The Story of Grommets
Grommets, additional plastic parts used to protect strings, were not necessary for early rackets made of wood and with catgut as the material for strings until metal were used to produce rackets.
Rackets made of iron and aluminum were introduced as metal products became prevalent. Sharp metal burrs were inevitably created around the drilled holes on the frame, which led to scraping and snapping during the process of stringing. For the purpose of “protecting the strings,” plastic grommets were invented and widely used to prevent strings from being broken by the metal burrs around the drilled holes.
As a successor to aluminum Iron alloy, carbon fiber, a material of lightweight, stiffness and flexibility were incorporated into the manufacturing of rackets. Meanwhile, materials and production techniques of nylon strings were also improving, resulting in thinner strings capable of withstanding higher string tension, enabling the strings to tear the racket as sharp knives.
Today, the grommets, the plastic products initially meant to “protect the strings,” are used to increase the thickness of carbon fiber rackets so as to cover the problem of collapsed frames made with no proper manufacturing process and techniques. The plastic grommets are gradually mistaken to be able to “protect the racket frames.”
Non-Stop Breakthrough, the core value REDSON vows never to forsake in the path to pursuing technological innovation, turning the imagination into reality as the modern racket without a a trace of plastic redundancy — GROMMET-FREE “SHAPE SG” — made its global debut in 2020, marking the beginning of a new era in hi-tech and human-centered manufacturing process of rackets with valuable legacy of early wooden counterparts.
With the breakthrough innovation of “SHAPE SG,” featuring polished tiny eyelets minimizing structural fragilities and imbalances caused by the unnecessary grommets so as to practically enhance the rigidity and durability of the frame, the connection between the player and the racket is once again evoked with every hitting sound made as the shuttlecock touches the strings.