blaSTS FROM THE paSTS....

[nobmontana]

I was actually reading up on older Yonex forged and did come across this one.

I believe these have internal cavities with elastomer in it.

Yonex back in those days made darn nice forged irons.

[bngolfer]

I just put some pics of the Hiro Honma Tour Model 4-wood in the Persimmon thread. Here is a Daiwa driving iron though with a ferrule that does not fit well at all..

[supo]

I reshafted the 8 iron with an NS 1050x ive had sitting around forever.

the hosel on this is LONG.......... so I had to accomdate that by cutting it a bit.

hit it on Saturday.

now, if there was an adequate adjective to sum the idiffernce up from a 20 yrs old DGs400 to the ns 1050

id use it!

[Nolixul]

Was reminiscing about 80s/90s irons that I played and remembered this thread. I have played numerous Daiwas and Marumans over the years - Advisor DG-273, DG-201, Conductor LX SPSS ... in fact, over the years,  I've probably had Daiwa or Maruman irons in my bag more than any other brands. Have also had the Mizuno Millers from earlier in this thread. Prompted me to check the darker corners of my man cave where I knew some vintage JDM things were still lurking. Sure enough there were my well used old DG-273s, a couple of other Daiwa iron models, some Maruman and early S-Yard woods, and this (see pic below of the 5 iron from the set and its shaft).

Now, a challenge for you! Can anyone identify the Brand (and forging factory) for the irons?

I've never played the irons and obtained them second hand. There are no other identification marks on the head - simply a 5 on the sole. The forging/plating is more satin than bright chrome with an almost pinkish or golden faint hue. Top line is quite thin and the soles are typical of a players cavity (ie not broad) with a slightly beveled leading edge. There is a bit of offset through the set, but not too much. Set make up is 4-P, P/S, S. Shafts feel surprisingly firm (secondary question is if anyone knows anything about these GD shafts?).

I do know the Brand, as the original grips give it away. However, I'll give you a few days to mull things over before I reveal it. I will say that they are not Daiwa, Maruman, Honma or Mizuno (despite the MS-211 resemblance). They also date from somewhere between the late 1980s and early 2000s. Once the Brand is revealed, I'd like to narrow down the likely date of manufacture.

Edited January 4, 2018 by Nolixul
grammar

[Duffer19]

I have definitely seen this iron before but just could not remember when and what.  Could it be an earlier model of S Yard or Jumbo Ozaki?  I remember this crescent moon design.

[Nolixul]

3 hours ago, Duffer19 said:

I have definitely seen this iron before but just could not remember when and what.  Could it be an earlier model of S Yard or Jumbo Ozaki?  I remember this crescent moon design.

Good call but it's not S-Yard.

I remember Ozaki's association with Bridgestone, however not sure if he was involved with this brand at one stage - I don't know enough about his history. Will reveal the Brand tomorrow.

Edited January 5, 2018 by Nolixul
clarification

[Nolixul]

Well, the irons are from Fourteen.

The puzzle now is to work out roughly when they were made. Clearly it's after Fourteen started in the late 80s, but probably before their model numbers came in in the early 2000s (?). The original grips have the Fourteen feather and text in gold - so must be after that branding came in.

Anyone able to narrow down a manufacturing window?

Also, who were doing the forgings for Fourteen in that window? (Endo?). (The golden/satin hue to the irons is reminiscent of some early Epons that I have seen).