model sold by Don's Discount Golf & Tennis in 1985.
Maybe Steve knows the definitive answer?
Yeah, Kunnan was a testament of a sporting goods company that expanded its portfolio and grew beyond its operational capacity during the graphite boom.
I owned their fishing rods, golf clubs and tennis racquets to name a few and if they had re-focused their engineering efforts to golf (late 90s into the new decade) they may have lasted a little. It appears that the golf industry has now diminished to just a handful of companies.
Interesting to see how everything has evolved in half of a lifetime. I must say that it was enjoyabale and somewhat bittersweet to have lived through some of this.
I owned their fishing rods, golf clubs and tennis racquets to name a few and if they had re-focused their engineering efforts to golf (late 90s into the new decade) they may have lasted a little. It appears that the golf industry has now diminished to just a handful of companies.
Interesting to see how everything has evolved in half of a lifetime. I must say that it was enjoyabale and somewhat bittersweet to have lived through some of this.
WestboroChe
Hall of Fame
And that’s not counting all the frames they sold to get rebranded
WestboroChe
Hall of Fame
All those old Ace racquets have the same look. But the fact that this is the “graphite Ace” leads me to believe it may just be a rebranded Black Ace. Hence the only $6 price difference as someone already said.
dak95_00
Hall of Fame
I don’t think so because it has a more Yonex shaped head. I have a Composite Ace that’s also shaped like this one.
WestboroChe
Hall of Fame
I didn’t mean they are identical. They are similar. The Composite Ace is the more square Head. that looks like a Silver Ace but it is 100% graphite. It also has graphics like the black ace. So it’s something in between the Black and Silver. They would be happy to make up something that was just a wee bit different for a big buyer.
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