Quote:
Originally Posted by P1ngP0ng3r
Thanks! No,they were commissioned.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by P1ngP0ng3r
Thanks! No,they were commissioned.
This one was a first for me, very challenging but fun experience, and also a learning opportunity. It's not easy working with balsa and cork, but at least I wanted to give it a clean look because I always see these types of blades with such clumsy edges. They also look very boring, with just a Balsa handle, but they don't have to be. It did turn out heavier than intended, and that was the learning part, but the owner was still very happy with it. For some reason I wasn't able to get a clean frequency peak, but it was definitely higher than 2000Hz.
Composition: Framiré / Balsa / Cork / Balsa / Cork / Balsa / Framiré
Weight: 85g
Thickness: 13.2mm
Freq.: ???
Balance: 4.8cm (Very High)
https://www.tabletennisdaily.com/for...8/25/251_1.jpg
https://www.tabletennisdaily.com/for...8/25/251_2.jpg
https://www.tabletennisdaily.com/for...8/25/251_3.jpg
Quote:
Originally Posted by hipnotic
That is one thiiiiick blade, is the frequency high because of the cork? this does not look like a particularly fast blade
Quote:
Originally Posted by t.t.s.t.a.r
Balsa can be very fast. I don't know if the cork will affect it that much.
I would totally use the edge for serve receives.
It looks interesting and I hope it will be durable too. Balsa is so notorious for cracking and I'm not sure if cork helps.
Multiple layers will definitely help against splitting.
The frequency is high because it's very thick and very stiff as a consequence. It's a very a very fast blade, but it's designed to absorb energy at high impact, especially with ox pips.
Balsa is fragile but, as Yoass pointed out, having multiple layers helps.
Sent from my MAR-LX1A using Tapatalk
Another flag to the collection. The blade itself was based on a Tibhar Defense plus but with a few tweaks.
Composition: Fineline / Balsa / Ayous / Ayous / Limba
Weight: 79g
Thickness: 6.4mm
Freq.: 1205Hz
Balance: 2.1cm (Very Low)
https://www.tabletennisdaily.com/for...8/27/252_1.jpg
https://www.tabletennisdaily.com/for...8/27/252_2.jpg
https://www.tabletennisdaily.com/for...8/27/252_3.jpg
Quote:
Originally Posted by hipnotic
What type of wood is in this fineline?
Quote:
Originally Posted by t.t.s.t.a.r
Totally forgot to reply, sorry. This one is soft and light, so probably Basswood or Poplar.
I have some customers who like to experiment as much as I do. That makes it even more fun for me, I can also learn from their feedback, and sometimes I get to make blades that I wouldn't think of. In this case not only the compositions are different, the handles and neck all have small tweaks, trying to improve on previous iterations.
Blade 1 - Mahogany handle
Framiré/ Framiré / S-C / Kiri / S-C / Framiré / Limba - 87.4g - 6.1mm - 1464Hz - Balance: 2.9cm (Low)
Blade 2 - Black Limba handle
Limba/ S A-C / Ayous / ALC / Framiré - 89.0g - 5.75mm - 1464Hz - Balance: 3.0cm (Med)
Blade 3 - Thermally treated Ash handle
Limba/ ALC / Limba / Kiri / Limba / Kevlar / Framiré - 88.5g - 5.75mm - 1350Hz - Balance: 2.6cm (Low)
https://www.tabletennisdaily.com/for..._259_260_1.jpg
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https://www.tabletennisdaily.com/for..._259_260_5.jpg
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https://www.tabletennisdaily.com/for..._259_260_6.jpg
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A custom order combi blade.
Composition: Limba / ALC / Ayous / Kiri / Ayous / SZLC / Koto
Weight: 90.3g
Thickness: 5.85mm
Freq.: 1464Hz
Balance: 2.6cm (Low)
https://www.tabletennisdaily.com/for...9/08/261_1.jpg
https://www.tabletennisdaily.com/for...9/08/261_2.jpg
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I would buy any of them
Another fast one!
