Wow man. The commitment that you and your team are putting to release a video every day deserves so much respect. Great content for those who truly love the sport.
Great job on the Tennis Spin channel. The explanation on why the racket may crack on stringing "throat-up" is that: the top hoop of the racket is weaker than the throat. This places uneven stresses on the head, and the racket usually cracks on the top hoop. When you string from the top to the throat, the stresses are built up gradually in the head keeping the racket's shape and hence this prevents cracking. The throat of a racket is much stronger structurally than the head.
I had the privilege of speaking one-on-one with Babolat's top technician, Lucien Nogues, a few years ago. He had the best argument I've ever heard for one piece vs two piece: Your number one goal in stringing is consistency. When you do hybrids, you must do two pieces. Since you must sometimes do two pieces, to be the most consistent, always do two pieces. And he's totally wrong about the Prince O3 and Babolat Pure Control racquets. One piece can be done on the O3 and Speed Port racquets - the racquet even has holes labeled showing which side is the short side. And the Pure Control/Pure Strike VS has all the holes needed for two piece top down - you just need a starting clamp, which every stringer should own. Anyone who does crosses bottom up, especially with two piece, should not be stringing racquets. This guy is entertaining, but please, please, please, do NOT take his advice on stringing.
I agree about his advice on stringing. I feel sorry for the customer's racket he strung in this video: ua-cam.com/video/iGd8vUtzkWs/v-deo.html He strung one side of the racket
As a home string for more than 20 years, mostly for my friends, I've been so into this topic for dacades. I am a fun of 1 piece (because i belive if use one set of string, a string should not cut in half. 2 piece only for hybrids), i get to these pro and cons for this: 4 knots are mostly recommended by all brands, because of： 1: Just make it simple, it's least chance to get anything wrong. 2: It's most time efficient due to you never need to handle a long piece string tangling everywhere (add 3-5 minutes at least). time for 2 more knots just don't cost a minutes. 3: Most advance in all racket sports tour is it's universial, it cannot be done wrong, and it is very consistant accross different stringers. If you are pro player and cannot hire a stringer to do year round tour with you like Feder and Djokovic, you need different stringers to do it the same way. Benefits for 2 knots: 1)It holds tension remarkablely well if you do it correctly than you do 4 knots as the same well, especially after 10+ days. (Pro players don't need to consider this because they either break string or cut off string after a couple of days.) I still belive players restring longer than each month actually should require 2 knots. 2) Looks much better due to knots are ugly and you will have 2 less of them, and experienced stringer use 2 knots usually have way much less long runs on the side of your frame(looks even better) Cons for 2 knots: 1) There are too many 2 knots patterns and with these complicated patterns, it's not constant accross patterns and stringers. Same tension with different pattern and different stringers can feels noticable difference. 2) If you don't really know all the principle of stringing, 2 knots can be terrible wrong lead to cracking frame. 95% of Badminton rackets don't have this problem because usually 2 knots and 4 knots means same pattern, but it can go wrong in tennis and squash becuase most of tennis and squash rackets design ends mains at throat and should string cross from head to throat that means you will have to at least familiar with one kind of Around The World (ATW) pattern. And all ATW pattern cost more time. Yonex require all their tennis rackets to be done by 4 Knots because I think all of them ends mains at throat and they all must strung cross from head to throat. Only some Wilson and Babolat tennis racket officially allowed to do 2 knots by cross from throat to head. In seeking for better stress distribution: Mostly all ATW pattern do stress distribution better than standard 4 knots. Actually you can do 4 knots in ATW and it's actually more pattern for 4 knots, but not so many wanted to bother themselves for more complicate pattern in 4 knots (only to skip some cross from head or throat and finish at the end) And they all add more time. I belive all 2 knots stringers heading for longer playable time and looks better, otherwise there will be more of them spend more time on complicated 4 knots pattern.
I tend to agree..and I often think some want 1 piece ( unless forced by the racquet), because they know a certain pro prefers one piece stringing! I also tend to think that 2 piece holds tension better. Those well known pros don't consider cost. People can argue that 4 tie offs will lose tension faster than 2. I think 'more' string losses tension faster. Obviously, this is anecdotal...either way...a good string job sure beats a lousy job whichever method is used!
I just looked at my Head Extreme Graphene 360 + Lite and it has two knots. String is Head Velocity. This might be contrary to how others think but I made a conscious decision to not be technical about equipment and just play. I’m back into the game for 4 months and my playing level is “Knucklehead” and I liked the color of that Head model I saw on Tennis Spin. Told this to the owner of the tennis shop and he did the rest. He has a picture with him and Roger Federer and he’s a Wilson Team Stringer. The racket has no vibration and it’s easy on my arm. That’s all I need to know. As far as I’m concerned he has full operational control over the equipment. I’ll focus on forehands, backhands, improving my fitness, and fun.
You’ll probably live longer and happier too, applying this philosophy to life in general! In an ideal world, we should be able to just trust others to do what they do with due care, attention and skill. I’m a cancer surgeon and I say to all my patients, “I know it’s a difficult time, and it’s understandable to have many anxieties. That’s why I make sure of all the little important details in your surgery so it’s one less thing for you to worry about”. I wish more tradesmen would practice the same ideology.
I was taught to string from Warren Bosworth. Referred to as the "Wizard of Boz". He would agree with everything you said. He also suggested that when stringing with natural gut, that you would start "in the middle" of the frame (no the top or throat), reason being that those strings would be newest and least "bruised" "twisted" by stringing from the top. While I nver do that today, the gut strings in the 70's would unravel too easily.
2 knots when done properly, holds tension better, allows the string to retain its elasticity better, provides a more uniform string bed. Hands down a much better string job. By the way, using an around the world, there is zero tension loss on outside strings. The end.
