A paddle mold is the pair of metal plates that a head outline is machined into. One mold carries one footprint, so a second shape starts a second mold. A line on your invoice often reads “mold fee,” and that line usually covers two sets of plates.
The head plates fix the outline. The texture plates fix the surface. Most buyers order one and pay for two.
For a brand, this line decides whether a second shape can exist in the line-up. For the buyer who signs the order, the same line decides what you may carry to another factory three years later.
Two sets of plates sit behind one molded paddle
Our elongated head mold is cut to 16.38 × 7.52 in. Those plates set the outline, and no press setting turns them into a widebody or a hybrid.
The face texture comes off a separate plate. A grit face, a deep grain and a smooth matte face are three plates over one head mold. A texture change can reach the press in days, and a shape change reaches it in weeks.
A quote with a single line that reads “mold fee” hides the count. A buyer should ask which plates the number covers before comparing it with a second quote.
A mold holds one footprint, and no second shape shares it
The cavity is machined into the plate, and one plate holds one outline. A 16.00 × 8.00 in widebody and a 16.38 × 7.52 in elongated differ by 0.48 in of width. That half inch lives in the metal.
A brand can reorder a new color, a new logo or a new grip wrap without touching the mold. A new footprint cannot reuse the plates that make the old one, because the outline is the plate.
Buyers who treat a shape like a color write a purchase order the factory cannot build.
Ask for the mold list before you ask for the price
A price sheet is written for you. A mold list is the paddle factory’s own asset register, and it answers what the price sheet avoids.
Five fields belong on that list:
- Which shape the mold cuts, in length and width.
- Who holds it, the factory or the buyer.
- When it was cut, since plate wear shows up in the texture.
- What it covers, the head, the texture, or both.
- What a repeat costs, so a lost or worn plate already has a price.
The order matters, because the state of the tooling sets the shape of every price that follows. A buyer who reads the price first is negotiating against a fact the other side has already settled.
Where the tooling line sits in a quote decides how the total reads. The mold list decides what that number buys.
Catalog, shared and captive molds sell three different things
Three ownership states exist in this trade, and each one sells a different thing.
A catalog mold belongs to the factory and stays in its catalogue. Any brand can order from it. The unit price is the lowest of the three, and the shape comes with no claim for you.
A shared mold is one the buyer part funded. The factory keeps the right to sell from the same plates. The buyer pays less up front and shares the tooling with brands it cannot name.
A captive mold is cut for one buyer and held for that buyer alone. It costs the most up front, and it is the only state that keeps your outline off a competitor’s shelf.
| State | Who can order from it | Up-front cost | Claim on the shape |
| Catalog | Any brand | None | None |
| Shared | You and the factory’s other buyers | Part | None |
| Captive | You | Full | Written into the order |
The payment form decides which right you walk away with
Three settlements appear on quotes.
A buy-out is paid once, and ownership transfers when the payment clears. A spread payment adds a small amount to each paddle until the total is covered. Ownership on that form usually transfers at the end of the run rather than at the start. A first-order credit is paid up front, then credited back against the first bulk invoice.
Two factories can quote the same amount and hand over a different set of rights. The ownership wording therefore carries more weight than the number.
A buyer whose mold fee sits inside the unit price holds no document that names the mold owner. Tooling amounts across two quotes stay incomparable until the ownership wording matches.
Three shapes in a line-up means three head molds
Our three shapes come off three head molds. The elongated cut runs 16.38 × 7.52 in. The hybrid runs 16.30 × 7.68 in, and the widebody runs 16.00 × 8.00 in.
A brand that wants all three in its own line buys three sets of head plates. The texture plates behind them are a second purchase. A brand that adds one shape pays for one set. The rest of the tooling it already funded gets reused.
The market shows the same arithmetic. Selkirk sells the AMPED Pro Air series in two shapes at one price. The Invikta runs 16.5 in long and 7.45 in wide. The Epic runs 15.75 in by 8.00 in (see the Epic specs). Both list at USD 100.00, and both come off separate tooling.
