Observation on blade designs of various well-known brands(controversial...probably)

[nivekkan]

As I dig research deeper into table tennis blades, I noticed different brands tend to have a certain style, for better or for worse.
You may have a different opinion on aesthetic but just so you know.
You are wrong.
Just kidding.
(Surprise! It is a generalisation, which is not necessarily bad.)

Butterfly:
Butterfly is basically the Gucci of TT blades. They are more than pleasing to look at a sense that they seem to employ some creativity without being pretentious, while maintaining a premium feel. Of course, it is only mostly true for high end product but it is still hard to find an ugly one for the affordable ones.

Donic:
It kind of feels like the cool kid in the room. Their blades certainly don't excel in being artistic but there seems to be effort made to an extend. They usually won't go off road with their patterns, though they like to mix numerous colors in one blade to give an overwhelming chaotic feel (the sensoes and crests series).

Nittaku:
Some of them just look like a lump of wood, which I would call them the wood type. It is not ugly but boring. Even though some people like it but that won’t do it for me. Other than that, they got some elegant design that is simple (like proper simple with a coherent recognisable style), for instance the violin and acoustic. Despite the fact that there are still a few run of the mill designs i.e. the lazy ones/the mass orientated ones. More specifically, a single-coloured handle with a rectangle ring surrounding the side. e.g. Forestia and ludeack.

Andro:
I haven't investigated how practical they are to use on the table but just the look of it is enough to stop me. Most of them are typical designs that doesn’t have originality and boring. Whenever they took creative freedom, it just collapses to…well, being ugly.

Xiom:
Some wood type & some lazy type. Then it is a over the top and cringy designs, for example the Vega, Omega and Hayabsa. I would never buy and use them no matter how good they are to use. BTW. The Ice-creams are fine but it is a bit too lazy and simple for me for a top of the line product.

Stiga:
Do they need a designer or something? XDD Most of them is just a lump of wood (a whole brand of the wood type). The ultimate embodiment of no design. At most, I can call it a clean design. (Azalea looks good)
Joola:
They have some lazy types. Besides that, a significant portion of their design pattern are just random and all over the place. The colour is bizarrely full of contrast, which is a bit uncomfortable to look at. However, The PBO-C looks really nice whilst the aruna and solja are fine.
Tibhar:
Fairly typical so tot much to say. Quite a bit of lazy types. Their design feels a lot like Joola but the designs are more conservative and safe. But again, still some good designs for the premium section e.g. the kinetic speed and Cedrick Nuytinck.

 

[yogi_bear]

Nittaku blades are designed to be simple and elegant so does stiga. Xiom is more on the flashy type but i would not call it lazy. Also bear in mind when you increase the design, you also increase material and labor.

 

[laistrogian]

The high end nittakus are basically classic Prada. Does not have the bling, but people who can discern knows their actual value

 

[UpSideDownCarl]

This is totally funny. When I saw the title of the thread I was thinking someone was going to be explaining about ply construction and things that make different blades play how they play. But all that commentary simply on how things look without any consideration of how the blades play is totally ridiculous and entertaining.

And the funniest part is, so much of what it seems is being discussed is colors of wood in the handles. LOL. It is just colored wood. Who cares what the handle looks like: after a month of play my sweat will wash away 40% of the wood dye anyway. And when those colored woods fade, it looks sad.

So, for me, I would way rather have a handle where the wood is just good wood. Who cares what it looks like. It is how handle feels in your hand and how the blade plays that matter to me.

And a lot of Butterfly handles feel like little popsicle sticks in your hand. I am okay with small handles. And Butterfly's products are excellently built. But I never would consider what a blade looks like when buying. Just how it plays.

Sorry but....hahahahahaha.

 

[thomas.pong]

Pretty funny indeed, "wood types" and "lazy types", your design breakdown consists of your opinion only, so it leans more on the "lazy" end of analysis and is therefore very far from thorough. You are untitled to your opinion of course, they are many designs that are unappealing to me just like everyone. The statement that made me roll my eyes was "I would never buy and use them no matter how good they are to use". As a TT player, that statement seems extremely convoluted as blades are meant to be of use and should therefore primarily be judged on their use.

Design matters to me but never as much as how a blade plays, feels and how well it is suited for me. I guess it's different if you buy a blade to collect, but blades are meant to be played and I'd get the ugliest one if it felt best. There are so many options however that you can often find one that not only suits your playing needs but also your design preferences. Personally I prefer blades that have a classic or simple look even if a touch modern, nothing too flashy though, like your Azalea for exemple, or the Korbel, Acoustic, Viscaria...