Harry, you mentioned 18x20 rackets in this video. All of them can be strung ATW 1-piece/2-tie way with crosses going from hoop to throat. Short piece for half of mains goes for 9 mains and a tie off. Long side goes 8 mains and to the crosses from top down. And the last main is done after 20 crosses is finished and huge advantage that both mains will have same tension loss (both tied off). While all crosses which tend to lose tension faster will have constant pull without tension loss!
This is how I strung my old Wilson Sting, circa 1984. Not having restrung this racquet for about a decade, I had to analyze how it was strung by a pro shop. They had done all the mains, then proceeded to string the crosses from the bottom up. Not feeling comfortable restringing the crosses that way, I did some research on the string pattern and found the same information that you've mentioned above. Personally, if the racquet company informs of their recommended string patter, whether 1 or 2 piece, I'm going to stick with their spec.
Growing up i always cut sets in half and then did two-piece stringing but later on i started using one-piece stringing and then using the remaining strings to make two-piece combos to save money.
Just something to keep in mind , when you do one piece stringing, you are putting knots on one side of the string bed resulting last 2 lines of main on that side out of business, while if you do 4 knots and knot mains to main and crosses to cross, you will have 2 mains and 2 crosses all over the racket out of business but you would have more even string bed stiffness and tension. don't you think so?
@tennisspin can you do a video on how to do box pattern stringing or around the world? Can you make another video about spaghetti stringing a racket and play with it for fun?
around the world is an easy way to always string one piece and start your crosses at the top and it is really easy to use. Here is how you do it. Measure your short side like usual and finish that side and tie it off, alternating with the other side of course. On the long side all you do is skip your last main so your second to last main will end at the top. Now here is the only tricky few parts. If it is an even number of crosses such as an 18x20 you simply start at the first cross; now it is a 16 x 19 you start at the second cross and than you go back and finish the first cross and and continue doing the crosses. In my experience most 16x19 finish the mains at the top usually. Just make sure when you do the crosses you skip the main hole you skipped previously; a lot of people make the mistake of putting it through the main hole. If you do; you know pretty quick it is the wrong hole because it wont be straight. You finish all your crosses till you get to the bottom now if you do it right..... your last cross you will end on the same side where you skipped your last main. You than weave up to complete your last main and tie it off at the top.
Thank you for the video. I'm a new stringer and the more info I can soak in the better. I've just done one racket so far and it is a Head. Googled it and it did say 2 piece, so I did that. Makes sense that 2 piece would be a superior way to string.
Lots of good discussion here. The arguments involve a mixture of science (or engineering) and what I might call old wives' tales, or superstition. The following is my attempt to sort these logically. Two-piece stringing (4 knots) is REQUIRED in the case of hybrid setups; also in the case of customers wanting a different tension in the mains from that in the crosses. Any racket CAN BE strung one-piece if neither of the above is required (hybrid or different tensions in mains/crosses), but two-piece stringing is NOT POSSIBLE in rackets which don't have sufficient wide grommet holes to take two strings. (Some boring-out of grommets can overcome this limitation, but at the risk of weakening the racket and also of voiding any manufacturer's warranty). Yonex say that the crosses in their BADMINTON rackets must be strung top-down, although their stringing diagrams describe a bottom-up sequence. The warranty issue surely doesn't anyway apply except in the case of a brand-new racket being strung for the first time; try getting money back on a racket which breaks after it has been played with and restrung a few times! (Although it would be sensible to follow manufacturers' advice regardless of warranty considerations). The problem of losing tension on the last cross and the last main in the case of one-piece stringing is addressed by adding 10% (or whatever the stringer chooses) to the tension on the last pull: it isn't difficult to test the effectiveness of this and arrive at the correct extra tension (10% seems to be a consensus among stringers, but I haven't seen any test data).
My personal experience I prefer 4 knots over 2 knots, but it could have been because they were different stringers. The 2 knot was strung by a renown stringer of the city I live in and the 4 knot was done by a not so well known stringer, they both were strung with the same string and same tension.
I have a different question: some stringing guru (in Germany) strings loser to the outside in order to increase the sweet spot. But I tend to do the opposite, stringing the outer strings a little harder (just a lb or so) to guide the ball towards the center of the racquet. Which is better, or are both methods nonsense? Oh, and not to forget: I always string in one piece. Stringing the crosses top-bottom is almost always possible, even with only 2 knots. Just leave out the last main until the crosses are strung, then string it the last. Comes from a s Wilson Ultra stringing pattern from 30 years ago. Also you end on a main which evens out the loss at the knot.
@@rishijai No idea. I string for myself, I use the standard differential method (if it was not obvious yet). Maybe he does not tell my fellow player colleagues exactly what he is doing. All I have is this explanaition.
ive been stringing my strike vs tours 2 piece for a while you tie off on the third cross you have to use a startring clamp for the crrosses because you can't tie off right away
hello tennis spin, im entertained by your videos, keep them coming. in this video, "2 knots or 4 knots", or one-piece vs two-piece, your choice of a pure strike; babolat might be the only mfg of racquets that design 8 mains in the throat and will naturally start a one-piece crosses at the head. many other mfg of racquets have 6 mains, so a one piece will naturally start crosses at the throat. i know many racquets are limited to shared holes (more than one string) and are only at a tie-off point. might be why one-piece is recommended for many racquets. a few ways to get by this is to use a two-piece string method top to bottom or using around the world (ATW) stringing...
Some years ago I used to have this guy string my racquets and my strings would last about 2 weeks at best. Found out that he was double pulling on the string job. Can you elaborate on that in a future video? TIA Nestor in West Palm Beach, FL
I double pull strings on my rackets and they last 6 months. He may be clamping too hard leaving indentations on the string or the string reel might be very old.
