I this video I cover everything I believe you should know about installing and using leather grips.
7 thoughts on “Everything about lEather Grips”
Hey Miha,
We’ve talked via email about MGR/i stuff – I’m an avid believer in your content!
So here again – I love leather grips like you! The first thing I do with a new racquet is change it to a leather grip. The improved communicated feel of the stick, better vibration dampening, and the added weight approx 10g is perfectly distributed makes it a perfect customization everytime.
So first off – I like the double sided tape you’re using. I use a small dispenser (packaging of it is like regular clear tape – y’know the stuff you use to wrap presents – this one is just double sided). Can you let me know the brand and item of the one you’re using? Looks to be stronger sticky, and more professional – would it be a double sided sticky golf club grip wrap?
Also – I noticed you too like creating a knob flair with a little extra leather around on the butt cap! I like even more flair that you demonstrated (not Gasquet level) but approximately 1/2 inch of flair from the butt cap end and it would take a full extra wrap of the leather grip to accomplish that – well it get’s too ‘wide’ at that point and distracts from the purpose.
So, for the longest time I was using 3M mounting tape (its a thick soft tape that I cut in half to 1/2″ wide and wrap 2x around the butt cap. Since is a little squishy, and when I really pull on the leather if not careful I can deform what I’m trying to accomplish, but I’ve been able to make that work pretty well. Now, recently I made a new observation that worked wonderful!! I take the scrap end of the leather grip about 6″ that goes unused – its usually the scrap from the previous grip. I cut in 1/2 – length wise. Giving me 2 pieces on which each has a bevel on 1 side. Then I measure and cut one of the pieces to go exactly around the bottom of the butt cap. I put some double sided tape around the butt cap like you did, then wrap the little piece with the flat (cut) edge at the bottom of the butt cap. The bevel edge is toward the throat of the racquet. After wrapping it around, I seal that wrap with another piece of double sided tape. Now I can wrap my new leather grip, and I have the flair already present that I want, and it’s not awkwardly uneven, or difficult to transition to the smaller diameter of the grip when I get past the flair.
My love for the leather grip gets close to obsession – I’ve tried them all, you have one of my favorites “Fairway of Balmforth England” great grip!! Have used that grip for many years, back to my early days in the 70’s as a high school tennis player – Fairway Grips were it!!!
But now – I have finally found my favorite!! I searched long and wide to get the Head Custom Ship Finest Calfskin Grip – these are the ones they used to put on the Prestige pro-stock sticks supplied to pros. For a long time they sold them to the public, but that ended a while ago. Well I finally found the company that was the actual supplier of those epic grips. It’s a guy named Angelo Oehms and the company is in Germany called Oehms.
I also use the 2nd piece of leather grip from that split cut I did – I wrap 1x around the bare grip about 3 inches up from the butt cap. I call it a “finger ridge”. It was an experiment, and now nearly every client that I allow to hit my racquet has me do that to their stick. It promotes the separation of the index finger and gives it a little ridge to grip. Awesome custom feel along with my flared butt cap, I’m barely gripping the racquet with any tension, relaxed hand, relaxed wrist, relaxed arm – better racquet head speed.
I’ll try to do a video to put up and point you to it so you can see what I’m doing with mine.
Thanks always Miha for your great content!!
Joe
Hey Joe, than you for your support and I hope you find more value in my content in the future. You might be even more obsessed with leather grips than me. For the 2 sided tape I use a 2 sided tape from local brand here called Tesa, it just happens to be thicker. It also adds almost 1 gram to the handle.
I never tried the Head Calfskin, but looking at the Oehms, I need to try them. I’mm be ordering them soon probably. Id also like to see your video review of it.
Best regards,
Miha
Miha – buddy, I’ve always found great value in your content! Your intellect and how you dig into tennis from each perspective mechanical, mathematical, logical, physics, and science – always brings me back! Thanks for all the time you invest!
We have Tesa tape here in US (Uline) is a company that carries it. Can you tell me the item information, number, sku that you’re using? Thanks!!
Joe
Thank you! My pleasure!
I just have the tape at the moment. I’ll get the info for you when I got to the store where I got it again.
It’s really a great and useful piece of information. I am glad that you just shared this useful information with us. Please keep us up to date like this. Thank you for sharing.
Thank you! I will try to do my best to always provide useful and interesting information!
Thank you! I will try to do my best to always provide useful and interesting information!
