Melon ball ... mortally wounded

[atgatt]

Tim, it's a pleasure to watch your bag-craft. Great work.

Personally, I'd leave if for fear if anything was added to it, the extra weight wouldn't go well or it could throw it off balance. We grow old which gives us character, so let the bag do the same. When you talk to it, you can say, "You ol' bag."

[Tim]

The more I look at it, the more it looks like someone stuck a DEB bladder in it instead of a speed bag bladder when it was made.

Give this man a prize. It's definitely a round bladder. I took it out and it's not tear drop shaped. However, there is more to the secret sauce than just the roundness of the bladder. I put a regular tear drop shaped bladder from a Fighting sports 9x6 and the bag hits very similarly.

Thanks for the advice everybody. I do think I'm going to try and get the rip repaired somehow.

[Dutchman]

See if you can locate an old school shoe repair shop, or possibly a saddlery to restitch it. If it's the fau leather stuff which is vinyl covered canvas, maybe a sailmaker can do a repair.

[Roc Stone]

'there is more to the secret sauce than just the roundness of the bladder. I put a regular tear drop shaped bladder from a Fighting sports 9x6 and the bag hits very similarly.'

I think you better give us an update with some more vid Timbo.

I imagine having a DEB bladder in a speed bag is ultimately what caused the tear, undue stress in the wrong area of what was possibly a weaker cut of leather made for that pannel.

If the bag still looks the same, its because the leather's been stretched into that shape, largely unbeknowing to you, because you've probably beaten the crapper out of it. You may wanna try a larger bladder and over inflate it, and to see if you can restore its original shape in any form you better keep beat'n the crapper out of it.

After its had surgery of course.