I have this question to you on September 2020. Thanks for clarifying the difference. I have my racquet strung in 2 knots on September 18/20. My racquet is Wilson Juice 100, 16x18. The stringer asked me why 2 knots, it is my curiosity. I didn’t even notice the difference. The stringer strung the knot is on the top and the other knots is at the bottom. My question is what is effect of tension with one on the top and one at the bottom? BTW, my string is Solinco confidential , 18 gauge 55 lbs. Thanks
A couple of things. Can't you string 1-piece around-the-world to avoid starting the mains at the bottom? I think you can. Plus, I would think the purpose of the knot function is to account for some of that tension loss when making a knot, so, hopefully, the tension remains even throughout the string bed, or pretty close to it.
I prefer 2 piece stringing and using a starting clamp so all 4 knots are the same knot. This makes for the best string bed consistency and the most even tension side to side and top to bottom. It also allows different tension and strings to be used in the mains and crosses which improves performance and string life. Keep it simple and use the best strings for the mains and crosses which have different jobs to do. Hybrids FTW!
Mechanically think of one piece rubber band vs two pieces rubber bands half size each. Two pieces might tension out sooner or break while providing better control.
Love this channel. Thanks for all these great videos, Harry. Ive had this question myself for awhile. Looks like both my VCore 98s were strung wrong at my club. They both only have two knots.
It’s not wrong to one piece a Yonex, so long as the racquet crosses are strung top to bottom. A competent stringer can do this no problem. The tension maintenance is generally better with one piece since every tie-off is a potential loss segment. I’ve had my HEAD Prestige racquets strung one piece for years. Helps to have a good stringer you trust.
I’ve string a head prestige mid size (93) CAP on one piece luxilon bb alu 125. Never gonna do that again...felt like the racquet was gonna break as i went from the mains to the crosses.
Can you advise. I read from gamma that USRSA does not recommend increasing tension at knot strings. However on the Klippermate video, it recommended adding extra 2lbs on the tie knots. Any advise tennis spin?
Great video. Thanks alot uncle! Just a question (may be a video idea): what string / tension should I string my son's 23 inch junior rackets? The string that came with the racket burst, and I have no idea about the tension for him. I guess those adults' tension (45~55 pounds) won't work for him.
Love your channel, so thanks for all your tips. I have 2 questions, first I have and Gamma XLT and it has a pre stringing option, do you used?. The next one, I want to try hybrid with a milti on the main and with poly on the crosses, so my question is, if I do that should I do less tension on the crosses or not? Thank you in advence
If your mains end at the throat, and you want to string one piece (2 knots) do not string your crosses bottom up, use an ATW (Around the World) pattern. I would never string crosses bottom up, so if your mains end at the throat, either string 2 piece, or use an Around the World pattern for one piece.
Yup. 4 knots unless I have no choice. 4 knots feel supirior espcially when ur using diffrent mains and cross tensions. Because they are totally seperate and don't effect each other.
Obviously a blend will require 4 knots but a one piece would require 2. I have not been using two pieces of the same string (no blend), I just do one piece almost always and it usually has me beginning the cross strings at the bottom. However, considering all the info I think I’ll do two pieces no matter what, but I have never had a problem doing a one-piece and starting the cross strings at the bottom. Again, I’m going to stop doing that though.
2 knots, 1 piece is just bad for the following reasons: 1. There are 19 crosses vs 16 mains, so my experience is that stringing the crosses 16/19th of the tension of the mains just feels better: wider sweet spot, better spin 2. Hybrids are the way to go, that's only possible with 2 piece
I think you should know this also, just that you never mention it. If you are doing same string for mains and crosses, if the mains ends on the bottom, you still can do 2 knots. You string with a method call "round the world" you can still starts the cross from the top. One of the disadvantage of doing 2 knots is the string is so long and when you pull the string through the grommet it will cut the hole in the grommet especially if its a sharp or rough string. The advantage for doing 2 knots is you can actually save more string for the stringer without need to cut the string longer to tie knots for 2 mains and 2 cross. As for 4 knots, you can do hybrid and also you can do 2 different tension on main and cross.
I never have that problem when i do 1 piece stringing and i always have equal pressure around my knots and equal consistency... I have a special secret.
If there are 3 or 5 pairs of holes in the grommet of the throat of the racket then 2 piece or ATW stringing is recommended, because the mains would end at the bottom of the racket. If there are 4 or 6 pairs of holes in the grommet of the throat of the racket then one-piece stringing is used, as the mains would end at the top of the racket.
Once piece stringing is easy. You measure your short side either by hand or by measurement (you can find that on several stringing websites) which ever you are more comfortable with. You do your mains evenly (in other words dont do one side all the way without alternating to balance the stress on the frame) tie off your short side, your long side will end at the top; well it should if not, you can do around the world; i will explain below. If it ends at the top you simply start your crosses and finish them and you will tie off at the bottom. Around the world is an easy way to always string one piece and start your crosses at the top and it is really easy to use. Here is how you do it. Measure your short side like usual and finish that side and tie it off, alternating with the other side of course. On the long side all you do is skip your last main so your second to last main will end at the top. Now here is the only tricky few parts. If it is an even number of crosses such as an 18x20 you simply start at the first cross; now it is a 16 x 19 you start at the second cross and than you go back and finish the first cross and and continue doing the crosses. In my experience most 16x19 finish the mains at the top usually. Just make sure when you do the crosses you skip the main hole you skipped previously; a lot of people make the mistake of putting it through the main hole. If you do; you know pretty quick it is the wrong hole because it wont be straight. You finish all your crosses till you get to the bottom now if you do it right..... your last cross you will end on the same side where you skipped your last main. You than weave up to complete your last main and tie it off at the top.
@@bensmith9820 anytime. If you run into any problems just drop a note here and I can answer it or I am sure someone else can. But it should be pretty straight forward.
