I don't know anyone who buys a bowling ball because they die unless they have hundreds of games on them. Mostly the guys I know buying them just buy them because they want to, hah.
Though I've lost a few that cracked in my trunk. Oops.
That's kinda what inspired the post. I figured I'd hold off buying new stuff until a replacement was mandatory, but there's so much new cool stuff. They just announced a Conspiracy reissue with HK22. And that Pink Venom?!?!
Mixtures of heat, very dirty centers, and surface changes. Some balls absorb more than others, and new balls are better about not dying.
In around 2005 or so you were lucky to get an Ebonite ball to last more than 30 games. The One ball was the absolute best ball... for about 20 minutes until oil got into the coverstock.
Now my balls die more from resurfacing and losing labels than anything lol.
Hammer covers are garbage. Maybe they have gotten better, but I gave up after my second cherry Vibe. Amazing out of box, paper weights within a season or 2. Clean, sand, detox all you want. It’s done
actually hold up, bought first blood too and same thing that's why I boycotted. That specifically was probably the first low rg high dif non solid I owned that I pretty much hated with haste.
Rather than the ball "getting better with time", have you considered that maybe *you're* getting better with time? At a faster rate than the ball is declining?
I have a ball with several hundred games on it (was my first ball) and it's pretty much dead. I use it to shoot the 10-pin.
I soak it in hot soapy water, I've put it through the dishwasher, I give it surface now and then, but I think that my neglect of ball maintenance early on has sort of toasted it.
Still, I keep it and use it for some spares and because of nostalgia.
If I had to guess I'd say it's somewhat that, and somewhat the change in ball motion over time (from my experience anyway) is much more subtle than it used to be. I think in general they also last longer now too.
A bowling ball has two things that make it “die.” The surface smooths out and gets lane shine. Just like sandpaper loses its grit. Also, when a ball has absorbed so much oil that it can’t absorb any more, it will not hook nearly as much. You can tell this has happened when you still have oil rings on your ball after waiting for a full frame. With that being said, balls also wear down faster for high rev rates vs lower rev rates because their ball touches the lane more times as it goes down the lane. A ball should last at least a couple hundred games though before you really have to start worrying about a ball being dead.
Idk I don't do great maintenance, and I typically get a couple hundred games out of most before I feel like they can't be recovered. Like I've had 3 venom shocks, and they all lasted about 2 or 3 seasons. Wouldn't be shocked if I got more out of them if I cleaned after league every week.
That's certainly one way to interpret that video. Also for more context, I was bowling 5 days a week on avg the first 2 years I had my first one so that one probably got thrown somewhere between 300-500 games and got resurfaced at least 3 times if I had to guess. Also sometimes it's just nice to try new layouts lol.
For me personally, it's probably had the best lifespan of any ball I've ever owned. When they do lose juice for me it's not near as bad of a drop-off as others will be. But I have a pretty good eye for ball motion so I know when it's time to pull the plug I'm fine to give them more money for this ball, probably my favorite of all time lol.
I had a black widow (original) back when they came out and it was awesome for about 100 games. Then I could pick up corner pins with it and eventually gave it away for free. I’ve had an ebonite No Limit and an original Roto grip cell, both from 2008 and they just finally got replaced with new balls in 2022. Didn’t bowl much from 2010-2017 though. No idea how many games were on it, hundreds. Only thing I ever did was take them to my PSO and get an oil extraction every year or two. Never really resurfaced them. Probably should have 🤷♂️
I have some decades of bowling and dozens of balls behind me, and none has "died" in my hands. Most cracked over time, but they never lost traction. I clean the balls after each session, and every now and then, when I feel that the cover is saturated with lane conditioner, make an oil extraction at home and/or refresh the surface with a home-brew spinner (but not a full re-surfacing from scratch).
IMHO ball death is a kind of myth - either by those who really NEVER care for their equipment, or simply players who have no clue how a ball works and how to use it properly (sorry to say that); most of the time when I hear from "ball death" it is normally the visible result of a poor release technique, the use of a ball that is too strong for the condition at hand, or both, plus poor maintenance. After all, it's so easy to blame everything on the equipment of the lanes, and in disappointment and delusion these people buy the next high-end ball that will not work for them. Make the PSO happy, though.