 

[JustANoob]

This is supposed to be a meme/shitpost kind of thing guys, dont take it too seriously or try to analyze it

 

[thomas.pong]

This is supposed to be a meme/shitpost kind of thing guys, dont take it too seriously or try to analyze it

I get that, but the "I would never buy and use them no matter how good they are to use" is bound to raise some eyebrows!

 

[nivekkan]

I get that, but the "I would never buy and use them no matter how good they are to use" is bound to raise some eyebrows!

I don't want to ruin the atmosphere here but it seems like you need some clarification.
It is a pretty accurate and natural statement even if you take it out of the context of the joke.
If an aggressive advanced player have a need for fast blade, he is never going to use a Def- blade regardless of how good it can serving its purpose.
Likewise, if I have a high standard for aesthetic, which I'm more than entitled to have, I'm never going to buy an ugly blade that perhaps play decently, putting it plainly.

You can argue that look is not a practical element but as long as it serves it's practical purpose of making me happy, it is practical to me.
No need to raise eyebrows to a joke.

 

[lVegita]

Butterfly:
Butterfly is basically the Gucci of TT blades.

I think Butterfly is more on the Supreme side of brands.

Wonder which one Louis Vuitton would be

 

[thomas.pong]

I don't want to ruin the atmosphere here but it seems like you need some clarification.
It is a pretty accurate and natural statement even if you take it out of the context of the joke.
If an aggressive advanced player have a need for fast blade, he is never going to use a Def- blade regardless of how good it can serving its purpose.
Likewise, if I have a high standard for aesthetic, which I'm more than entitled to have, I'm never going to buy an ugly blade that perhaps play decently, putting it plainly.

You can argue that look is not a practical element but as long as it serves it's practical purpose of making me happy, it is practical to me.
No need to raise eyebrows to a joke.

If an agressive advanced player is in need a fast blade, of course he's not going to use a DEF- blade, it wouldn't suit his needs.

Your original post very much implied that you would rather use a blade that looks nice to you than one more suited for your play. So the question I have for you is here: If you only had 2 options, an ugly blade which suits your play or a nice-looking one which doesn't, which one would you pick?

Aesthetics are also important to me, and thank goodness we're not bound by too few options, but if we were, I know my answer!

 

[thomas.pong]

I think Butterfly is more on the Supreme side of brands.

Wonder which one Louis Vuitton would be

Ah, I think Supreme is on a whole other level of made-up hype!

To me, since we're talking about TT brands and therefore sports brands, Butterfly is the Nike of TT brands.

As for Vuitton, or even Gucci for that matter, they're designer brands so hardly comparable in my opinion. If they were a brand to compare to Vuitton in TT, it'd have to have a monogram repeated over and over on every blade handle and product.

 

[Hi_I_Guess]

Nice post, very entertaining . I've always valued the design of a blade and it plays a huge role in my decisionmaking which blade to buy/use. However I don't agree with butterfly being the best... I don't really like their design. I think Stiga actually has some very nice looking handles imo. Same with donic and also avalox.

 

[UpSideDownCarl]

Blades I like:





Blades that are beautiful but too fancy for me:







I like blades that I feel I can go into battle with, bang up, and not worry what they look like when they are banged up. A blade with some battle scars, a blade that wears the battle scars well....I like that.

 

[mart1nandersson]

I detest the look of my blade but I still love it. The blue dye on the wood wears off quite fast and it just looks miserable. Still can't find anything better in terms of feel.

 

[nivekkan]

If you only had 2 options, an ugly blade which suits your play or a nice-looking one which doesn't, which one would you pick?

Aesthetics are also important to me, and thank goodness we're not bound by too few options, but if we were, I know my answer!

The question that you gave has a huge presupposition that is not real and even you acknowledge it by saying that "we're not bound by too few options".
That is the big "if" of only having two blades to choose from in this world. The real world provides tons of blades to choose from that you would not be able to thoroughly try every single one of them in your life time. The real question becomes how much effort are you willing to put into searching the blade that satisfies both criteria well enough and not the existence of such a blade.

Of course blades are all a bit different. They won't be carbon copies of each other even if one imitating another product, for example Donic true carbon being very similar to Butterfly Viscaria. But that difference can be marginal even for pros. Do you think Butterfly custom made 2 different blades to fit Zhang jike and Timo boll and yet they magically told Butterfly on their own that they wanted the same blade design? Then, the magical blade turned out to be what we known as Viscaria? The answer is No. Two completely different Pro players can make micro adjustments to their techniques using the same equipment as every human do when they try out new rubbers and blades.

