Blade differences between brands?

[SorryForTheEdge]

Hi all,

We seem to categorize rubbers by DHS, Butterfly and ESN types (maybe more?), but I am wondering if same categorization can be applied for blades, or is it more complicated than that? Has anyone every did a blind test with outer or inner ALC blades of different brands to figure out similarities and differences?

 

[Larshos]

I do think it is a lot more complicated than that - but you also have brands like Soulspin who produces some premium blades for Donic, Tibhar and probably many more.
Woodhouse in Sweden mainly does Yasaka blades, but also some Donic and Nittaku I believe.
And then there's the premium "Made in Korea" blades from Joola, Tibhar, Xiom etc. which probably all are made in one or very few factories in South Korea..

 

[CallMeZaddy]

ADK is the Korea made blades.

 

[lodro]

Has anyone every did a blind test with outer or inner ALC blades of different brands to figure out similarities and differences?

Well i can't really test my blades blind, sorry but I have , "for example" tested some chinese ALC inners against a butterfly Innerforce alc and the only difference was the price where the butterfly blade was about 6 times the price of the chinese versions.
Normally people will not be willing to admit that their expensive blades are not making them play better.

 

[jonol]

Brands like Sanwei and Yinhe make quality blades, and most of them will play the same as their Butterfly counterpart.

Presumably they have worse quality control, but I don't know anyone with a Yinhe blade who has any problems with it.

I've also seen/used blades from more premium brands where the playing surface is warped, the outer layers are a noticeably different thickness on both sides, or they just feel strangely hollow or wrong compared to other blades of the same model.

Always a chance of getting a bad batch, but I'd rather have a $60 problem than a $200 one.

Unrelated, but I also will never buy from any seller who doesn't allow you to specify a weight range for a blade. Just makes me think they themselves don't actually have much care that their customer is happy with the product, and will not take care with handling/storage/packaging/assembling etc.

 

[Archosaurus]

The difference between any two different blade models within the same category is about as large as the difference between two of the exact same blade.

It's kind of pointless to try to make some kind of holistic system for blades and you should treat them all on a case by case basis, with every blade being an unique case.

Fiber blades somewhat lessen this as the fiber and ply structure hides major differences, but it's really important in allwood and especially one ply.

Surely there's brand philosophies and design choices which are unique/more common to that brand, but you're mostly gonna notice it in stuff like the face shape and size, handle shape, size and inner structure. Marketing claims the fiber materials really matter but I'm not so sure about that.

 

[ajtatosmano2]

I am not a big blade EJ, but my experience with chinese copycats (from sanwei, yinhe and stuor) is that play the same but they feel more muted. Mind you, these are the cheaper stuff, like Sanwei 75, Yinhe V14 etc...and I've experienced the same effect from two different pieces of the same exact blade, made in the hungarian butterfly blade manufactory, so it's probably just bad luck and qc issues. The stiga blades I've tried all have amazing feeling but somehow I couldn't play with them, except the cybershape carbon, but I don't have the money to buy it.

 

[Larshos]

Yinhe have good QC, even for their cheaper all-wood blades. My U-2, U-2 Spin, PD473s and N10s all have better finishing than my BSS1, SPW, YSE and YEO.

Cheaper DHS blades can be pretty bad, on the other hand.

 

[jonol]

Yinhe have good QC, even for their cheaper all-wood blades. My U-2, U-2 Spin, PD473s and N10s all have better finishing than my BSS1, SPW, YSE and YEO.

Cheaper DHS blades can be pretty bad, on the other hand.

I can second this - my Yinhe blade has a better finish than my retired early blades blades (Yasaka + Tibhar). Better finish than on my 2 Clipper Wood as well (but Clipper might still be my favourite blade ever)

 

[Archosaurus]

Yinhe have good QC, even for their cheaper all-wood blades. My U-2, U-2 Spin, PD473s and N10s all have better finishing than my BSS1, SPW, YSE and YEO.

Cheaper DHS blades can be pretty bad, on the other hand.

Finish =/= QC

If that's what they've specced the finish to be, then that's what it is. What matters more is how close the design parameters are to the ideal.

 

[Julzig]

The problem is also, even if is made in the same factory the brand behind can most likely decide a lot of factors too.
For example 2 brands want a blade with the same composition from the same factory but they can still differ a lot based on the glue/glueing method and how the wood is cured. And many more most likely. Some of the blademakers here can probably tell a whole lot more

 

[Larshos]

Finish =/= QC

If that's what they've specced the finish to be, then that's what it is. What matters more is how close the design parameters are to the ideal.

Finishing is definitely a part of QC.
Making sure the plies of the blade are even/symmetrical.
Making sure the finish of the blade faces are splinter free and sanded flat.
Making sure the handle scales are glued on straight, without any gaps between blade and handle.
Making sure all sanded chamfers and radii are smooth and uniform.

To add to that, there are tons of design parameters of a blade that we as consumers can’t even control or judge, since we don’t have a technical drawing or model with dimensions and tolerances to refer to. That makes checking whether those parameters are close to ideal or not a moot point for so many of said parameters.

 

[Haito]

Should we talk about blade differences between examples of the same make and model?

Wood is not a very nice material to work with. Whenever something is made from wood, you need a bit of luck when buying it.

 

[Attitude]

Finish =/= QC

If that's what they've specced the finish to be, then that's what it is. What matters more is how close the design parameters are to the ideal.

True.
For example my Project Z doesnt have much of a finish at all, and you get a card with it, that says you should sand it to your liking.

QC should make sure that there is not much of a difference between two blades of the same model and even weight imo.

Another example would be my Yasaka blades. I have two that feel completely different, have different handle sizes and if you put them side by side you even can see size differences in the layers.
I have 3 Yinhe Pro 01, which are completely the same as it should be.

 

[JoeZhendong]

I ran away from Butterfly blades my entire career because of the price. And being an equipment junkie I’ve tried cheaper blades. With FZD leaving WTT, I said I need a piece of history so got myself a FZD ALC. Also got it a little cheaper because my friend brought it all the alway from a local Japan store lol. The quality and feedback of the ball is just so exceptionally better. Same with Outerforce ZLC and Timo Boll ALC; very nice.