The 2 and 4 knot is a question, we as stringers listen all the time. While you give a generic insight, I am afraid that it’s been outdated. Things changed and I would be glad if you would invited me in a recorded zoom call to explain to fans what exactly is going on. The 4 knots versus 2 knots is something, we, as pro tour stringers have instructed pro players for certain reasons. And what pro players do, becomes a fashion. They were instructed this way though for specific reasons, while 2 knots technique, under certains condition, offers the same benefits and still used vastly if being done modified. My profile and cv: www.racketspecialist.com/?lang=en
One could never go wrong with 2 piece stringing as you'll always be stringing down the frame. I can do 1 piece but since some end requiring stringing up the racquet, there are some stringing ATW variations that allow you to "skip" a main so you start the crosses at the top and when finished then you string the last main to get back to the top to tie it off. Too much mental exercise making 2 piece more convenient. Talking to a stringer down in Cincinnati ATP and he said a lot of top pros use 2 piece regardless of using a hybrid. And he confirmed HEAD requires 2 piece too. But why add 10% to the last mains due to the knot? Some advocate progressive stringing tensions that drop the tension as mains get shorter since it takes less tension for a shorter string to deflect as much as the longer ones for a given force (ball strike) on the strings. That's basic scientific kinetics of string deflection taught in engineering 101. Any tension loss by not adding 10% only allows those last shorter strings to possibly deflect more (i.e. return energy to the ball) and not feel like steel cords by the frame. If anything, tighter tension will return less energy to the ball in area where all the energy you can get would help to get the ball back over instead of flopping into the net. Of course, reality is that any ball hit on those strings will twist the frame like crazy, feel like crap, and usually go no where regardless of higher or lower tension!! Keeping it real... Btw I strung 1 Pure Drive with conventional poly stringing and another PD with same string but with the progressive tensioning. Everyone doing a blind test confirmed the progressive was overall softer, felt more consistent across the strike zone, great for volleying, and added overall power. Someone developed a spreadsheet to determine tension on every string based on length.
Yeah you have to stretch out the grommet holes for 4 knots on a fresh Wilson stick to tie off 16 or 16L strings. I’ve been stringing 1 piece working bottom to top at pretty high tensions 100s of times even on some old Kblades and 6.1s for college guys who need a restring 3-4 times a week with no problem. Cheap Babolats are the only racquets I’ve seen crack on while stringing.
@@1504Blue old Babolats crack because of the high stiffness. I have also seen wilson pro staff 95S with cracks on the throat for nearly every string job I have done
I find 2 piece with 4 knots makes sure it maintains the tension better just because the last knot ensures the main bed can no longer move as they are knotted. And the last main or cross can lose a bit but the the rest are knotted and in place
Something very important to add: 4 knots inproves tension keeping. When you play, mainly mains are moving and their tension + elasticity decrease fast. If strung in one piece, it will mechanically have an influence on crosses tension and control will drop faster. Separating crosses from mains avoids that, and permits to play around 25% longer before having to cut strings... for a mono that usually lasts around 4/5 hours, you can reach 6 hours. Try it and you won't go back to 2 knots! Cheers.
sigh... here we go with another video that is not giving correct information. The reason many companies will say that they recommend 2 piece stringing is because not many stringers do not know how to do a method where the crosses are always strung from top to bottom when stringing one piece. Also, if you have 4 knots where those strings are losing tension, how can you say that 2 piece stringing is "better"? If your so call "PRO" stringer doesn't know how to properly string a prestige using a one piece method and you see them end on top, don't go to the stringer period.
Wow man. The commitment that you and your team are putting to release a video every day deserves so much respect. Great content for those who truly love the sport.
Great job on the Tennis Spin channel. The explanation on why the racket may crack on stringing "throat-up" is that: the top hoop of the racket is weaker than the throat. This places uneven stresses on the head, and the racket usually cracks on the top hoop. When you string from the top to the throat, the stresses are built up gradually in the head keeping the racket's shape and hence this prevents cracking. The throat of a racket is much stronger structurally than the head.
I love these videos! He answered so many random tennis questions I had that I thought would never be answered.
Good Job!! 😃😃
I had the privilege of speaking one-on-one with Babolat's top technician, Lucien Nogues, a few years ago. He had the best argument I've ever heard for one piece vs two piece: Your number one goal in stringing is consistency. When you do hybrids, you must do two pieces. Since you must sometimes do two pieces, to be the most consistent, always do two pieces.
And he's totally wrong about the Prince O3 and Babolat Pure Control racquets. One piece can be done on the O3 and Speed Port racquets - the racquet even has holes labeled showing which side is the short side. And the Pure Control/Pure Strike VS has all the holes needed for two piece top down - you just need a starting clamp, which every stringer should own. Anyone who does crosses bottom up, especially with two piece, should not be stringing racquets.
This guy is entertaining, but please, please, please, do NOT take his advice on stringing.
I agree about his advice on stringing. I feel sorry for the customer's racket he strung in this video: ua-cam.com/video/iGd8vUtzkWs/v-deo.html He strung one side of the racket
@@Jusio4606 There are many stringers who do this to save time. We know its supposed to be symmetrical stringing.
Started to string my own racquets, great info. One of TennisSpin’s better videos.
As a home string for more than 20 years, mostly for my friends, I've been so into this topic for dacades. I am a fun of 1 piece (because i belive if use one set of string, a string should not cut in half. 2 piece only for hybrids), i get to these pro and cons for this:
4 knots are mostly recommended by all brands, because of：
1: Just make it simple, it's least chance to get anything wrong.
2: It's most time efficient due to you never need to handle a long piece string tangling everywhere (add 3-5 minutes at least). time for 2 more knots just don't cost a minutes.
3: Most advance in all racket sports tour is it's universial, it cannot be done wrong, and it is very consistant accross different stringers. If you are pro player and cannot hire a stringer to do year round tour with you like Feder and Djokovic, you need different stringers to do it the same way.
Benefits for 2 knots:
1)It holds tension remarkablely well if you do it correctly than you do 4 knots as the same well, especially after 10+ days. (Pro players don't need to consider this because they either break string or cut off string after a couple of days.) I still belive players restring longer than each month actually should require 2 knots.
