T-Blades- homemade

[SlowPower]

27+28

Another very special blade and I just love it!
Yew-Yew-Kiri-Zirbe-Yew
5,3mm, 1008Hz, 89,5g

I did not sand the handle but carved it with an opinel knife from thuja.
The handle is uneven and extremely safe this way even without grip tape. Looks ancient in some ways and perfectly fits to the myth of the yew tree. Even the Ötzi made his bows from yew tree and later the English long bows were built of it to (and Harry Potters Magic wand).
Yew is very hard and heavy but flexible (which makes it perfect for long bows).

I tried the hellfire long pips on the BH (double yew) and C48 on FH- its a dream and though I dont play long pips in matches I take this bat out just for fun in almost any session. Just finished the second one and will try it with 2x inverted rubbers.

 

[SlowPower]

29

Lati-Zirbe-Abachi-Zirbe-Abachi-Zirbe-Lati
5,5mm, something like 1200Hz, 90g

Lati (also called white wenge) is heavy, hard and stiff. I love the look of this wood.
The handle is upcycled from an old garden table (Teak) from which the metal frame broke. Signs of weathering got deep into the wood which can be seen at the dark patterns.

Didnt play it but gave it to another guy for testing and I am curious about his findings.

 

[SlowPower]

30 (+31)

This is Nr. 30, Nr. 31 is the same but no cybershape and I didnt finish the handle yet.
Cedar-Yew-Zirbe-Yew-Zirbe-Yew-Cedar, so the composition is pure coniferous wood.

4,6mm, 900Hz, 90g (light handle)
It is slow on slow strokes but due to the weight it has some hidden power. Played it with short pips (Spinfire) on BH and Jupiter 3 on FH. Despite the J3 has a rather low and long curve the bat deliveres a very good arc for net clearence ans safety. Its very flexible but feels solid and stable (blocking) at the same time.
I sent it to a guy for testing together with 2 other blades- he immedietely responded that he wants to keep this blade and sent me back the other 2 without testing and even asked me to replicate it- magic of the yew tree?

 

[SlowPower]

32

Inspired by the tenaly thread I decided to give it a try and made my own Tenashape.
I tried it for a little tounament without training and got connected immediately.
Black Limba-Zirbe-Basalt-Kiri-Okume-93CF-Coihue

5,8mm, 1250Hz, 87g

 

[SlowPower]

33

Something like the Innerforce ALC.S but in a cybershapy form and a little lighter than most ALC.S.
I didn´t intend to copy the ALC.S but was searching for a composition to use the 2,2mm Abachi sheets I got. For some thickness and weight reasons I decided to take spruce as a middle layer and then realized this like the ALC.S.

I am playing it from time to time with Moon Blue M+ and Loki Arthur China- this is a very nice combo (I like both, the Moon and the Loki Arthur China).
Limba-Spruce-93g CF-Abachi-93g CF-Spruce- Limba
87g, 5,8mm 1225Hz.

 

[SlowPower]

After over a year of not making any blade I just started do make some a few days ago.

This (and the twin 74) I will try with my rubbers next Tuesday.
Reason is that I came across some polypropylene fibers which is in my favorite (unique) blade and never got more of that fiberSo now I can play around with that polypropylene and I will also try to rebuild my favorite blade next (which is Nr.3).

So this is Nr.. 74/75:
Kauri-Abachi-Polypr.-Abachi-Polypr.-Abachi-Kauri
87g, 6,05mm 1100hz
Handle is from moor oak which I think is a good match to that ancient Kauri.

Seems to be slow, but there are no annoying vibrations.

 

[Ninja26Go]

Hello tabletennis friends!

I am a 42yo TT-player from Germany and i had been playing tabletennis in my youth but stopped at the age of 17. Then I came back to this great sport 2 years ago. So my gameplay is not alot better than rubbish but I have fun most of the time playing tt and get better slowly.
In the last 2 years I have tested lots of blades and rubbers.
Then I recently started to create my own blades because I was curious what I could do and how different compositions would behave. Now it is both fun to build and to test them. Meanwhile I made a blade for my trainer and another one for a friend and also sold my first blade which was a bit too slow for my game.

I am working fulltime and have a family, so one blade per week is a benchmark for me.
The handle is the most demanding part for me as I dont have professional equipment. Today my 10yo son helped me to cut some wood for the next handles and we had a lot of fun. He even asked me if he could build his own blade- I answered I am not sure as its not easy but now I think i should support him. Maybe this engages him to play more often.

Here are my first 2 blades (ive made 12 so far)- I will have to add the frequencies later as some blades are still in use from time to time and I have to remove the rubbers first.

The name "T-blades" comes from my 2nd first name starting with a "T".

Nr.1
View attachment 27471
Limba-Basalt-Abachi-Kiri-Abachi-Basalt-Limba, 5,9mm
Inner layers glued with white wood glue (water resistant) and the rest glued with epoxy.
Smaller handle (cherry, nut and pear) as I like to play with grip tape. It is a bit heavy at ~90g so I then built...

Nr.2
Limba-Basalt-Abachi-Kiri-Abachi-Limba as before but selected less dense veneers and used a little less glue- 5,7mm.
I built a new handle recently because it had a handle made from mdf first and that led to a mushy feeling overall.
New one is made of abach and louro preto which has a brighter color on the edges (sapwood). The louro preto has a very rough surface so its very promising to have good grip and sweet absorption even without tape.
This is 83g now but I didnt play it with the new handle (and I cant till January due to an injury)
View attachment 27473
View attachment 27472
View attachment 27474

I will post more tomorrow- good night!

Extremely high quality what can I say. You make better than some actual TT brands. You should consider selling them, they are so good! Keep up the good work!

 

[SlowPower]

Thank you very much!

I think there is still room for improvements especially for the quality of the handle.

 

[Ninja26Go]

Thank you very much!

I think there is still room for improvements especially for the quality of the handle.

Well I think your handles are very polished and smooth so well done!

 

[SlowPower]

I played the 75 for about half an hour today but I cant say that much about it.
Since thursday I've been ill so I still Lacken some fitness and power today and also I had another backhand rubber which I didn't like at all.
But fh (nuzn45) just felt home.
The blade is slower than my main blade with higher arc.
Next time I will try my favorite BH rubber (friendship origin soft) and I hope that will get me closer to my main blade.

 

[SlowPower]

I also finished 76 (the twin 77 needs the handle to be finished).

I also played this blade for half an hour an although it's almost the same composition like my favorite Nr3 it feels totally different.
It's a little sharper and seems to be stiffer. The main difference is the smaller dampening effect so it's faster and not that forgiving in blocking.
Backhand works very well though.

Composition is Black Limba-okoume- polypropylene-kiri.
86g, 5,95mm.
Handle is from port oxford cedar and ebony.
Okoume is pretty much like abachi which I don't have in the right thickness anymore.

I think I will have to use a lighter core and more glue to get closer to Nr.3.