Fujikura Axiom Breakage - HELP!!

[JTK37]

About a month ago I fit into Fujikura Axiom 125X in the ‘24 Apex Pros.  A big part of switching to graphite was to reduce some of the vibration on little misses to take away some of the discomfort in my tophand, pinky finger specifically as it’s been broken a few times and the arthritis makes prolonged practice extremely uncomfortable.

 

The Axioms perform amazingly, great dispersion, launch is ideal, and the feel is much smoother, less vibration but enough feedback to know where I’ve struck it.

 

But after receiving the first set direct from Callaway I went to the range (hitting only the 8 and AW to get a feel for them), and took a lesson hitting the 8 and then the 7. At the range I hit about 30 balls with both the 8 and AW, during the lesson I’d guess maybe 25 with the 8 and then 10-15 with the 7. Both the 7 and 8 broke during the lesson- right at the hosel which I’d consider “normal breakage”. Though strange considering the limited use.  Callaway customer service was excellent, exchanging the entire set for new within about 2wks.  I noted when i spoke to them that it appeared these may have been sanded down a bit too much.

 

Now, one round with the replacement set, the new 6 and AW have splintered at the hosel.  I hit the 6 3x during the round and the AW 2x.  And those were hit well.

 

I love this set up, it’s perfect for what I need, but the constant breakage(and there has been no abnormal use- deep divots, roots, you name it) is extremely concerning.  Has anyone seen this? Any breakage issues for anyone with the Axioms?

 

One thing I don’t know is whether Callaway is using the parallel tip heads, or if they’re using taper tip heads. I’m a little worried they’re using taper tip heads and these aren’t being prepped and sanded as needed.

 

If you’ve got any ideas I’d love to hear

[hammergolf]

9 minutes ago, JTK37 said:

About a month ago I fit into Fujikura Axiom 125X in the ‘24 Apex Pros.  A big part of switching to graphite was to reduce some of the vibration on little misses to take away some of the discomfort in my tophand, pinky finger specifically as it’s been broken a few times and the arthritis makes prolonged practice extremely uncomfortable.

 

The Axioms perform amazingly, great dispersion, launch is ideal, and the feel is much smoother, less vibration but enough feedback to know where I’ve struck it.

 

But after receiving the first set direct from Callaway I went to the range (hitting only the 8 and AW to get a feel for them), and took a lesson hitting the 8 and then the 7. At the range I hit about 30 balls with both the 8 and AW, during the lesson I’d guess maybe 25 with the 8 and then 10-15 with the 7. Both the 7 and 8 broke during the lesson- right at the hosel which I’d consider “normal breakage”. Though strange considering the limited use.  Callaway customer service was excellent, exchanging the entire set for new within about 2wks.  I noted when i spoke to them that it appeared these may have been sanded down a bit too much.

 

Now, one round with the replacement set, the new 6 and AW have splintered at the hosel.  I hit the 6 3x during the round and the AW 2x.  And those were hit well.

 

I love this set up, it’s perfect for what I need, but the constant breakage(and there has been no abnormal use- deep divots, roots, you name it) is extremely concerning.  Has anyone seen this? Any breakage issues for anyone with the Axioms?

 

One thing I don’t know is whether Callaway is using the parallel tip heads, or if they’re using taper tip heads. I’m a little worried they’re using taper tip heads and these aren’t being prepped and sanded as needed.

 

If you’ve got any ideas I’d love to hear

I’ve had axioms in my irons for over a year and have not had an issue. However, mine are .370 and are in PXG irons so they don’t need to taper. Many members here have reshafted and not had a breakage issue. Crazy to have that many shafts break in that short amount of time. Either Callaway got a bad batch, or there is an issue with the hosel or installation.

[AmateurAmateur]

Breaking due to not sanding is weird. Would likely see the head come off before any breaking. Perhaps possible they are over sanding them. 
Also if they’re using a .370 and putting them into the .355 heads, there is also the likely chance that the way it’s being done forces the leverage point to be against the higher end of the hosel as opposed to evenly distributed throughout the entire insertion depth. 
There was a thread that mentioned that issue with the Ventus HB shaft. Sanding it down into a .355 head and causing increased pressure at the top end as opposed to reaming out the hosel to .370. Could be worth looking at but I don’t have the faintest idea on where to find it. 

[animalgolfs]

I know you said no abnormal divots- by chance you hitting off mats anytime? 

[puresurfr]

Even when sanding down a 0.370, only the first quarter inch needs to be turned down a little, the rest of the shaft should be sanded down a minimum amount, just enough to remove the paint.  I noticed that several sets I have received in the past with Axions were way oversanded.  Some club makers will just run a bunch of shafts through the sanding power wheel and that guarantees a oversand.  If the club maker is a good one, he will sand each shaft by hand and at the end have a extremely snug fit with zero wobble.

[iRod]

Fujikura started making .355 Axioms for potentially this reason.

[Trippels]

6 minutes ago, iRod said:

Fujikura started making .355 Axioms for potentially this reason.

I've been told the .355 axioms are just the 0.370 but fujikura tapers them themselves

[iRod]

1 hour ago, Trippels said:

I've been told the .355 axioms are just the 0.370 but fujikura tapers them themselves

I can confirm this is true. UST does the same for their Recoil shafts. Doing it on a belt sander leaves more room for error. I would take the manufacturer made ones any day to avoid the headache.

[Ri_Redneck]

Sorry, but I NEVER sand graphite shafts. Scrape them carefully with a sharp blade. Countersink the hosel WELL. I've been installing graphite shafts since '87 and have NEVER had one break at the hosel. I practice off mats almost predominately cause that's just about all you find in New England. To have an OEM set break so much is simply poor prep and install procedure. End of story!