2) Looks much better due to knots are ugly and you will have 2 less of them, and experienced stringer use 2 knots usually have way much less long runs on the side of your frame(looks even better)
Cons for 2 knots:
1) There are too many 2 knots patterns and with these complicated patterns, it's not constant accross patterns and stringers. Same tension with different pattern and different stringers can feels noticable difference.
2) If you don't really know all the principle of stringing, 2 knots can be terrible wrong lead to cracking frame. 95% of Badminton rackets don't have this problem because usually 2 knots and 4 knots means same pattern, but it can go wrong in tennis and squash becuase most of tennis and squash rackets design ends mains at throat and should string cross from head to throat that means you will have to at least familiar with one kind of Around The World (ATW) pattern. And all ATW pattern cost more time. Yonex require all their tennis rackets to be done by 4 Knots because I think all of them ends mains at throat and they all must strung cross from head to throat. Only some Wilson and Babolat tennis racket officially allowed to do 2 knots by cross from throat to head.
In seeking for better stress distribution:
Mostly all ATW pattern do stress distribution better than standard 4 knots.
Actually you can do 4 knots in ATW and it's actually more pattern for 4 knots, but not so many wanted to bother themselves for more complicate pattern in 4 knots (only to skip some cross from head or throat and finish at the end) And they all add more time.
I belive all 2 knots stringers heading for longer playable time and looks better, otherwise there will be more of them spend more time on complicated 4 knots pattern.
Sasha from Germany ask you a question about 2nd serve....
haha so funny bro i’m dying no cap
I worked at a tennis shop back in the late 80’s and became a certified stringer... this is EXACTLY how I was taught.
actually you are able to use 1-piece stringing with all rackets by stringing it with the around the world method in order to string from top to bottom
Your channel gives a lot of help and power to tennis beginners like me. Thank you always.
I tend to agree..and I often think some want 1 piece ( unless forced by the racquet), because they know a certain pro prefers one piece stringing!
I also tend to think that 2 piece holds tension better. Those well known pros don't consider cost.
People can argue that 4 tie offs will lose tension faster than 2. I think 'more' string losses tension faster. Obviously, this is anecdotal...either way...a good string job sure beats a lousy job whichever method is used!
I just looked at my Head Extreme Graphene 360 + Lite and it has two knots. String is Head Velocity.
This might be contrary to how others think but I made a conscious decision to not be technical about equipment and just play. I’m back into the game for 4 months and my playing level is “Knucklehead” and I liked the color of that Head model I saw on Tennis Spin. Told this to the owner of the tennis shop and he did the rest. He has a picture with him and Roger Federer and he’s a Wilson Team Stringer. The racket has no vibration and it’s easy on my arm. That’s all I need to know.
As far as I’m concerned he has full operational control over the equipment.
I’ll focus on forehands, backhands, improving my fitness, and fun.
You’ll probably live longer and happier too, applying this philosophy to life in general! In an ideal world, we should be able to just trust others to do what they do with due care, attention and skill. I’m a cancer surgeon and I say to all my patients, “I know it’s a difficult time, and it’s understandable to have many anxieties. That’s why I make sure of all the little important details in your surgery so it’s one less thing for you to worry about”. I wish more tradesmen would practice the same ideology.
I was taught to string from Warren Bosworth. Referred to as the "Wizard of Boz". He would agree with everything you said. He also suggested that when stringing with natural gut, that you would start "in the middle" of the frame (no the top or throat), reason being that those strings would be newest and least "bruised" "twisted" by stringing from the top. While I nver do that today, the gut strings in the 70's would unravel too easily.
2 knots when done properly, holds tension better, allows the string to retain its elasticity better, provides a more uniform string bed. Hands down a much better string job. By the way, using an around the world, there is zero tension loss on outside strings. The end.
Harry, you mentioned 18x20 rackets in this video. All of them can be strung ATW 1-piece/2-tie way with crosses going from hoop to throat. Short piece for half of mains goes for 9 mains and a tie off. Long side goes 8 mains and to the crosses from top down. And the last main is done after 20 crosses is finished and huge advantage that both mains will have same tension loss (both tied off). While all crosses which tend to lose tension faster will have constant pull without tension loss!
This is how I strung my old Wilson Sting, circa 1984. Not having restrung this racquet for about a decade, I had to analyze how it was strung by a pro shop. They had done all the mains, then proceeded to string the crosses from the bottom up. Not feeling comfortable restringing the crosses that way, I did some research on the string pattern and found the same information that you've mentioned above. Personally, if the racquet company informs of their recommended string patter, whether 1 or 2 piece, I'm going to stick with their spec.
Growing up i always cut sets in half and then did two-piece stringing but later on i started using one-piece stringing and then using the remaining strings to make two-piece combos to save money.
Like yours passion show up every day, Thanks !
Great video on tennis stringing.
Excellent video
Just something to keep in mind , when you do one piece stringing, you are putting knots on one side of the string bed resulting last 2 lines of main on that side out of business, while if you do 4 knots and knot mains to main and crosses to cross, you will have 2 mains and 2 crosses all over the racket out of business but you would have more even string bed stiffness and tension. don't you think so?
thank you for your videos
Wow! Very useful video ♡
@tennisspin can you do a video on how to do box pattern stringing or around the world?
Can you make another video about spaghetti stringing a racket and play with it for fun?
Back in the day, i used spaghetti type strings on my dunlop maxply fort wood racquets 6 cross strings for fun pla
around the world is an easy way to always string one piece and start your crosses at the top and it is really easy to use. Here is how you do it. Measure your short side like usual and finish that side and tie it off, alternating with the other side of course. On the long side all you do is skip your last main so your second to last main will end at the top. Now here is the only tricky few parts. If it is an even number of crosses such as an 18x20 you simply start at the first cross; now it is a 16 x 19 you start at the second cross and than you go back and finish the first cross and and continue doing the crosses. In my experience most 16x19 finish the mains at the top usually. Just make sure when you do the crosses you skip the main hole you skipped previously; a lot of people make the mistake of putting it through the main hole. If you do; you know pretty quick it is the wrong hole because it wont be straight. You finish all your crosses till you get to the bottom now if you do it right..... your last cross you will end on the same side where you skipped your last main. You than weave up to complete your last main and tie it off at the top.
