My bro asked the question why official stringing patterns by all major brands say to usually skip at least one hole for tie offs, and I couldn't give him an answer. He said there could be less tension loss if the distance of un-tensioned string is shorter. What do you guys think?
Your bro is right: the shorter the distance between the last string and the knot, the less tension loss there'll be. As to why most patterns force a skip... I don't know. I will say that it's easier to physically tie and cinch a decent knot if it's further away from the clamp holding the last string (and aesthetically, for some reason, I prefer not to have two knots right next to each other - but that's just me).
I also like to tie the finishing knot close to the last string whenever possible, for the same reason, to help retain the tension that I just got done stringing.
I don't think its about skipping a hole. More of the string direction into the shared hole to tie off. http://www.yonexusa.com/products/badminton-stringing-instructions/ Cross start at b6. Mains b5 to b6 Mains tie off at b8. Mains b7 to b8 My guess would be this crossing over could help release the stress on the knots. Thus reduce in tension loss.
I like to use the first available string that goes in the opposite direction, so the anchor string and the tied off string form a 'W' as opposed to 'U' ... if that makes sense. That way if the knot does slip (only ever happened to me once, when i was still learning) it can't pull all the way around as the anchor goes toward the centre.
Yes, I've tried not skipping the hole before and I agree that it does seem easier to tie a good knot if skipping a hole. The grommet shared hole placement for some rackets seems to be designed for hole skipping for tie offs too.
my practice is to tie off the mains on the same hold as the 1st cross and the cross on the one below it keeps tension better but would require more frequent change of the grommet as one side will hv 3 string coming out out it don't really know it this would damage the racket but no breakage so far fingers cross
I like that pattern, but I would get in trouble for using it at tournaments. To me I think it is a better pattern because you pretty much cut your tension loss on the mains in half with practically half of the string used to tie your knot. I don't have any problems with grommets, but the easiest way I found to do this pattern is to pre weave first two crosses before you put in the last main, ensuring your know will not block your cross. Since main hole #9 is an easy hole putting 3 pieces of string in is a breeze.
