Does Butterfly keep the best quality blades in Japan?

[CallMeZaddy]

I was watching some video a while ago and forgot where but I remember the person saying that Butterfly blades in Japan are better quality than global versions because they keep the better quality blades domestically. This sounded like a rumor to me since how would one how to differentiate between all the different blades? But then I thought back to my own experience and maybe it’s a placebo but all my Japan sold BTY blades seem to have a clearer feedback while a couple of my US sold BTY blades seem a bit more hollow. Visually, I don’t notice any differences between craftsmanship or wood but wondering if other people had similar experiences?

 

[ThePongCommenter]

Not sure about blades but some Butterfly sponsored players say the rubber sheets from Japan are better as well

 

[zeio]

Yes, yes, and yes. One-ply Kiso hinoki was the most well-known for that. Japan got the best, South Korea got the second best, then the rest. It applies to everything, not just table tennis. They save the best stuff for themselves.

日本，其實比你想的更「排外」──曾被狠狠歧視的我，發現日媒的「國際觀」暗藏玄機 (Japan is actually more xenophobic than you think - I, who was once severely discriminated against, discovered that the "international perspective" of Japanese media has hidden secrets)
https://crossing.cw.com.tw/article/15665

真心話：日本人排外是超乎你想像。 (To be honest: Japanese people are more xenophobic than you can imagine.)
https://www.threads.net/@sam_japaneselearninghk/post/C_pk5MMTpox

[Flameracing]自已的馬壇自已救 日本的馬壇現在有多開放？ ([Flameracing] The horse racing world saves itself. How open is the Japanese horse racing world now?)
https://flameracing.net/2014/07/31/japan-needs-more-opening/

日本產業大潰敗：擁有無數世界第一　卻被全世界拋棄 (Japan's industrial collapse: having numerous world firsts but being abandoned by the whole world)
[ur]https://www.01icon.hk/article/專家/725087/日本產業大潰敗-擁有無數世界第一-卻被全世界拋棄[/URL]

彼時，全球市值排名前五的企業，均為日本企業。而坊間也流傳着一個神話：日本把最好的產品留給自己，不好的才賣到國外。

這一度讓中國人很羨慕，但背後，恰恰反映了日本從自滿到逐漸封閉的心態。

(At that time, the top five companies in the world by market value were all Japanese companies. There is also a myth circulating among the people: Japan keeps the best products for itself and sells the bad ones abroad.

This once made the Chinese very envious, but behind the scenes, it actually reflects Japan's mentality from complacency to gradual closure.)

 

[CallMeZaddy]

Wonder if the rubber differences are because they get newer stock and the older stock is shipped out. My Japanese sourced Dignics certainly feel livelier and more responsive.

 

[NetProphet]

I was watching some video a while ago and forgot where but I remember the person saying that Butterfly blades in Japan are better quality than global versions because they keep the better quality blades domestically. This sounded like a rumor to me since how would one how to differentiate between all the different blades? But then I thought back to my own experience and maybe it’s a placebo but all my Japan sold BTY blades seem to have a clearer feedback while a couple of my US sold BTY blades seem a bit more hollow. Visually, I don’t notice any differences between craftsmanship or wood but wondering if other people had similar experiences?

This may come from the Korbel and Primorac blades where the made in Japan versions are better quality because of the expertise and manufacturing process?
Similar with Seiko made in Japan or made elsewhere watches

 

[Robin0910]

This may come from the Korbel and Primorac blades where the made in Japan versions are better quality because of the expertise and manufacturing process?
Similar with Seiko made in Japan or made elsewhere watches

But those blades are deliberately different with differed head sizes and wood thickness/weight. It’s not really the manufacturing process in this case

 

[NetProphet]

But those blades are deliberately different with differed head sizes and wood thickness/weight. It’s not really the manufacturing process in this case

Interesting.... I didn't know the head sizes and thickness were different between the two. I wonder why they use differing dimensions.
I had assumed it was the expertise in the processes at the Japanese factory that (despite best efforts) just couldn't be replicated to the same level elsewhere.

 

[KY3333]

Beware of misinformation about Butterfly Table Tennis Equipment.

バタフライ卓球用品に関する誤った情報にご注意ください｜新着情報｜バタフライ卓球用品

「バタフライ卓球用品に関する誤った情報にご注意ください」の新着情報。バタフライは卓球選手を始め卓球を愛する皆様の為に、ラバーやラケットなど卓球用具の開発・製造・販売といった事業活動を行う卓球用品総合メーカー。

www.butterfly.co.jp

 

[Tony's Table Tennis]

In the past, Japanese market blades are known to be better quality
and people would prefer to buy blades with JTTTAA logo, that is for the Japanese market.
But I think today, the quality is very consistent and blades sold into Taiwan is of high quality too.

of course for the elite, they will choose blades and the finer detail there is greater, so the acceptance ratio is far less (think of 50 blades and only 2 is acceptable).

 

[ThePongCommenter]

Beware of misinformation about Butterfly Table Tennis Equipment.

バタフライ卓球用品に関する誤った情報にご注意ください｜新着情報｜バタフライ卓球用品

「バタフライ卓球用品に関する誤った情報にご注意ください」の新着情報。バタフライは卓球選手を始め卓球を愛する皆様の為に、ラバーやラケットなど卓球用具の開発・製造・販売といった事業活動を行う卓球用品総合メーカー。

www.butterfly.co.jp

What this article doesn't mention is whether or not Japan keeps the center sheets of rubber domestically and/or for sponsored players (most of whom also have customized rubbers).