 

BT

[JTK37]

3 hours ago, AmateurAmateur said:

Breaking due to not sanding is weird. Would likely see the head come off before any breaking. Perhaps possible they are over sanding them. 
Also if they’re using a .370 and putting them into the .355 heads, there is also the likely chance that the way it’s being done forces the leverage point to be against the higher end of the hosel as opposed to evenly distributed throughout the entire insertion depth. 
There was a thread that mentioned that issue with the Ventus HB shaft. Sanding it down into a .355 head and causing increased pressure at the top end as opposed to reaming out the hosel to .370. Could be worth looking at but I don’t have the faintest idea on where to find it. 

I should clarify, when I say “not sanding properly” I mean over sanding- not lack of any sanding. One one there was what felt like a very sharp transition from the finish to the sanded portion(where the ferrule) fell off. Seemed like too sharp a step down and too much material removed. 

 

2 hours ago, animalgolfs said:

I know you said no abnormal divots- by chance you hitting off mats anytime? 

The first broken 8 iron had been hit off a mat about 30 shots, the other three never saw a mat. It’s been a long time, but I had previously played recoil 115s with no issues in my irons, and my utility/driving irons have always been graphite. Never had any issues with them. 
 

At this point I find it hard to think it’s the shaft, or even anything to do with use/contact

[JTK37]

[JTK37]

Those were the first two that broke.

 

Does it look like the sanding went way too high over the hosel?

[AmateurAmateur]

6 minutes ago, JTK37 said:

Those were the first two that broke.

 

Does it look like the sanding went way too high over the hosel?

No. It’s not uncommon for some club builders to sand a touch higher than the hosel so the ferrule bonds and prevents it from ferrule creep. 
Implore Callaway to divulge what epoxy they use. Perhaps they were in a pinch and used something that doesn’t work for the application? Unlikely, but worth inquiring.
They may have also used too much epoxy and some went up the shaft… I see that happen a lot but it’s never led to a club breaking.  

[Ri_Redneck]

Sanding higher isn't the issue. It's material removal. Here is a zoomed in shot. You can see the amount is excessive. Notice the OD difference. The paint layer is MAYBE 2/100" thick. There has been A LOT more removed than that in this case and IMHO, fibers have probably been compromised.

 

BT

 

Edited yesterday at 12:28 PM by Ri_Redneck

[Streuner]

agree, the paint is only very thin, but you can see a very significant edge over the hosel. there was to much material removed. But even then I am surprised the hosel broke down that fast.

I am working in a industry that where carbon and graphite fibers are daily business and if a supplier was not working properly we will see this sooner or later, but not on the frist time of using.

[JTK37]

23 minutes ago, Ri_Redneck said:

Sanding higher isn't the issue. It's material removal. Here is a zoomed in shot. You can see the amount is excessive. Notice the OD difference. The paint layer is MAYBE 2/100" thick. There has been A LOT more removed than that in this case and IMHO, fibers have probably been compromised.

 

BT

 

 

 

This is exactly my thought.  I stressed this to them with the first set and they said they'd make a "note" of it.  But whether that reaches the builder who knows.

 

I just spoke with them regarding the two that just broke- as always they're extremely easy to work with and now replacing each of the broken clubs.  But- how long will they last?  We talked about my assumption in the tip prep, but they said they won't know until they can look at the clubs.

 

So we'll see.  Playing a few times this week with the holiday, there will be a back up set in the bag should these all fall apart on me

[Ri_Redneck]

5 minutes ago, JTK37 said:

 

 

This is exactly my thought.  I stressed this to them with the first set and they said they'd make a "note" of it.  But whether that reaches the builder who knows.

 

I just spoke with them regarding the two that just broke- as always they're extremely easy to work with and now replacing each of the broken clubs.  But- how long will they last?  We talked about my assumption in the tip prep, but they said they won't know until they can look at the clubs.

 

So we'll see.  Playing a few times this week with the holiday, there will be a back up set in the bag should these all fall apart on me

Here's my point. If someone posted a pick of that shaft tip and asked if the prepping was okay...... I'd tell them to throw it away! That's how bad it is. That much would ruin a STEEL shaft!

 

BT

[Ger21]

11 hours ago, AmateurAmateur said:

No. It’s not uncommon for some club builders to sand a touch higher than the hosel so the ferrule bonds and prevents it from ferrule creep. 

There's no reason to sand graphite shafts under the ferrules. Just scrape the paint off.

 

They shouldn't be sanding above the hosel at all to get these to fit. You only need to taper 3/4" to 1" at the tip. And there should never be a "Step" sanded into the shaft. The step creates a weak point.

 

 

Quote

But- how long will they last?

They shouldn't be breaking at all. Ever.

[svlido]

5 minutes ago, Ger21 said:

There's no reason to sand graphite shafts under the ferrules. Just scrape the paint off.

 

They shouldn't be sanding above the hosel at all to get these to fit. You only need to taper 3/4" to 1" at the tip. And there should never be a "Step" sanded into the shaft. The step creates a weak point.

 

 

They shouldn't be breaking at all. Ever.

Tapering a graphite shaft is much easier than people think.  It is literally just knocking a little of the first 1/2" of the tip.  There's no way they would need to go that far.

[aenemated]

4 hours ago, Ri_Redneck said:

Sanding higher isn't the issue. It's material removal. Here is a zoomed in shot. You can see the amount is excessive. Notice the OD difference. The paint layer is MAYBE 2/100" thick. There has been A LOT more removed than that in this case and IMHO, fibers have probably been compromised.

 

BT

 

 

Whoa ... I'm kind of astonished an OEM would do that work.