Great content. Thanks Harry!
Thank you for the video. I'm a new stringer and the more info I can soak in the better. I've just done one racket so far and it is a Head. Googled it and it did say 2 piece, so I did that. Makes sense that 2 piece would be a superior way to string.
Yes, been waiting for this topic, thxs.
This might be the most interesting vid yet man.
On those pure controls you actually use a floating clamp and start the crosses top down before tying off the final main string
As in boating, 4 knots is faster 😆. I like to string hybrid style and it requires 4 knots.
I was always taught that Wilson's can be strung 1 piece, but Head and Yonex must always be strung 2 piece. Others refer to USRA manual.
Good info. Interesting.
Lots of good discussion here. The arguments involve a mixture of science (or engineering) and what I might call old wives' tales, or superstition. The following is my attempt to sort these logically. Two-piece stringing (4 knots) is REQUIRED in the case of hybrid setups; also in the case of customers wanting a different tension in the mains from that in the crosses. Any racket CAN BE strung one-piece if neither of the above is required (hybrid or different tensions in mains/crosses), but two-piece stringing is NOT POSSIBLE in rackets which don't have sufficient wide grommet holes to take two strings. (Some boring-out of grommets can overcome this limitation, but at the risk of weakening the racket and also of voiding any manufacturer's warranty). Yonex say that the crosses in their BADMINTON rackets must be strung top-down, although their stringing diagrams describe a bottom-up sequence. The warranty issue surely doesn't anyway apply except in the case of a brand-new racket being strung for the first time; try getting money back on a racket which breaks after it has been played with and restrung a few times! (Although it would be sensible to follow manufacturers' advice regardless of warranty considerations). The problem of losing tension on the last cross and the last main in the case of one-piece stringing is addressed by adding 10% (or whatever the stringer chooses) to the tension on the last pull: it isn't difficult to test the effectiveness of this and arrive at the correct extra tension (10% seems to be a consensus among stringers, but I haven't seen any test data).
Thanks Harry. Any chance you could do a series of videos recommending best hybrids I.e. best hybrid with Hyper-G, Cyclone, Alu Power etc?
I string my Pure Strike 16x19's 2 piece, crosses top to bottom.
My personal experience I prefer 4 knots over 2 knots, but it could have been because they were different stringers. The 2 knot was strung by a renown stringer of the city I live in and the 4 knot was done by a not so well known stringer, they both were strung with the same string and same tension.
I have a different question: some stringing guru (in Germany) strings loser to the outside in order to increase the sweet spot. But I tend to do the opposite, stringing the outer strings a little harder (just a lb or so) to guide the ball towards the center of the racquet. Which is better, or are both methods nonsense?
Oh, and not to forget: I always string in one piece. Stringing the crosses top-bottom is almost always possible, even with only 2 knots. Just leave out the last main until the crosses are strung, then string it the last. Comes from a s Wilson Ultra stringing pattern from 30 years ago. Also you end on a main which evens out the loss at the knot.
Is the stringer using proportianal or Sergetti’s Stringing Process?
@@rishijai No idea. I string for myself, I use the standard differential method (if it was not obvious yet). Maybe he does not tell my fellow player colleagues exactly what he is doing. All I have is this explanaition.
ive been stringing my strike vs tours 2 piece for a while you tie off on the third cross you have to use a startring clamp for the crrosses because you can't tie off right away
hello
tennis spin,
im entertained by your videos, keep them coming. in this video, "2 knots or 4 knots", or one-piece vs two-piece, your choice of a pure strike; babolat might be the only mfg of racquets that design 8 mains in the throat and will naturally start a one-piece crosses at the head. many other mfg of racquets have 6 mains, so a one piece will naturally start crosses at the throat. i know many racquets are limited to shared holes (more than one string) and are only at a tie-off point. might be why one-piece is recommended for many racquets. a few ways to get by this is to use a two-piece string method top to bottom or using around the world (ATW) stringing...
@tennisspin can you please do a review of the mistringer?
Yes please
You also need 2 piece if you desire a hybrid. If my assessment is wrong, please lemme know how!
Some years ago I used to have this guy string my racquets and my strings would last about 2 weeks at best. Found out that he was double pulling on the string job. Can you elaborate on that in a future video? TIA
Nestor in West Palm Beach, FL
I double pull strings on my rackets and they last 6 months. He may be clamping too hard leaving indentations on the string or the string reel might be very old.
double pulling is never a good idea; highly frowned upon by the USRSA.
I used to get 2 piece extra crispy double biscuit no corn, but that's me....
I have this question to you on September 2020. Thanks for clarifying the difference. I have my racquet strung in 2 knots on September 18/20. My racquet is Wilson Juice 100, 16x18. The stringer asked me why 2 knots, it is my curiosity. I didn’t even notice the difference. The stringer strung the knot is on the top and the other knots is at the bottom. My question is what is effect of tension with one on the top and one at the bottom? BTW, my string is Solinco confidential , 18 gauge 55 lbs.
Thanks
Use around the world method to string crosses top down, when one-piece stringing and mains finish at the throat. Like Harry I always string two-piece.
A couple of things. Can't you string 1-piece around-the-world to avoid starting the mains at the bottom? I think you can. Plus, I would think the purpose of the knot function is to account for some of that tension loss when making a knot, so, hopefully, the tension remains even throughout the string bed, or pretty close to it.
Agreed, I string my pro staff with universal atw
I prefer 2 piece stringing and using a starting clamp so all 4 knots are the same knot. This makes for the best string bed consistency and the most even tension side to side and top to bottom. It also allows different tension and strings to be used in the mains and crosses which improves performance and string life. Keep it simple and use the best strings for the mains and crosses which have different jobs to do. Hybrids FTW!