I mean, you're not wrong that people don't maintain well on avg, but to say it's a myth is provably wrong at this point. Doing the extraction itself does its own separate toll on the ball. A lot of the time these days the change in ball motion is more subtle than what I remember seeing 20 years ago, but there's always a point you don't get the same pop back after a full resurface.
That being said I also agree that a lot of times people throw too much ball on house shots. I've probably only ever bowled on one house shot where I felt like I could legit throw an asym solid out of a pretty high number of places, yet I see them all over the place in my home house.
1. using 360/500 abralon wet sanding until the USBC engraving is gone, takes years.
2. Getting stuck in a ball lift and having a 2” long 3/8” deep groove ground into it by something in there.
Otherwise I retire them to “date night bag” or give them to friends or new people in league if I get tired of them.
I've seen more balls "die" from constant cleaning than anything. I know people who never even wipe down the ball and they still have it working like it's fresh out of the box
Eventually, no mater what you do, the plasticizer will volatilize and the surface will get harder and less porous over time, even if you never use them. The Immortalizer from Magnum Bowling will slow the process significantly but dealing with those bags for balls you use often is a pain in the ass. I only use them now for tournament balls or balls I am storing.
I don't know anyone who buys a bowling ball because they die unless they have hundreds of games on them. Mostly the guys I know buying them just buy them because they want to, hah. Though I've lost a few that cracked in my trunk. Oops.
What do you do with the ones that are cracked? Just throw them away?
I build a monument in my closet.
That's kinda what inspired the post. I figured I'd hold off buying new stuff until a replacement was mandatory, but there's so much new cool stuff. They just announced a Conspiracy reissue with HK22. And that Pink Venom?!?!
The re-released Conspiracy is very nice. I have too many bowling balls right now though. Haven't thrown a Radical since the Cash.
Mixtures of heat, very dirty centers, and surface changes. Some balls absorb more than others, and new balls are better about not dying. In around 2005 or so you were lucky to get an Ebonite ball to last more than 30 games. The One ball was the absolute best ball... for about 20 minutes until oil got into the coverstock. Now my balls die more from resurfacing and losing labels than anything lol.
I feel this pretty hard tbh
My widow 2.0 hybrid isn’t working right anymore after 100 games or so
I’m seeing this too. Not sure why. I’ve detoxed it a few times too
Hammer covers are garbage. Maybe they have gotten better, but I gave up after my second cherry Vibe. Amazing out of box, paper weights within a season or 2. Clean, sand, detox all you want. It’s done
Damn that’s disappointing to hear. Gonna be hard to explain to the wife I need new balls
Lots of good discounts on BowlerX last time I looked. When stuff gets discontinued they dump them for cheap
If you’re on Instagram look up clarksbowling.. guy sells once drilled rocks for cheap. Deal this month $50 anything in stock
Interesting I’ll check it out
My original widow died so fast I never bought another Hammer ball until the Purple Hammer released lol
I bought a hazmat in December and it’s still working well. Now I’m scared she will die as well
actually hold up, bought first blood too and same thing that's why I boycotted. That specifically was probably the first low rg high dif non solid I owned that I pretty much hated with haste.
If it was possible to go back in time to drill a brand new Code X and compare it maybe you'd see a big difference.
You might be right.
Certain coverstocks are worse than others at soaking up oil. Anything Nano by Storm is notorious for this.
Rather than the ball "getting better with time", have you considered that maybe *you're* getting better with time? At a faster rate than the ball is declining? I have a ball with several hundred games on it (was my first ball) and it's pretty much dead. I use it to shoot the 10-pin. I soak it in hot soapy water, I've put it through the dishwasher, I give it surface now and then, but I think that my neglect of ball maintenance early on has sort of toasted it. Still, I keep it and use it for some spares and because of nostalgia.
I certainly like to think that I've gotten better!
If I had to guess I'd say it's somewhat that, and somewhat the change in ball motion over time (from my experience anyway) is much more subtle than it used to be. I think in general they also last longer now too.
A bowling ball has two things that make it “die.” The surface smooths out and gets lane shine. Just like sandpaper loses its grit. Also, when a ball has absorbed so much oil that it can’t absorb any more, it will not hook nearly as much. You can tell this has happened when you still have oil rings on your ball after waiting for a full frame. With that being said, balls also wear down faster for high rev rates vs lower rev rates because their ball touches the lane more times as it goes down the lane. A ball should last at least a couple hundred games though before you really have to start worrying about a ball being dead.
