Direct from a Shuttle Factory (Postsky Shuttles)

Another Explanation

Here's the scoop, or at least part of it, compiled from
information provided by Victor Racquets Industrial Corp of
Taiwan.

Peter_Mackinnon@mindlink.bc.ca (Peter Mackinnon)

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White geese (and ducks) are bred and raised for food (in
Asian countries). The feathers are collected after the birds
are killed. There are many different species of geese (and
duck), but they are initially seperated into goose and duck
feathers only. The goose feathers (and duck) are then sorted
into left wing or right wing piles. Only 6 or 7 feathers (my
source used the phrase "6 or 7 pieces of feathers" but I
believe, from context, that this is just a mis-translation
from Taiwanese) from each wing can be used for shuttlecocks.
Further, as feathers from left and right wings differ, a
shuttle can have only feathers from one side of the goose.
The 6 wings of 3 geese can produce 2 shuttlecocks (3 wings
per shutte or 1.5 goose per shuttle, ignoring handedness).

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A slightly related matter:

How are shuttles graded? Each company is free to set their
own specifications so a `Tournament Quality' shuttle from
one manufacturer may be far superior or inferior to a
`Tournament Quality' shuttle from a different manufacturer.
Only playing with a shuttle can tell you if a certain
price/`quality' of shuttle is a good value or not.

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I feel compelled to state a personal opinion, not related to
the above. As a badminton player I am often bothered by `the
high price of shuttles'. But having toured a shuttle
factory, I am astounded that the price is so low. An
enormous amount of labour goes into a top quality shuttle.
And is the `high price of shuttles' really so high? Some 25
years ago when I was learning this game the best shuttles I
could get were the "RSL No. 1 Tourney". They cost $24 per
dozen (Canadian, tax included), if my memory serves me
correctly. The best shuttles available in Canada now are
undoubtably the "Victor Champions". At local retail outlets
they go for $24 - $26 per dozen (Canadian, tax extra). In
constant dollars the price of the best quality shuttles has
actually declined drastically over the past couple of
decades!

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Disclaimer:

Please note that I am an employee of Victor Racquets here in
Canada. Filter anything I might say through whatever filter
you might choose to use. And of course recognize that I
speak for myself, not Victor Racquets.


PM