Mechanically think of one piece rubber band vs two pieces rubber bands half size each. Two pieces might tension out sooner or break while providing better control.
On the same string tension, one piece should give you better pocketing and trampoline effect.
What about around the world methods ?
I tried it but was getting too much slack on the last string with floating clamps. I ended stringing from the throat up.
How about the 6 knot method for when your reel comes up short?
8:51 Apreciate the scary sound of the strings through the finger of Tennis spin mmm
Mechanically, think one piece of rubber band vs two pieces of rubber bands half size each.
Love this channel. Thanks for all these great videos, Harry. Ive had this question myself for awhile. Looks like both my VCore 98s were strung wrong at my club. They both only have two knots.
It’s not wrong to one piece a Yonex, so long as the racquet crosses are strung top to bottom. A competent stringer can do this no problem. The tension maintenance is generally better with one piece since every tie-off is a potential loss segment. I’ve had my HEAD Prestige racquets strung one piece for years. Helps to have a good stringer you trust.
I remember those earlier Prince Graphite 110 without bumper guards had 2 B two piece stringing, if not those frame will probably crack.
I’ve string a head prestige mid size (93) CAP on one piece luxilon bb alu 125. Never gonna do that again...felt like the racquet was gonna break as i went from the mains to the crosses.
Should I finish crosses knot on the crosses or on the mains? any difference?
Can you advise. I read from gamma that USRSA does not recommend increasing tension at knot strings. However on the Klippermate video, it recommended adding extra 2lbs on the tie knots. Any advise tennis spin?
Bro, I strung many, many O3 in one piece, no problems at all. As a matter of fact, the short side part is even written on the frame itself
Summary: 4 knots is the way to go
How much of length string you need for 2 knots and 4 knots??
Can we cheat the tie-off by doing One/Two Piece Stringing - Around the world. Kinda like what Agassi does with his Kevlar/Gut hybrid stringing?
My Head Speed MP the mains end at the top. They do however require two piece stringing. Why?
For two piece stringing, is there much tension loss on the top cross when using a starting knot or only when using a starting clamp?
I alway use 4 knots been stringing for 25 yrs plus
Great video. Thanks alot uncle!
Just a question (may be a video idea): what string / tension should I string my son's 23 inch junior rackets? The string that came with the racket burst, and I have no idea about the tension for him. I guess those adults' tension (45~55 pounds) won't work for him.
The trainer restrings my son's racquet (26 inch though) at 35 pounds. I assume a smaller racquet could go even lower.
Love your channel, so thanks for all your tips. I have 2 questions, first I have and Gamma XLT and it has a pre stringing option, do you used?. The next one, I want to try hybrid with a milti on the main and with poly on the crosses, so my question is, if I do that should I do less tension on the crosses or not? Thank you in advence
But what about if you do ATW pattern on the racquets which are ending mains on bottom ?
If your mains end at the throat, and you want to string one piece (2 knots) do not string your crosses bottom up, use an ATW (Around the World) pattern. I would never string crosses bottom up, so if your mains end at the throat, either string 2 piece, or use an Around the World pattern for one piece.
I was getting problems stringing ATW with floating clamps.
@@rishijai Floating clamps don't work well with ATW patterns. I would string 2 piece with floating clamps.
I didn't want to widen out the grommet holes on a customer's racket with 2 piece stringing. I strung from the throat up without any problems.
Yup. 4 knots unless I have no choice. 4 knots feel supirior espcially when ur using diffrent mains and cross tensions. Because they are totally seperate and don't effect each other.
first like and comment!
Hi Tennis Spin. What are your favourite head-heavy rackets?
Where do ATW patterns fit in?
So do you not tie off the short side on a one piece until later or as soon as you're done with that side?
Clear case for me: i want always 4 nods from now 👍👍👍
Got my daily dose!.
Obviously a blend will require 4 knots but a one piece would require 2. I have not been using two pieces of the same string (no blend), I just do one piece almost always and it usually has me beginning the cross strings at the bottom. However, considering all the info I think I’ll do two pieces no matter what, but I have never had a problem doing a one-piece and starting the cross strings at the bottom. Again, I’m going to stop doing that though.
2 knots, 1 piece is just bad for the following reasons:
1. There are 19 crosses vs 16 mains, so my experience is that stringing the crosses 16/19th of the tension of the mains just feels better: wider sweet spot, better spin
2. Hybrids are the way to go, that's only possible with 2 piece
But cant you just start from the top with a one piece to make sure the mains end on the top?
I think you should know this also, just that you never mention it. If you are doing same string for mains and crosses, if the mains ends on the bottom, you still can do 2 knots. You string with a method call "round the world" you can still starts the cross from the top. One of the disadvantage of doing 2 knots is the string is so long and when you pull the string through the grommet it will cut the hole in the grommet especially if its a sharp or rough string. The advantage for doing 2 knots is you can actually save more string for the stringer without need to cut the string longer to tie knots for 2 mains and 2 cross. As for 4 knots, you can do hybrid and also you can do 2 different tension on main and cross.
Crosses are top down, except when the USRSA explicitly says bottoms up
2 knots - Novice Stringer + Novice Player.
I never have that problem when i do 1 piece stringing and i always have equal pressure around my knots and equal consistency... I have a special secret.
Dunlop requires to string two piece as well like Yonex
6,000,000 Likes!!!
I think you’re confusing him with Uncle Roger...
Is there a way to find out which racket requires 1 pierce only not 2 pierces?
If there are 3 or 5 pairs of holes in the grommet of the throat of the racket then 2 piece or ATW stringing is recommended, because the mains would end at the bottom of the racket. If there are 4 or 6 pairs of holes in the grommet of the throat of the racket then one-piece stringing is used, as the mains would end at the top of the racket.
