Ok, so I decided to scuff up the surface on The One after bowling in a tournament on Sunday to get a different look out of it. For those of you who do not already know, The One comes 4000 grit Factory Polished Out of The Box. My buddy knocked off the factory polish with a worn out Gray Pad (1000 grit) and then hit it again with a worn out Burgundy Pad (400). We're guessing that ball is at about 600-800 grit right now. You can tell that the polish is definitely knocked off, but it looks more like a 1000 grit to me.
Picture of Ball In Previous Polished State -
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/0703/128177/The%20One/The_One_2.jpgOld Surface - 4000 Grit Factory Polished
New Surface - Approximately 600-800 Grit
On The Lanes - Last night in league we bowled on a medium-heavy Christmas Tree type pattern on AMF synthetics. Backends were cleaner than we usually see on Tuesday Nights, so that caught everyone offguard last night. Heavier oil in the inside and tapered to the gutter. I took The One out to see how it would roll with its' new surface.
Length - As you all know, at 4000 factory polish, this piece practically ignored the heads! With the new surface, it took me a few shots in practice and in the first game to find out that this ball is still clean through the front, but is reading the midlane a little better now.
Midlane - As I mentioned earlier, the ball is starting to read the midlane more than it did when it was polished. As opposed to when the ball was polished, I am now getting the ball to kind of hint of an earlier change of direction.
Backend - When The One was polished, the energy it conserved for the backend was ridiculous! Very angular ball in the back. With the surface change, I see that the backend isn't as sharp, but still has an angular motion. Knocking the shine off did cut the angle down a bit in the back, but still retained the great hitting power that it did when it was shined up.
Hitting Power - The ball drives very hard and continues through the pindeck. Lots of mixers last night when I wasn't dead flush in the pocket and I left only 2 Ten pins (wrap 10 type taps). I also left about 2 Four pins and a broken up 7-10 with the 10 going down from a slow crawling messenger.
Overall Thoughts - Well, the motion of the ball is definitely different. The ball is now reading the heads and midlane a little better and the sharp angular backend was tamed and smoothed down a bit. It took some getting used to as I was accustomed to this ball just flying through the first 30 feet like it was nobody's business! It went from Polished Long and Strong to Scuffed up Semi-Long and Strong.
Another One? - I have a feeling that this ball will get a chance to tango with heavier patterns in future matchups.
So far so good. Now that I have an idea of what this ball is like Scuffed up & Factory Polished, I wouldn't mind picking another one up in the future and keeping it polished for a different look on the lanes. Great Job on this ball Ebonite =)
I will use this ball more in its' current condition and keep you guys updated.
New Video coming soon with The One's scuffed up cover.
Happy Holidays Everyone,
Ram
Previous Video in Polished State can be found here -
http://www.ballreviews.com/Forum/Replies.asp?TopicID=107078&ForumID=5&CategoryID=2--------------------
Regards, M.C. RAMmer
Official Jerry Rice Cabbage Patch Dancing Instructor
Edited on 12/21/2005 10:30 AM
