Chikara Wedges

[peter draggin]

Does anyone know how these spin compared to Fourteen or Scratch wedges

[KintamaTP]

I thought Chikara went bust?

[Bobcat 2]

My dealer told me the owner has left and no way to contact him. No more Chikara wedges. I have the raw black finish and best spinning wedges ever to me.

[idrive]

[quote name='peter draggin' date='10 April 2010 - 12:10 AM' timestamp='1270879828' post='2371325']
Does anyone know how these spin compared to Fourteen or Scratch wedges
[/quote]

Every bit as much or more. Until you wear the grooves down a little they will shread the ball.

[Ghost_Orchid]

[quote name='Bobcat 2' date='12 April 2010 - 11:59 AM' timestamp='1271087985' post='2375242']
My dealer told me the owner has left and no way to contact him. No more Chikara wedges. I have the raw black finish and best spinning wedges ever to me.
[/quote]


ProShopJapan has new ones. $240 beans + int. shipping.

[mauiatheart]

[quote name='Bobcat 2' date='12 April 2010 - 05:59 AM' timestamp='1271087985' post='2375242']
My dealer told me the owner has left and no way to contact him. No more Chikara wedges. I have the raw black finish and best spinning wedges ever to me.
[/quote]

The owner is still around in Japan somewhere. Carl, the designer/US contact has parted ways with the company for the time being. If you have questions PM me.

[Trendsetter916]

Glad I bought an extra set. Chikara wedges gives me extra confidence I need with my short game.

[Spoon]

i had carl's first batch of protos, at the time i was a hacker and couldnt really benefit from them so i sold them
i totally regret that decision. looking forward to his new stuff

[nitram]

The V-1 Protos are the best wedge I've played in over 30 years of golf. I would have bought more if I could have found them. Carlton Matsui is truly a master craftsman and a gentleman as well. I look forward to his return......

[one9reasons]

I recently played with a buddy of mine that picked up a few Chikara wedges. He opted these over his normal Scratch wedges. Let me tell you - I haven't seen someone spin the ball backwards like that in a long time! I game the Fourteen wedges and although they are nice, the Chikara seems to be biting the ball a little harder. Good luck.

[quote name='peter draggin' date='09 April 2010 - 11:10 PM' timestamp='1270879828' post='2371325']
Does anyone know how these spin compared to Fourteen or Scratch wedges
[/quote]

[golferhawaii]

i know the owner Chikara is back in buisness

[signalauto27]

Lots of spin.. made by a fellow Hawaiian

[pitbull808]

i know the owner Chikara is back in buisness

 

Chikara was never not in business. It's still actively sold in Japan. The only difference is their designer Carlton Masui left the company...leaving them nothing but the old stuff he designed.

 

He'll be back...hopefully bigger then ever. :yes:

 

As for Chikara's spin....put it this way as I know more then most, other then Carlton about Chikara's.....The initial Prototype..if you do a search here that I posted years ago with a blank back and only a loft designation had TOO much spin. Those were just normal maxed out grooves like everyone else has. The 2nd Edition the "PROTO TYPE" was the wedge that was sold in limited numbers. Those grooves were actually backed down from the original prototype to make them playable. The retails...read the reviews, they all spun like crazy. They chewed balls..but in my opinion not the the degree that the Callaway MD grooves did..but spun just as well.

 

Now after reading "backed down grooves" you're probably wondering how could they spin more then other brands. This ALL goes back to Carlton's theory, grooves are great..but it's the GRIND that allows the player to get the best contact on the ball. I found this out way before Chikara ever was born when Carlton ground some Vokey's and Nike wedges for me. Each of those wedges were better then the original. When Chikara was born, it made me forget every wedge that I had tried before and I tried a lot. Pretty much everything Tour and every JDM brand you can think of.

 

Chikara is still in my opinion the best wedge I have ever played. I was extremely fortunate to play many 1 of 1's Carlton made for me and nothing made currently can touch any of them. He is the absolute best in wedge grinding. Here's a few photos of Carlton's work for me and a few others through the years. He is the best in wedge making.

 

 

PS...these guys like him too.