Consequently, if you asking me to choose from A and B which are a blade that is 9/10 looking but 1/10 in functionality & a blade that is 1/10 looking but 9/10 in functionality. I would say that there is nearly always one that is 9/10 looking and 9/10 in functionality if you find hard enough in the infinite selection of them. Even if there isn't one, that is always one that is 9/10 looking but 8.9/10 in functionality and you just have to micro adjust like ZJK or TB. After that, it will be as good as 9/10.

(Why 9/10 and not 10/10? because there doesn't exist such a blade that fits you in a 10/10 score like a glove. You technique improve constantly, your condition changes everyday and most people think they know themselves too well but they don't. Same for look. Nothing is perfect)

So just try your best to get the blade that fit you well and start practicing. I'm just making an extra effort to pay attention to the look. I really don't get what is the problem with me having a high standard in aesthetic.

 

[Baal]

I thought the op makes an interesting point about visual element, whether you agree with him or not. It's pretty rare to read a unique and novel post on a TT forum so hats off to him.

 

[nivekkan]

I thought the op makes an interesting point about visual element.

I agree

 

[thomas.pong]

The question that you gave has a huge presupposition that is not real and even you acknowledge it by saying that "we're not bound by too few options".
That is the big "if" of only having two blades to choose from in this world. The real world provides tons of blades to choose from that you would not be able to thoroughly try every single one of them in your life time. The real question becomes how much effort are you willing to put into searching the blade that satisfies both criteria well enough and not the existence of such a blade.

Of course blades are all a bit different. They won't be carbon copies of each other even if one imitating another product, for example Donic true carbon being very similar to Butterfly Viscaria. But that difference can be marginal even for pros. Do you think Butterfly custom made 2 different blades to fit Zhang jike and Timo boll and yet they magically told Butterfly on their own that they wanted the same blade design? Then, the magical blade turned out to be what we known as Viscaria? The answer is No. Two completely different Pro players can make micro adjustments to their techniques using the same equipment as every human do when they try out new rubbers and blades.

Consequently, if you asking me to choose from A and B which are a 9/10 looking but a 1/10 in functionality blade & a 1/10 looking but a 9/10 in functionality blade respectively. I would say that there is nearly always one that is 9/10 looking and 9/10 in functionality if you find hard enough in the infinite selection of them. Even if there isn't one, that is always a 9/10 but a 8.9/10 in functionality blade and you just have to micro adjust like ZJK or TB. After that, it will be as good as 9/10.

(Why 9/10 and not 10/10? because there doesn't exist such a blade that fits you in a 10/10 score like a glove. You technique improve constantly, your condition changes everyday and most people think they know themselves too well but they don't. Same for look. Nothing is perfect)

It's a simple question I'm asking, but I'll ask it even more simply if you could please answer: Do you care more about design or function?

So just try your best to get the blade that fit you well and start practicing. I'm just making an extra effort to pay attention to the look. I really don't get what is the problem with me having a high standard in aesthetic.

You don't need to give me that advice! I've tested and keep testing many blades and rubbers and found a setup that suited my playing needs more than once, and it more than often included blades with designs that I really liked, if I didn't make that clear before. And I also practice a lot.

There's nothing wrong with you having a high standard in aesthetic, I've also made that clear before, and I do too. However, what I'm getting at is that in TT, how well you play with a blade is more important than what it looks like, no?

 

[nivekkan]

It's a simple question I'm asking, but I'll ask it even more simply if you could answer: Do you care more about design or function?

I think we are coming down to the core of the problem here. And it is good.
I think I have stated it clear as well. There is an abundance of option that the question of design vs function is irrelevant. You can get both!!!! (not really a surprise)
So it allows me to "never buy and use them no matter how good they are to use" because there are alternatives.

Now let's go back to the original point of you not happy with me saying "never buy and use them no matter how good they are to use". This question is suppose to make this a wrong thing to say, i suppose? It certainly failed to do that. But it is still a valid question but totally another topic

 

[yoass]

Design is not about superficial cosmetics. Design is about how it works.

A well-designed blade is a blade that works well. I happen to believe that te intersection between the sets of well-designed blades and truly good-looking blades is richly populated, whereas the intersection between well-designed and overdecorated blingblades is nigh empty.

I find the dismissal if woodlooking blades strange. Quality wood and quality woodwork pairs deep quality and esthetics, profoundly so in TT blades.

That’s just my take, though. Things that are really well-designed and constructed please my inner esthete.