Composition: Koto / S A-C / Ayous / Kiri / Ayous / S A-C / Koto
Weight: 90.9g
Thickness: 5.8mm
Freq.: 1485Hz
Balance: 3.5cm (Med)
https://www.tabletennisdaily.com/for...9/10/250_1.jpg
https://www.tabletennisdaily.com/for...9/10/250_2.jpg
A pair of inner fiber blades, basically the same composition for both, just a different fiber used in each one. The head-size is a little bigger (158x152mm) and the handle and wings were made to be close to a Viscaria.
Brown handle - Orange Fenix
Composition: Koto / Ayous / S A-C / Kiri / S A-C / Ayous / Koto
Weight: 88.1g
Thickness: 5.85mm
Freq.: 1464Hz
Balance: 2.5cm (Low)
Black handle - Blue Fenix
Composition: Koto / Ayous / SZLC / Kiri / SZLC / Ayous / Koto
Weight: 89.1g
Thickness: 5.85mm
Freq.: 1485Hz
Balance: 2.4cm (Low)
https://www.tabletennisdaily.com/for.../255_256_1.jpg
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Love the blue handle... And also the logo is great inside of it
- Do you want fibers in your blade?
- Yes.
- Which one?
- All of them!
This was one of the craziest requests I had so far, very challenging but also a fun one to make. Probably the fastest blade I've made to date! And for those of you wondering, yes, it is totally legal for competition, the amount of composite layers in this blade is less than 15% of the total thickness.
Composition: Hinoki / SZLC / Ayous / ALC / Balsa / Carbon / Balsa / ALC / Ayous / SZLC / Hinoki
Weight: 99.3g
Thickness: 8.7mm
Freq.: 1940Hz
Balance: 3.0cm (Med)
https://www.tabletennisdaily.com/for...9/15/267_1.jpg
https://www.tabletennisdaily.com/for...9/15/267_2.jpg
https://www.tabletennisdaily.com/for...9/15/267_3.jpg
I'd love to try this one it looks an absolute rocket. 😍😍🙂Quote:
Composition: Hinoki / SZLC / Ayous / ALC / Balsa / Carbon / Balsa / ALC / Ayous / SZLC / Hinoki
Weight: 99.3g
Thickness: 8.7mm
Freq.: 1940Hz
Balance: 3.0cm (Med)
https://www.tabletennisdaily.com/for...9/15/267_1.jpg
Based on a Defplay Classic, this blade was commissioned as a gift for a friend!
Composition: Anigre / Limba / Glassfiber / Balsa / Glassfiber / Limba / Anigre
Weight:75.9g
Thickness: 5.9mm
Freq.:1160Hz
Balance: 2.7cm (Low)
https://www.tabletennisdaily.com/for...9/20/266_1.jpg
https://www.tabletennisdaily.com/for...9/20/266_2.jpg
https://www.tabletennisdaily.com/for...9/20/266_3.jpg
This one was a nice challenge as well. A double pips, close to the table player, was looking to maximize control and sweetspot while retaining a woody but solid feeling. After a few back and forth emails we arrived at this composition, a thin 7 ply blade with large head size, high weight but very low balance. The handle was also customized, as per his request, with two different sides.
Composition: Anigre / 5x Ayous / Anigre
Weight: 96.5g
Thickness: 5.45mm
Freq.: 990Hz
Balance: 1.9cm (Very low)
https://www.tabletennisdaily.com/for...9/22/265_1.jpg
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https://www.tabletennisdaily.com/for...9/22/265_5.jpg
I've said it before and I will say it again: Damn Padauk, why you so pretty?
