Kelly McNary Posted November 21, 2021 Report Share Posted November 21, 2021 (edited) Fellow umpires, I’m trying to find out what this Wilson mask is made of, maybe titanium, but it’s black in color. It weighs 13 oz. It’s a standard view, not a low profile view. Any help would be appreciated. Thank you! I Kelly Edited November 23, 2021 by Kelly McNary Looking for more feedback from viewers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tpatience Posted November 22, 2021 Report Share Posted November 22, 2021 Put a magnet up to it. If it sticks, it’s steel. If not, it’s titanium. Aluminum is slightly magnetic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wolfe_man Posted November 22, 2021 Report Share Posted November 22, 2021 I'm going with hollow steel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thunderheads Posted November 22, 2021 Report Share Posted November 22, 2021 is it my imagination, or ..... are some of those bars 'flat' (not in a bad way)? Don't recall Wilson bars being 'flat' on top .... @MadMax ??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MadMax Posted November 22, 2021 Report Share Posted November 22, 2021 Some absolutes: It isn't titanium. No way, no how. Because titanium is inheritly corrosion-resistant, it doesn't need paint or any kind of coating, and to tint it (beyond a one-off powder coating) is a fairly involved and expensive process. The mass majority of manufacturers are not going to take that measure, and they certainly won't ID screen print over the top of it. Besides that, the welds are way too... lumpy... for titanium, which is typically done by a machine because of, again, how precise, immediate, and involved that weld has to be, due to the surface of titanium already forming its own oxidation layer. Those are, indeed, flat "I-bars" on the bullring and wicket (the U-shaped loops). Both All-Star, and by way of one-time partnership with All-Star, UnderArmour incorporates this into their masks to supposedly improve sightlines without increasing the thickness of the bar. You know who else does this? Diamond, on their market-shaking iX3 aluminum masks. And this mask looks eerily similar. Besides, the presence of these flat I-bars eliminates the chance for the mask to be titanium. To extrude / draw titanium into a flattened bar like that is extremely cost-prohibitive. This bucks any Wilson trend or practice I've ever seen. They don't screen print a patent ID on any of their masks. Instead, the pads are emblazoned with that information. By contrast, Riddell and Schutt are known for screen printing model ID and "fine print" on their masks for football helmets, and as such, I've seen this on masks from Schutt that are for use on softball / baseball batter's helmets. But again, I've never seen this on a Wilson. Could this be a recent practice? Sure. Those bar ends are blunt-cut and/or at least plugged. Common (cheapest) practice for hollow steel in the past is to crimp it to close it. Adidas bucked that trend with their rendition of the Icon (which they called "the Pro model") and did a very discreet plug to seal up the hollow steel bars, giving it a very sly visual resemblance to titanium. If they are blunt-cut, and that mask is as light as everybody is claiming, that points towards aluminum. Could this be the latest aluminum model from Wilson??? The earguard struts are single, horizontal, "bent paper clip" -style, which is trademark Wilson. If someone is doing a knock-off, they've picked the wrong "big manufacturer" to copy. Wilson enforces patents like small towns enforce parking tickets. If I had a better view of the patent ID info, I'd be looking that up post-haste. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelly McNary Posted November 23, 2021 Author Report Share Posted November 23, 2021 Magnet will not stick to mask. Yes, bars do have some flatness. MadMax, thank you for your thorough and precise investigation of the mask. I will try to post a better picture of the patent number. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thunderheads Posted November 23, 2021 Report Share Posted November 23, 2021 in case you missed it ... Kelly posted an additional photo within the original post ....here it is .... appears to be patent no. 649777381 ?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelly McNary Posted November 23, 2021 Author Report Share Posted November 23, 2021 Patent Numbers are as follows: USA: 6.497.773B1 Taiwan: 153955 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thunderheads Posted November 23, 2021 Report Share Posted November 23, 2021 25 minutes ago, Kelly McNary said: Patent Numbers are as follows: USA: 6.497.773B1 Taiwan: 153955 USA number not pulling up on the patent database search Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tpatience Posted November 23, 2021 Report Share Posted November 23, 2021 2 hours ago, Kelly McNary said: Magnet will not stick to mask. Yes, bars do have some flatness. MadMax, thank you for your thorough and precise investigation of the mask. I will try to post a better picture of the patent number. Interesting that magnet won’t stick. I too thought it was hollow steel. @MadMax what is your explanation Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelly McNary Posted November 23, 2021 Author Report Share Posted November 23, 2021 I am not sure. I re-tried the magnet. I felt zero pull/sticking coming from it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted November 23, 2021 Report Share Posted November 23, 2021 The patent says it's for aluminum. