Well, OSP is actually the name of the company even though it is an acronym. Here:
http://ospblades.com
ALC means Arylate and Carbon weaved together into a layer. Arylate is a semi-soft plastic like material that, when weaved into a layer with carbon gives more dwell time and spin than the harder carbon would have had without it.
TB usually stands for Timo Boll in one of the Butterfly Timo Boll blades. So, TBS would be Timo Boll Spirit. And TB ALC would be almost the exact same blade with a fancier looking design for about $50.00 (USD) more.
ZLC is Zylon and Carbon. It is similar to ALC but Zylon is a bit faster, harder and slightly less dwell time than Arylate. So a TB ZLC would be a bit faster, harder and have a bit less dwell time than a TB ALC.
They also make some blades with Arylate and no carbon: IF AL (Innerforce Arylate) and IF ZLF (Innerforce Zylon Fiber).
Then there is H3 = Hurricane 3 and TG3 = Skyline 3: bet that one makes as much sense to you as it does to me????? TG = Skyline: can someone explain that one????
All of those fancy materials are cool. But for me, nothing beats a classic all wood blade.
For a slightly better understanding of what Arylate and Zylon are I will use another substance to explain: Kevlar is used in the making of some blades. Kevlar is also used in the making of bullet proof vests. They used to use Zylon for bullet proof vests. It works really well for about 5 years. Then the material sort of gets old and breaks down a bit and a 5 year old Zylon bullet proof vest, they eventually discovered, is about as bullet proof as cellophane wrap. Well, slightly more but less bullet proof than a holloween costume version of a bullet proof vest.
Anyway, Zylon and Arylate are similar to Kevlar in many properties but are much lighter so they work better for making blades where the manufacturer can say that the weight is 85 grams. Whereas most of the blades that have Kevlar in them weigh closer to 100 grams when they have a WRB handle.
WRB, I assume you already know stands for something silly that actually just means: very hollow handle so it should have actually been VHH instead of WRB.
I know, TMI. Hope you didn't mind my banter. I am really just entertaining myself on the subway ride to go play TT after work. LOL.
Sent from MountDoom via TheRingOfPower