Composition: Reconstituted Ebony / T-C / Ayous / Ayous / Ayous / T-C / Reconstituted Ebony
Weight: 91.1g
Thickness: 5.9mm
Freq.: 1335Hz
https://www.tabletennisdaily.com/for...9/24/269_0.jpg
https://www.tabletennisdaily.com/for...9/24/269_2.jpg
https://www.tabletennisdaily.com/for...9/24/269_3.jpg
The goal for this one was to make a 7 ply blade with a soft touch, good for spin play. The use of the hard Wenge wood next to the core ,gives it a higher 2nd gear on high impact shots.
Available FS.
Composition: Ayous / Spruce / Wenge / WRC / Wenge / Spruce / Ayous
Weight: 89.5g
Thickness: 6.4mm
Freq.: 1205Hz
Balance: 3.0cm (Med)
https://www.tabletennisdaily.com/for...9/27/297_1.jpg
https://www.tabletennisdaily.com/for...9/27/297_2.jpg
https://www.tabletennisdaily.com/for...9/27/297_4.jpg
Quote:
Originally Posted by hipnotic
Stunning!
Does the Wenge make it quite a stiff blade? Or does it have some flex?
As I often say, frequency is related to stiffness, not speed (at least directly). If you look at that number you can see it's not very high, so yes, it still has some flex.Quote:
Originally Posted by Manto76
This is the closest I've been to making a "production line", a series of 5 blades for the same customer, with the same handle and head size, but different compositions. We had some ground rules here, 5 ply structure and Ayous core for all, keeping the weight close to 90g with a low/med balance. They were supposed to be 4, but one of the blades deviated a bit from the original specs, so I had to make another. Curious as to how that would play, I sent it anyway.
I will leave the comments to the owner, as he promised a review, but I already have some feedback I want to share. I always say that frequency is not a speed scale, it's a stiffness scale, and the 5th blade of this series is perhaps my best argument for that. Despite having a lower frequency than the others, it's clearly the fastest, as the owner also confirmed. The lower frequency denotes more flex, which in play will translate to a higher throw angle.
From left to right:
1- Hinoki / Hinoki / Ayous / Hinoki / Hinoki - 89.2g - 6.20mm - 1250Hz - 3.0cm (Med/Low)
2- Spruce / Spruce / Ayous / Spruce / Spruce - 92.6g - 5.85mm - 1270Hz - 2.4cm (Low)
3 - Limba / Pine / Ayous / Pine/ Limba - 95.0g - 5.80mm - 1270Hz - 2.8cm (Low)
4 - Limba / Pine / Ayous / Pine/ Limba - 92.3g - 5.85mm - 1270Hz - 2.7cm (Low)
5 - Indian Rosewood / Spruce / Ayous / Spruce / Indian Rosewood - 91.8g - 5.70mm - 1185Hz - 2.7cm (Low)
https://www.tabletennisdaily.com/for.../290_293_1.jpg
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https://www.tabletennisdaily.com/for.../290_293_3.jpg
I know you have more flag-handles in your collection…[emoji6]Quote:
Originally Posted by hipnotic
Verzonden vanaf mijn iPhone met Tapatalk
I do! But I don't want to make Mr. Gionis too jealous [emoji16]Quote:
Originally Posted by Metaxa
Sent from my MAR-LX1A using Tapatalk
Quote:
Originally Posted by hipnotic
I am the lucky customer in question. Here is a short review of the blades.
About me:
I played extensively but not organised table tennis during my youth (as is/was common in sweden) but found my way to regular practice and local league (korpen) when my knees no longer accepted fotball three years back. I’m a two winged looper with relatively decent technique. My blade journey has been classic: Stiga Allround Evolution became Timo Boll ALC and ZJK ALC and from there I’ve tried to downgrade to slower blades. I’ve had issues with handles due to large hands and of that reason I have previously ordered twice from Sérgio. The first blade was a M.Maze alike blade with a very large handle. After that I dabbled with a TSPW before deciding I wanted more flex why I ordered a Limba/Pine/Ayous blade from Sérgio with a more reasonable handle which I was happy with. I missed the larger wings of the TSPW a bit though and to only order one more blade with slightly larger wings felt dissatisfying hence the blade series.Me and Sérgio had a extensive mail conversation around shape of the wings and blade face, the handle design and of course the composition of each blade.