Hey Miha,
We’ve talked via email about MGR/i stuff – I’m an avid believer in your content!
So here again – I love leather grips like you! The first thing I do with a new racquet is change it to a leather grip. The improved communicated feel of the stick, better vibration dampening, and the added weight approx 10g is perfectly distributed makes it a perfect customization everytime.
So first off – I like the double sided tape you’re using. I use a small dispenser (packaging of it is like regular clear tape – y’know the stuff you use to wrap presents – this one is just double sided). Can you let me know the brand and item of the one you’re using? Looks to be stronger sticky, and more professional – would it be a double sided sticky golf club grip wrap?
Also – I noticed you too like creating a knob flair with a little extra leather around on the butt cap! I like even more flair that you demonstrated (not Gasquet level) but approximately 1/2 inch of flair from the butt cap end and it would take a full extra wrap of the leather grip to accomplish that – well it get’s too ‘wide’ at that point and distracts from the purpose.
So, for the longest time I was using 3M mounting tape (its a thick soft tape that I cut in half to 1/2″ wide and wrap 2x around the butt cap. Since is a little squishy, and when I really pull on the leather if not careful I can deform what I’m trying to accomplish, but I’ve been able to make that work pretty well. Now, recently I made a new observation that worked wonderful!! I take the scrap end of the leather grip about 6″ that goes unused – its usually the scrap from the previous grip. I cut in 1/2 – length wise. Giving me 2 pieces on which each has a bevel on 1 side. Then I measure and cut one of the pieces to go exactly around the bottom of the butt cap. I put some double sided tape around the butt cap like you did, then wrap the little piece with the flat (cut) edge at the bottom of the butt cap. The bevel edge is toward the throat of the racquet. After wrapping it around, I seal that wrap with another piece of double sided tape. Now I can wrap my new leather grip, and I have the flair already present that I want, and it’s not awkwardly uneven, or difficult to transition to the smaller diameter of the grip when I get past the flair.
My love for the leather grip gets close to obsession – I’ve tried them all, you have one of my favorites “Fairway of Balmforth England” great grip!! Have used that grip for many years, back to my early days in the 70’s as a high school tennis player – Fairway Grips were it!!!
But now – I have finally found my favorite!! I searched long and wide to get the Head Custom Ship Finest Calfskin Grip – these are the ones they used to put on the Prestige pro-stock sticks supplied to pros. For a long time they sold them to the public, but that ended a while ago. Well I finally found the company that was the actual supplier of those epic grips. It’s a guy named Angelo Oehms and the company is in Germany called Oehms.
Here’s the product page: https://www.oehms-strings.de/produkte/accessoires/25/pro-ledergriffband-braun?c=10
I also use the 2nd piece of leather grip from that split cut I did – I wrap 1x around the bare grip about 3 inches up from the butt cap. I call it a “finger ridge”. It was an experiment, and now nearly every client that I allow to hit my racquet has me do that to their stick. It promotes the separation of the index finger and gives it a little ridge to grip. Awesome custom feel along with my flared butt cap, I’m barely gripping the racquet with any tension, relaxed hand, relaxed wrist, relaxed arm – better racquet head speed.
I’ll try to do a video to put up and point you to it so you can see what I’m doing with mine.
Thanks always Miha for your great content!!
Joe
Hey Joe, than you for your support and I hope you find more value in my content in the future. You might be even more obsessed with leather grips than me. For the 2 sided tape I use a 2 sided tape from local brand here called Tesa, it just happens to be thicker. It also adds almost 1 gram to the handle.
I never tried the Head Calfskin, but looking at the Oehms, I need to try them. I’mm be ordering them soon probably. Id also like to see your video review of it.
Best regards,
Miha
Miha – buddy, I’ve always found great value in your content! Your intellect and how you dig into tennis from each perspective mechanical, mathematical, logical, physics, and science – always brings me back! Thanks for all the time you invest!
We have Tesa tape here in US (Uline) is a company that carries it. Can you tell me the item information, number, sku that you’re using? Thanks!!
Joe
Thank you! My pleasure!
I just have the tape at the moment. I’ll get the info for you when I got to the store where I got it again.
It’s really a great and useful piece of information. I am glad that you just shared this useful information with us. Please keep us up to date like this. Thank you for sharing.
Thank you! I will try to do my best to always provide useful and interesting information!
Thank you! I will try to do my best to always provide useful and interesting information!