SDC Handmade Blades

[SDC]

#1371 - Outer IC - OFF-/OFF

Not the first time I put one of these here, a controllable, spin oriented outer fiber blade. Medium stiff, soft, stable and with a linear response.

Available FS.

- Limba / IC / Limba / Kiri core
- 86.1g
- 5.9mm
- 157x150mm
- FL (100x25.0-23.5mm)
- Balance: 3.0cm (Med)

 

[disaster3]

Beautiful !!!The colors of the handle seems to be related to BTY Timo Boll ZLF. I know construction is a bit different Koto vs Limba on Top, and IC vs ZL but maybe somehow characteristic is similar due to soft and slow carbon and soft limba on top. Any details you can share about the Hz or maybe to which one could be similar?

 

[SDC]

Beautiful !!!The colors of the handle seems to be related to BTY Timo Boll ZLF. I know construction is a bit different Koto vs Limba on Top, and IC vs ZL but maybe somehow characteristic is similar due to soft and slow carbon and soft limba on top. Any details you can share about the Hz or maybe to which one could be similar?

That was a coincidence 🙂 . This handle was only born because I made the mirrored one for a customer (blue outside, yellow inside). I would compare it more to a slighlty slower Freitas, but it doesn't matter anyway, it has been sold 😅.

 

[MarekD]

Ok, there are two separate situations here. The premise was to make the core as stiff as possible, which was achieved. The other situation was to see the influence of said core on the speed and feeling of the blade. It's not that it failed, it is what it is, it's just that my expectation was that the influence would be greater. The core is indeed much stiffer than a regular Kiri core, and I was able to prove it before I glued the plies, as the resistance to bending was far higher with this core. However, that didn't necessarily translate to a much faster blade, which makes total sense. Stiffness is generated by having material far from the neutral axis, and in this case the core wasn't thick enough to create that stiffness. If the core had been 4mm like I originally intended, the influence would have been much greater. I want to try that, but I'm so traumatized from building this one, that I don't think I will do it anytime soon 😂.

I did try that, mostly because customers asked me to do it, but that's a really ineffective way of using a composite layers. As I explained earlier, in that situation the composite layer is right in the neutral axis, so the influence on stiffness is almost negligible. It still impacts vibration, hardness and feeling, so it does affect performance, just not stiffness.

Truly a wacky idea, I have no idea how to accomplish that 😅.

At the beginning of your post you claim that you have created a stiff core, which you succeeded in doing, but which does not increase the speed, which was your intention.
However, in the second paragraph you subsequently claim that this core is not stiff. Can you explain this?

 

[SDC]

At the beginning of your post you claim that you have created a stiff core, which you succeeded in doing, but which does not increase the speed, which was your intention.
However, in the second paragraph you subsequently claim that this core is not stiff. Can you explain this?

The second paragraph was related to a completely different situation, I was replying to the comment that golden_son made about using a composite layer as the "core".

 

[MarekD]

The second paragraph was related to a completely different situation, I was replying to the comment that golden_son made about using a composite layer as the "core".

Thank you for the explanation.

 

[MarekD]

Ok, there are two separate situations here. The premise was to make the core as stiff as possible, which was achieved. The other situation was to see the influence of said core on the speed and feeling of the blade. It's not that it failed, it is what it is, it's just that my expectation was that the influence would be greater. The core is indeed much stiffer than a regular Kiri core, and I was able to prove it before I glued the plies, as the resistance to bending was far higher with this core. However, that didn't necessarily translate to a much faster blade, which makes total sense. Stiffness is generated by having material far from the neutral axis, and in this case the core wasn't thick enough to create that stiffness. ............

On the contrary, I think you did a really good job. If someone wants a fast blade, they have many options to achieve it and all manufacturers use it. They use carbon classically, either outer or inner. But to create a slow blade that is stiff, I think is a much bigger challenge. Because most manufacturers reduce the speed at the expense of the thickness of the blade, which results in the blade being slower, but vibrating more because it is thinner. I think there are many players for whom a slow yet stiff blade would be a great fit for their game.