Can you do a one piece stringing tutorial? There aren’t many clear videos on it
Once piece stringing is easy. You measure your short side either by hand or by measurement (you can find that on several stringing websites) which ever you are more comfortable with. You do your mains evenly (in other words dont do one side all the way without alternating to balance the stress on the frame) tie off your short side, your long side will end at the top; well it should if not, you can do around the world; i will explain below. If it ends at the top you simply start your crosses and finish them and you will tie off at the bottom.
Around the world is an easy way to always string one piece and start your crosses at the top and it is really easy to use. Here is how you do it. Measure your short side like usual and finish that side and tie it off, alternating with the other side of course. On the long side all you do is skip your last main so your second to last main will end at the top. Now here is the only tricky few parts. If it is an even number of crosses such as an 18x20 you simply start at the first cross; now it is a 16 x 19 you start at the second cross and than you go back and finish the first cross and and continue doing the crosses. In my experience most 16x19 finish the mains at the top usually. Just make sure when you do the crosses you skip the main hole you skipped previously; a lot of people make the mistake of putting it through the main hole. If you do; you know pretty quick it is the wrong hole because it wont be straight. You finish all your crosses till you get to the bottom now if you do it right..... your last cross you will end on the same side where you skipped your last main. You than weave up to complete your last main and tie it off at the top.
@@MMm-kp7lk thank you so much! I rlly appreciate it. Very kind of you 🙏🏻
@@bensmith9820 anytime. If you run into any problems just drop a note here and I can answer it or I am sure someone else can. But it should be pretty straight forward.
The 2 and 4 knot is a question, we as stringers listen all the time. While you give a generic insight, I am afraid that it’s been outdated. Things changed and I would be glad if you would invited me in a recorded zoom call to explain to fans what exactly is going on. The 4 knots versus 2 knots is something, we, as pro tour stringers have instructed pro players for certain reasons. And what pro players do, becomes a fashion.
They were instructed this way though for specific reasons, while 2 knots technique, under certains condition, offers the same benefits and still used vastly if being done modified.
My profile and cv:
www.racketspecialist.com/?lang=en
One could never go wrong with 2 piece stringing as you'll always be stringing down the frame. I can do 1 piece but since some end requiring stringing up the racquet, there are some stringing ATW variations that allow you to "skip" a main so you start the crosses at the top and when finished then you string the last main to get back to the top to tie it off. Too much mental exercise making 2 piece more convenient. Talking to a stringer down in Cincinnati ATP and he said a lot of top pros use 2 piece regardless of using a hybrid. And he confirmed HEAD requires 2 piece too.
But why add 10% to the last mains due to the knot? Some advocate progressive stringing tensions that drop the tension as mains get shorter since it takes less tension for a shorter string to deflect as much as the longer ones for a given force (ball strike) on the strings. That's basic scientific kinetics of string deflection taught in engineering 101. Any tension loss by not adding 10% only allows those last shorter strings to possibly deflect more (i.e. return energy to the ball) and not feel like steel cords by the frame. If anything, tighter tension will return less energy to the ball in area where all the energy you can get would help to get the ball back over instead of flopping into the net. Of course, reality is that any ball hit on those strings will twist the frame like crazy, feel like crap, and usually go no where regardless of higher or lower tension!! Keeping it real... Btw I strung 1 Pure Drive with conventional poly stringing and another PD with same string but with the progressive tensioning. Everyone doing a blind test confirmed the progressive was overall softer, felt more consistent across the strike zone, great for volleying, and added overall power. Someone developed a spreadsheet to determine tension on every string based on length.
Do a vid on agassis string job with the Kevlar setup with I think the last 2 mains were gut?
😳 wut
@@tonygareth221 Agassi has this crazy Kevlar setup with gut crosses and his last 2 mains were gut I could be wrong.
@@Doty6String That is weird!
MORE STRINGING VIDS
2.
Wilson website says they’re racquets are designed for 1 piece stringing
Well most of their string patterns have tie offs for 4 places & Yonex stringing pros (TS has a video on this) say 2 piece stringing is standard.
Because they probably don't want the grommet holes to be widened out with an awl to accomodate 2 extra knots.
Yeah you have to stretch out the grommet holes for 4 knots on a fresh Wilson stick to tie off 16 or 16L strings. I’ve been stringing 1 piece working bottom to top at pretty high tensions 100s of times even on some old Kblades and 6.1s for college guys who need a restring 3-4 times a week with no problem. Cheap Babolats are the only racquets I’ve seen crack on while stringing.
@@1504Blue old Babolats crack because of the high stiffness. I have also seen wilson pro staff 95S with cracks on the throat for nearly every string job I have done
I find 2 piece with 4 knots makes sure it maintains the tension better just because the last knot ensures the main bed can no longer move as they are knotted. And the last main or cross can lose a bit but the the rest are knotted and in place
Can't you do a 1 string around the world?
A video with 4 knot was made
Something very important to add: 4 knots inproves tension keeping. When you play, mainly mains are moving and their tension + elasticity decrease fast. If strung in one piece, it will mechanically have an influence on crosses tension and control will drop faster. Separating crosses from mains avoids that, and permits to play around 25% longer before having to cut strings... for a mono that usually lasts around 4/5 hours, you can reach 6 hours. Try it and you won't go back to 2 knots! Cheers.
sigh... here we go with another video that is not giving correct information. The reason many companies will say that they recommend 2 piece stringing is because not many stringers do not know how to do a method where the crosses are always strung from top to bottom when stringing one piece. Also, if you have 4 knots where those strings are losing tension, how can you say that 2 piece stringing is "better"? If your so call "PRO" stringer doesn't know how to properly string a prestige using a one piece method and you see them end on top, don't go to the stringer period.
03:16
What is the difference between 4 knots and 2 knots? Easy ! The difference is two knots 😆 🤣. Easy math, huh!
2 knots will deform the racquet, is that a myth?
A Myth
if you just to an ATW it won't be starting at the bottom :D