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MadMax Posted November 23, 2021 Report Share Posted November 23, 2021 5 hours ago, tpatience said: @MadMax what is your explanation Ahem… ☝🏼*points up* On 11/22/2021 at 1:31 PM, MadMax said: Those bar ends are blunt-cut and/or at least plugged. Common (cheapest) practice for hollow steel in the past is to crimp it to close it. Adidas bucked that trend with their rendition of the Icon (which they called "the Pro model") and did a very discreet plug to seal up the hollow steel bars, giving it a very sly visual resemblance to titanium. If they are blunt-cut, and that mask is as light as everybody is claiming, that points towards aluminum. Could this be the latest aluminum model from Wilson??? Then, when we include this little gem from Matt: 2 hours ago, Matt said: The patent says it's for aluminum. Duh-duh-duhhhhh! It’s (highly highly likely) an aluminum!!! Look at that mask again, specifically at the 4 bars that comprise the “core” of the mask – the bullring loop, the wicket loop, and the two horizontal eye-slot bars. It looks _a lot_ like a Diamond iX3. So! This is either the latest Wilson DynaLite Aluminum – so new that it isn’t even in anyone’s catalog yet (certainly not in Wilson’s site!) – or, another producer is introducing a model to the market that uses a component that is nearly sacrosanct, signature Wilson… and if Wilson has the gumption to squash it, they could (see Riddell Power and All-American CPs). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted November 24, 2021 Report Share Posted November 24, 2021 Oh, and for the record, the patent is 6,497,7738. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelly McNary Posted November 24, 2021 Author Report Share Posted November 24, 2021 Matt, After looking at the patent number, Any idea the brand? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dumbdumb Posted November 24, 2021 Report Share Posted November 24, 2021 2. from back on June 1, 2004, which is the issue date of the patent 6,743,312 application 10/260,394 applied for with a file date of October 1, 2002. Title: Method of fabricating a ball protective mask the patent belongs to; Yu Hsun Enterprise Co., Ltd. in Taipei Taiwan inventor is Jung-Tso Shih from San Chung Taiwan customers of Yu Hsun Enterprises Co., Inc. for baseball is showing as Diamond Sports and Team Athletic Goods. 1. 6,497,773 was issued 12/24/2002 on x-mas eve. application 09/920,934 filed 08/03/2001. Titled: Method of manufacturing a mask for team games. mentions aluminum alloy mixed with copper and molybdenum at a temp of 410 degree C to 430 degree C same inventor, same company https://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsearch-bool.html&r=1&f=G&l=50&co1=AND&d=PTXT&s1=6497773&OS=6497773&RS=6497773 https://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsearch-bool.html&r=2&f=G&l=50&co1=AND&d=PTXT&s1=6497773&OS=6497773&RS=6497773 sorry, i reversed the date order in the post 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelly McNary Posted November 24, 2021 Author Report Share Posted November 24, 2021 dumb dumb, Thank you kindly for your post and quality information! Much………….appreciated! You just might have cleared the air! Kelly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MadMax Posted November 24, 2021 Report Share Posted November 24, 2021 55 minutes ago, dumbdumb said: customers of Yu Hsun Enterprises Co., Inc. for baseball is showing as Diamond Sports and Team Athletic Goods. Mind… 🧠… 🧨💥… blown! I knew those bars looked familiar!! On 11/22/2021 at 1:31 PM, MadMax said: You know who else does this? Diamond, on their market-shaking iX3 aluminum masks. So if Diamond is, in fact, producing this mask, they’re ripping a page right out of Wilson’s catalog, and will likely do it better than the big lazy oaf. Especially when we also consider that they’ve already done it with their hard shell CP that is a direct lift from the Platinum!!! (Minus that stoooooopid billow pad, of course) I’d rather have a set of these than DynAlums! @Kelly McNary, where’d you get this?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelly McNary Posted November 24, 2021 Author Report Share Posted November 24, 2021 dumb dumb, Thank you kindly for your post and quality information! Much………….appreciated! You just might have cleared the air! Kelly MadMax, I bought it on eBay. Kelly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BT_Blue Posted November 24, 2021 Report Share Posted November 24, 2021 1 hour ago, Kelly McNary said: I bought it on eBay. Kelly US or international seller? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelly McNary Posted November 24, 2021 Author Report Share Posted November 24, 2021 US seller 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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