 

[SDC]

#1378 - Asymmetric - ALL+/DEF

Another asymmetric blade, but this time with a more defensive style in mind. The Bh side has no fiber, as some of the blades I posted lately, but I used a combination of cork and balsa to make it as dampening as possible and still retaining a woody feeling. I also made it very head heavy on purpose, as it will provide more power when playing far from the table.

Available FS.

- Padauk / IC / Ayous / Ayous / Cork / Balsa / Maple
- 87.3g
- 6.1mm
- 165x156mm
- ST (102x28.5x22.5mm)
- Balance: 4.3cm (High/Very high)

 

[Taute]

#1378 - Asymmetric - ALL+/DEF

Another asymmetric blade, but this time with a more defensive style in mind. The Bh side has no fiber, as some of the blades I posted lately, but I used a combination of cork and balsa to make it as dampening as possible and still retaining a woody feeling. I also made it very head heavy on purpose, as it will provide more power when playing far from the table.

Available FS.

- Padauk / IC / Ayous / Ayous / Cork / Balsa / Maple
- 87.3g
- 6.1mm
- 165x156mm
- ST (102x28.5x22.5mm)
- Balance: 4.3cm (High/Very high)

I didn't hesitate and bought it to try it out..I liked it at first glance after looking at the photos and reading the description/characteristics. Size, weight, description - this is my style.

Special thanks to the seller for helping to resolve the purchase issues so promptly. I can't wait to have it in my collection.

 

[SDC]

#1386 - 5+3 - OFF-/OFF

Collectively, both sides of this blade have the same amount of fiber (which is the normal situation). However, in this case, on what I designed to be the Fh side, there are two fiber layers instead of one. On the Bh side, there is a 180 g/m2 Kevlar fabric under the top layer, giving it a slightly more direct feel and higher rebound. On the Fh side, we also have Kevlar, but only a 60 g/m2 fabric, then we have the Ayous medial layer, and a 120 g/m2 Kevlar fabric next to the core. This side feels a bit softer, the initial bounce is lower, but the speed potential is higher when you put some power into it. It's not a huge difference, but it's definitely there.

Available FS.

- Limba / Kev60 / Ayous / Kev120 / Ayous core / Ayous / Kev180 / Limba
- 88.6g
- 5.8mm
- 150x157mm
- ST (100x22.8x29.0mm)
- Balance: 3.5cm (Med)

 

[SDC]

#1387 - Outer BS - OFF-/OFF

I remember before starting this blade making thing, many people believed that Vis had a Balsa core. It doesn't, the core is Kiri and I think it's pretty well established nowadays (although many people still believe the medial is Limba, but that's a different story...) But, what if it did? It's something I hadn't tried before because Balsa is kind of a love/hate thing, and I had a pre-established picture in my head of how it would turn out. Many of you may think the same, but let me tell you, I was pleasantly surprised with this blade, it pretty much feels like a very light Vis. Well, more or less, maybe you can find such a light specimen in the wild, but in terms of structure and performance it will still be different. For a true Vis to be this light, all the layers would need to have a low density, which would impact the blade in a different way. In this case, we still have a dense Koto outer layers, it's just the core that it's lighter. As such, of course it has less power and it's not as suitable for playing far from the table, but on the other hand it doesn't turn into a trampoline if you use softer rubbers. It does have a softer feeling and more dwell than your usual Vis, but without being mushy or with that typical Balsa feeling.

Available FS.

- Koto / BS / Ayous / Kiri core
- 78.7g
- 5.85mm
- 156.0x149mm
- FL (100x25.0-22.6mm)
- Balance: 2.2cm (Low/Very Low)

 

[SDC]

#1379 - 7+2 Inner - ALL+

Nine ply, "inner" soft-carbon blade with a Bog Elm top ply I haven't used before. Elm is a very open grain wood, very porous and dry. Through a mineral-based process, the Elm is transformed into a deep, earthy grey, with the color penetrating the entire depth of the wood. It kinda feels like Ash, but slightly lighter. So, despite the crisp outer ply, the blade feels super soft and not too bouncy, it's one one those blades that you have to swing hard in order to extract the full power. The sweetspot feels good for its speed range.