Some Butterfly sponsored players have told me that they also believe the domestic sheets are more consistent and "better".

 

[Yurifi]

well, my experience tells yes. in mid 90's I got for a test Viscaria and Moonbeam, both brought from Japan. and there was also Viscaria which we got in Europe at the time ... I did go for Moonbeam, which wasn't even available in Europe at the time, but Viscarias were two completely different blades, even though they looked similar ...

 

[lodro]

What this article doesn't mention is whether or not Japan keeps the center sheets of rubber domestically and/or for sponsored players (most of whom also have customized rubbers).

Some Butterfly sponsored players have told me that they also believe the domestic sheets are more consistent and "better".

This I can believe but once the best rubbers are taken aside for the sponsored professional players , the rest, probably 95% goes into the world-wide market and to differentiate between countries would be a logistic nightmare.

 

[Zwill]

If I buy Butterfly blades I like to buy from Butterfly international store which in Europe I believe is in Germany. For 5EUR they will pick a desired weight for you so if someone wants a 95g Viscaria then this is the official way to get one. I also like they provide free shipping above 80EUR with DHL which in honesty with their pricing is not hard to reach. Ofc you can go into a store if you have one nearby and choose from blades laying around. Chances are they won't have a huge selection of the same type. Maybe only 2-3pcs...

By asking for 95g blade I did manage to buy single piece kiri core FZD SALC which is quite rare. Butterfly usually splices their kiri cores from several pieces. Does single piece mean better quality? Probably. If it was worse quality Butterfly would have just spliced a core wood and wouldn't bother with one piece.

But this is also wood lottery just like silicon lottery for CPUs. Maybe you can overclock a lot maybe not.

 

[ThePongCommenter]

This I can believe but once the best rubbers are taken aside for the sponsored professional players , the rest, probably 95% goes into the world-wide market and to differentiate between countries would be a logistic nightmare.

Sponsored pros get custom hardness and weights, not just the center sheets. So it's a different batch.

They also get the stuff pre-release. Zyre 03 is being tested pretty widely now.

 

[mightymouse]

For Badminton, I notice that for the same line of product, Yonex has different versions:

Pro - the best quality (the most expensive) - made in Japan
Tour - 2nd best - made in Taiwan
Game - 3rd best - made in Taiwan
Play - for novice / amateur (the cheapest) - made in China

I think that it makes sense until I found that for the Pro version, they have different label / different product codes (SP and JP, if I remember correctly). Basically if you pay the high price for the made in Japan (Pro version) then you have the best product, right? Not really....

It turns out that Yonex has 2 versions of this Pro version as well: Pro version for international market and Pro version for domestic Japan. If I want to buy the Pro version (domestic version) then I have to pay much higher compared to that of Pro version for international market. I do not know if this is really true, or the dealers who sell the rackets making things up (better quality for Japan domestic market) to justify the much higher price.

Anyway, the reason I tell this is that it is true that Japan can have special category for their domestic market. So I can believe the same thing happens for table tennis products.

 

[Oliverpool]

For Badminton, I notice that for the same line of product, Yonex has different versions:

Pro - the best quality (the most expensive) - made in Japan
Tour - 2nd best - made in Taiwan
Game - 3rd best - made in Taiwan
Play - for novice / amateur (the cheapest) - made in China

I think that it makes sense until I found that for the Pro version, they have different label / different product codes (SP and JP, if I remember correctly). Basically if you pay the high price for the made in Japan (Pro version) then you have the best product, right? Not really....

It turns out that Yonex has 2 versions of this Pro version as well: Pro version for international market and Pro version for domestic Japan. If I want to buy the Pro version (domestic version) then I have to pay much higher compared to that of Pro version for international market. I do not know if this is really true, or the dealers who sell the rackets making things up (better quality for Japan domestic market) to justify the much higher price.

Anyway, the reason I tell this is that it is true that Japan can have special category for their domestic market. So I can believe the same thing happens for table tennis products.

Does the box or label have a different code or part number? If not, I would say it’s pretty difficult to know if this this true or how the dealers can say for sure that they are selling a “special” pro version.

Same for Butterfly blades. The part number and serial number does not seem to have any real difference if they are bought at the store in Japan or elsewhere. I am not sure of pro players but I did not hear from the store that their blades are “special” versions.

But storage could cause difference. The butterfly rubbers outer plastic wrapping has a hole for air circulation? This could
Impact the rubber degradation perhaps when stored in a dryer place like in Japan can a super humid country like Singapore. The blade could also be impacted somewhat especially for those without a plastic wrapping. I mean we can see how wood deteriorates in Singapore weather vs other countries with 4 season but this is over years. I would say the changes in temperature for a blade would be far less extreme. Much less one that is kept in a store temperature controlled somewhat as well.

 

[zeio]

This I can believe but once the best rubbers are taken aside for the sponsored professional players , the rest, probably 95% goes into the world-wide market and to differentiate between countries would be a logistic nightmare.

And yet Butterfly is doing it. They can track the serial numbers down and pinpoint the exact batch that got shipped out where and when.

The ones for domestic market come in a different box than those for overseas market with different IDs for different distributors, if you know where to look and how to read it.

 

[Zwill]

Can anyone read the engraved codes on sponge or blade? Is there a translator for them?

 

[lodro]

The ones for domestic market come in a different box than those for overseas market with different IDs for different distributors,

the different boxes are understandable for the local market but does it really mean that the quality of the blades are different ???????

 

[lodro]

Can anyone read the engraved codes on sponge or blade? Is there a translator for them?

I wish I could.