 

Isao Aoki

Shigeki Maruyama

Tadd Fujikawa

[DawgPound]

[b]Tadd Fujikawa! [/b]

[cmaggiri]

He is back with new wedges and a great looking putter!

[url="http://www.chikaradesigns.com/index.html"]http://www.chikaradesigns.com/index.html[/url]

[pitbull808]

[quote name='cmaggiri' timestamp='1305120509' post='3224637']
He is back with new wedges and a great looking putter!

[url="http://www.chikaradesigns.com/index.html"]http://www.chikaradesigns.com/index.html[/url]
[/quote]

If you look in my WITB pics..there are more photo's of that putter.

[nitram]

[quote name='pitbull808' timestamp='1305141021' post='3225596']
[quote name='cmaggiri' timestamp='1305120509' post='3224637']
He is back with new wedges and a great looking putter!

[url="http://www.chikaradesigns.com/index.html"]http://www.chikaradesigns.com/index.html[/url]
[/quote]

If you look in my WITB pics..there are more photo's of that putter.
[/quote]


PB,

Does this mean Carlton is back open for business there in HI.???

[SLCOliv]

Never heard of Chikara before, great feedback though...

[swing981]

So is this company still around

[pitbull808]

[quote name='nitram' timestamp='1305147934' post='3225745']
PB,

Does this mean Carlton is back open for business there in HI.???
[/quote]

Carlton has never been out of "business" here in Hawaii. He had his club making shop before Chikara.

As I said earlier in a post..Chikara has always been "alive"..just without Carlton designing anything. The putter was actually designed by Carlton years ago shortly after the v1 Proto Type putter. Chikara Japan just released it to America this year but it's been selling in Japan since last year I believe. Carlton's original design of the putter was similar to what you'll find Machine has been doing..ability to change necks..hence the screw on the bottom of the sole. BUT...since he left Chikara...they went with just the plumbers neck at this time for sale to the public.

[Babycakes]

So hey Pitbull... (or anyone that knows)
is there any chance that Carlton will hook back up with them?
Or have they parted ways for good?
Also, do you expect the quality to remain the same without him?
Ciao.

[Babycakes]

Also Pit... about that putter:
Tell me, honestly, does an Aluminum hosel really cut it?
I haven't noticed Machine or anyone else with removeable hosels using Aluminum for it!
It strikes me as strange.

[pitbull808]

[quote name='Babycakes' timestamp='1305184579' post='3226963']
So hey Pitbull... (or anyone that knows)
is there any chance that Carlton will hook back up with them?
Or have they parted ways for good?
Also, do you expect the quality to remain the same without him?
Ciao.
[/quote]


[quote name='Babycakes' timestamp='1305184918' post='3226967']
Also Pit... about that putter:
Tell me, honestly, does an Aluminum hosel really cut it?
I haven't noticed Machine or anyone else with removeable hosels using Aluminum for it!
It strikes me as strange.
[/quote]


The future of Carlton...nothing I can discuss. Quality will remain the same as the heads are still made by the same people. The only heads personnally touched by Carlton were the Proto Types. The retails were all made to his direction..no change has been made to that

The putter...the aluminum was part of Carltons design...not influencing weight bias of the head no matter what the neck was. I thought it was strange too when I first heard he was doing it that way. Then again...I thought it was strange to even make the neck interchangeable in the first place.

[courserecord66]

I have a pair of black finishprototypes that I use only in the summer, as the spin that they produce is too much for the soft greens in the winter here in the UK. They came with the black DG shafts and they have a black heads too; very nice indeed.

[freehb]

Thanks For the pics, I will be ordering some soon.

[career4jerry]

i have just ordered Hakusa irons/wedges Tbc'd .. apparently Carl added his touches to the hakusa items.

[mystic]

I just received 4 wedges from Carl. Absolutely incredible.

[NWgolfer19]

Those wedges are BEAUTIFUL! I bet they play even better than they look.

[Vegaman]

Chikara is coming out with 2 different sets of irons too! one players cavity back and a blade. I saw them at pureforged.co.uk

But they dont have them yet, can only watch the photos.

[mauiatheart]

The new irons should be complete by the end of the month. Very limited quantities in this release.