Available FS.

- Bog Elm / Ayous / soft-Carbon / Ayous / Ayous core
- 89.5g
- 6.6mm
- 157x150mm
- ST (101x23.0x28.7mm)
- Balance: 3.5cm (Med)

 

[Tyce]

Love the inlay on that handle!

 

[SDC]

#1396 - 5 Wood - DEF / DEF+

Classic defensive blade. I have a hard time sourcing Willow for defensive blades, so I've been trying to find substitutes. Basswood is a good one, it has the same "dead" feeling and dampening properties. It's actually very close in terms of average weight and Janka hardness, the only major difference is in the Elastic Modulus, with Basswood being a bit stiffer. It's also more prone to splintering, due to the grain structure, so it has to be properly sealed (which I did).

Available FS.

- Basswood / Basswood / Ayous core
- 96.4g
- 6.1mm
- 165x156mm
- ST (102x31.0x22.5mm)
- Balance: 3.5cm (Med)

 

[Vrael]

would it be possible to include frequency measurements of the blades that will be going on sale for now ?
Or do You think it might just be unnecessary noise instead of some added information about the blade ?

 

[SDC]

would it be possible to include frequency measurements of the blades that will be going on sale for now ?
Or do You think it might just be unnecessary noise instead of some added information about the blade ?

I stopped including the frequency because people get too caught up on it. Without having the full information of how the blade was built, that piece of info is almost irrelevant. This is much more true in case of custom blades, because I'm doing very different things than available commercially. For commercial blades it holds a bit more significance. However, if you need the frequency of any particular blade, I'll tell it without a problem.

 

[TenPercentWinRate]

#1396 - 5 Wood - DEF / DEF+

Classic defensive blade. I have a hard time sourcing Willow for defensive blades, so I've been trying to find substitutes. Basswood is a good one, it has the same "dead" feeling and dampening properties. It's actually very close in terms of average weight and Janka hardness, the only major difference is in the Elastic Modulus, with Basswood being a bit stiffer. It's also more prone to splintering, due to the grain structure, so it has to be properly sealed (which I did).

Available FS.

- Basswood / Basswood / Ayous core
- 96.4g
- 6.1mm
- 165x156mm
- ST (102x31.0x22.5mm)
- Balance: 3.5cm (Med)

I’m actually quite surprised how you describe basswood as quite dead.

Does basswood have a variety of densities and types? Since basswood blades such as old DHS 08’s (similar to the one I’m using right now) seem quite dense in structure and rebounds well.

 

[SDC]

I’m actually quite surprised how you describe basswood as quite dead.

Does basswood have a variety of densities and types? Since basswood blades such as old DHS 08’s (similar to the one I’m using right now) seem quite dense in structure and rebounds well.

Describing the performance of a blade, based on the top ply alone, is simplistic and inaccurate. Your talking about a thicker blade with an entirely different structure (7 plies if I recall correctly). But yes, there's at least two types of Basswood and the density can vary a lot, as with all woods.

 

[Reaper]

#1379 - 7+2 Inner - ALL+

Nine ply, "inner" soft-carbon blade with a Bog Elm top ply I haven't used before. Elm is a very open grain wood, very porous and dry. Through a mineral-based process, the Elm is transformed into a deep, earthy grey, with the color penetrating the entire depth of the wood. It kinda feels like Ash, but slightly lighter. So, despite the crisp outer ply, the blade feels super soft and not too bouncy, it's one one those blades that you have to swing hard in order to extract the full power. The sweetspot feels good for its speed range.

Available FS.

- Bog Elm / Ayous / soft-Carbon / Ayous / Ayous core
- 89.5g
- 6.6mm
- 157x150mm
- ST (101x23.0x28.7mm)
- Balance: 3.5cm (Med)

is it painted or inlayed?

 

[SDC]

is it painted or inlayed?

Neither and both at the same time 😅. It's an engraving that I fill with color.