Strings on wooden racquets

[JesterMania]

Just out of curiosity, what are those strings that look like RIP Control (striped) that are usually found strung on old wooden racquets? I've noticed a lot of wooden racquets having these types of strings (including one I recently got hold of) and they look sort of like RIP control, but definitely aren't as they don't appear textured in any way. Was this the type of string normally used back then?

 

[Hannah19]

Many older strings used to have a filament to add some texture to the string. I have n.o.s. Gosen Hy-O-Sheep with an orange thread around the string and Babolat had a VS gut with a blue thread inside the string. Some were just cosmetic, others did enhance the texture to create more spin.

 

[JesterMania]

Okay, thanks for the clarification! The strings I've mainly seen, and the one on my wood racquet looks a lot like RIP control with a brownish/beige twist around it. I guess I'll never know what the string is but good to know that's what a lot of strings looked cosmetically back then.

 

[coachrick]

Okay, thanks for the clarification! The strings I've mainly seen, and the one on my wood racquet looks a lot like RIP control with a brownish/beige twist around it. I guess I'll never know what the string is but good to know that's what a lot of strings looked cosmetically back then.

If you could post some clear pics, we might know what the string is...especially if it's a 'factory' strung racket. For example, Wilson International nylon came in a number of color twists...blue spiral, red spiral, etc. Bancroft had an amber with dark spiral that was used in many of the FRS, ESC, Competition-type models that were higher-end wood models with lams of fiberglass, steel mesh, etc. Victor Stay-tite was a very common blue spiral nylon of the '60s-'70s.

The Ashaway strings had a black spiral on their Pro-Fected cheap nylon and the Vantage II was creamy with a light blue spiral that was seen 'everywhere' on my hometown courts.

 

[PBODY99]

Blue spiral nylon, I once had eight different types in stock. The Victor gut with the Blue spiral drove the other companies to make a "copy" in the 1970s.

 

[Steve Huff]

I'd bet a lot of it is Vantage. Blue spiral nylon was usually more clear with a blue stripe. Vantage was more yellowish-white with a blue spiral.

 

[PeteD]

I know we called it "nylon," not sure what it really was