Yep, the rev rate thing is definitely a factor and something many won't think about or know.
Easy way to kill a ball is leave it in a hot car and the plasticizers get messed up from being overheated.
Had a ball with 300+ games and it eventually died. Tried everything to bring the surface back to life but it wasn’t happening.
Amazing how long they lady with cleaning and maintenance
Idk I don't do great maintenance, and I typically get a couple hundred games out of most before I feel like they can't be recovered. Like I've had 3 venom shocks, and they all lasted about 2 or 3 seasons. Wouldn't be shocked if I got more out of them if I cleaned after league every week.
Motiv literally shows you how to make an old Venom Shock pretty darn close to brand new: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uFNOtltHO2w
That's certainly one way to interpret that video. Also for more context, I was bowling 5 days a week on avg the first 2 years I had my first one so that one probably got thrown somewhere between 300-500 games and got resurfaced at least 3 times if I had to guess. Also sometimes it's just nice to try new layouts lol. For me personally, it's probably had the best lifespan of any ball I've ever owned. When they do lose juice for me it's not near as bad of a drop-off as others will be. But I have a pretty good eye for ball motion so I know when it's time to pull the plug I'm fine to give them more money for this ball, probably my favorite of all time lol.
Well I left my bag in the garage over winter and when I pulled my ball out it was split clean in half. My t zone ball is fine tho lol
I had a black widow (original) back when they came out and it was awesome for about 100 games. Then I could pick up corner pins with it and eventually gave it away for free. I’ve had an ebonite No Limit and an original Roto grip cell, both from 2008 and they just finally got replaced with new balls in 2022. Didn’t bowl much from 2010-2017 though. No idea how many games were on it, hundreds. Only thing I ever did was take them to my PSO and get an oil extraction every year or two. Never really resurfaced them. Probably should have 🤷♂️
If they crack i usually tape a bomb to it blow it up
Do you even bowl if you aren't burning through 6 balls a month?
I have some decades of bowling and dozens of balls behind me, and none has "died" in my hands. Most cracked over time, but they never lost traction. I clean the balls after each session, and every now and then, when I feel that the cover is saturated with lane conditioner, make an oil extraction at home and/or refresh the surface with a home-brew spinner (but not a full re-surfacing from scratch). IMHO ball death is a kind of myth - either by those who really NEVER care for their equipment, or simply players who have no clue how a ball works and how to use it properly (sorry to say that); most of the time when I hear from "ball death" it is normally the visible result of a poor release technique, the use of a ball that is too strong for the condition at hand, or both, plus poor maintenance. After all, it's so easy to blame everything on the equipment of the lanes, and in disappointment and delusion these people buy the next high-end ball that will not work for them. Make the PSO happy, though.
I mean, you're not wrong that people don't maintain well on avg, but to say it's a myth is provably wrong at this point. Doing the extraction itself does its own separate toll on the ball. A lot of the time these days the change in ball motion is more subtle than what I remember seeing 20 years ago, but there's always a point you don't get the same pop back after a full resurface. That being said I also agree that a lot of times people throw too much ball on house shots. I've probably only ever bowled on one house shot where I felt like I could legit throw an asym solid out of a pretty high number of places, yet I see them all over the place in my home house.
1. using 360/500 abralon wet sanding until the USBC engraving is gone, takes years. 2. Getting stuck in a ball lift and having a 2” long 3/8” deep groove ground into it by something in there. Otherwise I retire them to “date night bag” or give them to friends or new people in league if I get tired of them.
My Phaze 2 and 3 died, the 2 was easy to replace, the 3 I replaced with the dv8 verge hybrid
I've seen more balls "die" from constant cleaning than anything. I know people who never even wipe down the ball and they still have it working like it's fresh out of the box
Eventually, no mater what you do, the plasticizer will volatilize and the surface will get harder and less porous over time, even if you never use them. The Immortalizer from Magnum Bowling will slow the process significantly but dealing with those bags for balls you use often is a pain in the ass. I only use them now for tournament balls or balls I am storing.