I have strung a certain customer's Black Knight Max Force 970s 3 times in the past month with Ashaway 70 and 67. This racquet has a warranty tension of 36 lbs, I have strung them at 27 lbs each time. He has broken them at the top one or two strings from the centre of the mains all within the same day of returning. I have a Pro's Pro Challenger with an attached 2086 WISE Tension head. I assumed they had been mis-hits due to the positioning of the string breakage. Initially I was wondering if it may have been my stringing technique. I have strung a different customer's Black Knight Max Force 970s at 28 lbs and it has been a month without any breaking of the strings. I string my Black Knight Max Force 930s at 25-26 lbs and they have been durable. All racquets mentioned were strung with Zymax 67/70. A friend suggested it may be the grommets that are causing the break but if the strings are breaking well below the grommets at the top area of the strings, I assume it would be a mis-hit. Either way this is not good for the customer or myself, I am not sure what the cause is! Please help!
Well you can't really tell where the string broke because it relaxes a lot after it snapped. So it could be the grommets but also mishits are quite likely as well. Hard to tell whos fault it is.
I would say that if the 2 pieces of broken string are the same length or close to it then it's broken at a grommet or else he's duffed the outside of the frame on the ground and damaged the string that way. if the broken string is different length then it's more likely a mis hit or fair wear and tear, but not so much in that short space of time.
^Rav's call is a very good one: if the broken ends are exactly the same length, the string went at the frame (probably an outside loop or a duff grommet); if one is half an inch longer than the other, this is an ironclad indicator that one of the top mains snapped, and there's NOTHING a stringer can (or should) do about this. If the latter, tell your mate to time his swing later (or switch to an OSP or Z-Slash pattern!).
i personally dun think the stringer shd be at fault if the racket string broke.... unless the stringer..knows that he have done a bad job... alot of factors can cause string to break anyway.. which stringer can give warranty that what the string doesnt break?
next time when you are done stringing a racket using the same method that you did before, check for any kinks or worn coating around that top area. sometimes string clamps that are too rough or adjusted too tight might tear the coating enough that it will create a weak point in the string. 27lbs is around the high tension that any small weak point can cause breakage in the string. that's just your own due diligence, the chances that that is the fault given that your client has broken at the same spot twice in one day is pretty low. but it is worthwhile checking anyway.
if my client breaks a string prematurely, and can demonstrate that the breakage is due to issues with the stringjob instead of other issues like his own mishit. then maybe. then there are the gray areas: eg. if there is issue with the racket, say there is a hidden sharp point in the grommet, that causes the breakage, is it: - the racket's fault, and thus the fault of the owner of the racket - or the stringer's fault because he didn't detect such issue and correct it or reject the stringjob?
I'm unable to find a grommet layout for this racket but could it be worth adding an extra cross at the top?
I've had a smiliar problem with one of my clients, 27lb BG65Ti and snaps in different areas on a regular basis. Strings usually lasts about 2-3 months. It is quite difficult to say, whether it is stringer's fault or player's fault I think. Even if the string snapped on one of the side strings, it doesn't mean it is a mishit that caused it. It could have been a little nick that the stringer introduced. Or it could be that the stringer was overzealous with an awl and stabbed a string unknowingly? Could be anything... All we can say is what was likely to have happened.... no one can really prove it was so there's no point arguing about it. I also questioned my stringing technique and my equipment when I had this particular client. But then when I strung another racquet for the client's friend at the same tension and strings they lasted much longer which seems to suggest it probably wasn't my fault. Anyhow, I tend to say that up to 27lb, if the strings break within the first few hours of play (say 3hrs), I will either restring for free or at the cost of strings only. I'd rather lose a little money and retain good clients than lose good clients over an argument on who broke the strings.
bg65ti lasting 2-3 months if playing regularly is not far from the reasonable lift span. i see no problem with it. however, if it last less than a couple of weeks, then it will be suspect.
I was able to solve the problem! The grommets on the racquet are crappy. The friend that suggested this was right. The grommets wore down on the pulling of tension I suppose. It was rubbing against the sharp edge of the racquet unprotected by the grommet. When I replaced the grommets with new ones, his strings did not break. I was pretty sure it was not my fault. This was due to the fact that I had strong many other players recently and their racquet's strings are still intact. This was definitely a good learning experience.