That is why the shape sits in the tooling budget rather than in the unit price.
The three footprints we cut sit on one page, with the width behind each one. The length and width split behind each shape is where a purchase order starts. The decision in front of that order is whether the shape earns its own SKU.
Moving a mold takes three things, and two of them travel badly
A move needs the plates, the drawing with the press parameters, and a trial run on the receiving press.
The plates ship in a crate, and the crate is the easy part. The parameters that matter are temperature, pressure and time. One factory dialled them in against one press line. The trial run is where a buyer learns whether the second factory can hold the same thickness. The same question applies to flatness.
We can pack the plates with the drawing and the process card, and we have done it. The second factory’s press is the one part we cannot hand over. A mold that runs clean on our line can measure a different finished thickness on another platen.
Ownership travels with the crate. The thickness and flatness it produced at home depend on the press, and that press stays behind.
The press side sits in who really owns the press line. A buyer usually needs both answers before the crate is booked.
Five changes do not need a new head mold
A new outline needs new plates. A new frame shape, such as an asymmetric edge or a one-piece molded wall, needs them too. New insert pockets in the handle need a new set as well.
Four other changes ride on tooling that already exists.
- Surface texture moves the texture plate and leaves the head mold alone.
- Weight and balance move in the lay-up, where the ply count and the end cap set them.
- Color, logo, grip wrap and packaging move in print and assembly.
- Core material and thickness ride on the same outline, so a 13 mm build comes off the 16 mm mold.
The plate side sits in how a new plate moves the minimum order. That plate is why a texture change costs more than a color change.
What we put on the mold line of an order confirmation
One sentence covers it, and every clause in it carries weight:
Mold: cut for 16.38 × 7.52 in, held at our plant. Owned by the buyer on full payment, exclusive to the buyer. Replacement plate quoted on request.
The footprint comes first, because it identifies the plates. The holding plant matters, because a mold across a border is a customs file before it is a mold. Ownership on full payment names the moment the asset changes hands. Exclusivity is the clause buyers forget. It is the one that keeps your shape off a competitor’s shelf.
What we cannot promise about a mold
Exclusivity on a captive mold depends on the orders continuing. When they stop, the plates sit in the factory’s building, and the clause turns into a conversation.
A finished dimension after a move sits outside what we can guarantee, for the reasons above. The cost of running your plate at a second factory belongs to that factory, so we cannot quote it.
The 10 questions a factory should answer in writing cover the rest of the first conversation. Several of them touch the tooling line.
FAQ
Who owns the paddle mold I paid for?
Ownership follows the terms you signed rather than the payment itself. A fee folded into the unit price usually leaves the mold with the factory, and a buy-out with an exclusivity clause transfers it to you.
Do I need a new mold for a custom paddle shape?
Yes. The outline is machined into the plate, so a new footprint needs new plates. Texture, weight, balance, color and packaging changes reuse the mold you already have.
What does paddle tooling cost?
A head mold is priced per shape and per construction, so one figure does not cover the category. The fee is quoted as its own line, and it repeats only when a plate is lost or worn.
Can I take my mold to another factory?
The plates travel in a crate, and the drawing travels with them. The press parameters travel as a document, and the second factory runs a trial to match the thickness and the flatness.
Does a shared mold give me exclusivity?
No. A shared mold means the factory keeps the right to sell from the same plates to other buyers. Only a captive mold, paid in full and written as exclusive, protects your outline.
How long does a mold last?
Wear reaches the texture before it reaches the outline, so the plate is the part that gets replaced. The rate depends on the face material and the number of press cycles.
Is a catalog mold cheaper?
Yes, and the saving buys a shape any competitor can order. The unit price is the lowest of the three states, and the footprint carries no claim.
Can one mold make two thicknesses?
No, each mold has fixed thickness, two thicknesses need 2 molds
Our engineering team answers mold questions within 24 hours, and the first reply usually asks which plates you intend to own.