My thoughts on the blade series:
I wanted to order more than one blade to make it possible to compare different compositions. I was also really interested in playing more with Hinoki and a harder outer blade.
I have tried the blades using new Rakza Z for backhand and Rakza Z extra hard for forehand. The blade has all weighted between 195 and 201 grams with rubbers.
The blade shape and wings turned out perfect. It makes my backhand more stable and transitions easier to handle. I’m also very happy with the design of the handles that holds the series together.
It is in every way a pleasure to work with Sérgio. The quality of the blades is amazing and his knowledge and ability to communicate this knowledge makes the ordering process à joy!
Blade 1 - Hinoki
This is the blade I, so far, like the most and has been using during matches. It feels really soft on contact and the percieved dwell is long making it easy to generate spin on opening loops. At the same time the blade is stiff enough, due to its thickness I guess, to be a relatively fast blade. Because of the softness of the blade I can still control speed on blocks very well as well as having an easier time in touch play. Comparing the blades I feel that I can get most power (spin+speed) out of this blade.Blade 2 - Spruce
This blade is the slowest of the series as well as the one with the lowest balance making it the easiest handle. It feels harder than blade 1 and has a relatively low throw and this together with the lower speed makes it a bit to toned down for my liking. It is easy to impart spin however and it might be a very good blade for my development technically. I must say that this blade also is the most appealing visually.Blades 3 and 4 - Limba
These two blades have the same composition as each other as well as the last blade I ordered. They are comparable in speed to each other as well as to blade 1 but off course feels harder. I do think the Pine medial really has an effect on the stability/sweet spot of these blades because they are really nice in that compartment. The difference between blade 3 and 4, in my hands, is mostly about vibration and weight. They are quite close in performance.Blade 5 - Indian Rosewood
At first I was really surprised of the very high throw angle of this blade. It is probably the highest throw I’ve experienced in a blade. The speed also threw me off as it is quite clearly the fastest of the blades. As Sérgio mentioned this is because of the flex and hardness of the blade. In short - the blade is really fun to play with. However the hardness of the outer makes touch play and blocking quite difficult. @Samtheman has spinny loops but usually I block them with less difficulty than with this blade.Overall I’m very happy with the blade series. I will continue to try the blades focusing on blades 1 and 5. Hopefully it will take some time before the urge to order a innerforce series grows to big...
Wow these look fantastic @hipnotic they are truly incredible to look at
I noticed in blade 5, the Indian rosewood blade, there was a knot in the wood. I was wondering if this affects the performance of the blade and if they are something that you try to avoid as a blademaker?
Quote:
Originally Posted by t.t.s.t.a.r
Normally I try to avoid knots and other defects, if this is not possible I will just discard the veneer. But these are expensive and exotic woods, it's almost criminal to do it, so in this case I just tried to move the knot away from the hitting area. Still, this is just visual more than anything. There are types of wood, such as burls, which are basically a bunch of knots, and they play just fine.
I haven't made a triple kiri core blade in a while, so here it is.
Available FS.
Composition: Koto / Limba / Kiri / Kiri / Kiri / Limba / Koto
Weight: 87.1g
Thickness: 6.5mm
Freq.: 1420Hz
Balance: 2.7cm (Low)
https://www.tabletennisdaily.com/for...0/04/306_1.jpg
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https://www.tabletennisdaily.com/for...0/04/306_4.jpg
...must...resist... 🙈@sergio, nice looking blade! Looks like, the logo on the bottom of the handle is glued on top. Would be nicer/better if it would be placed in the bottom.PS: head size 157x150 ?
Quote:
Originally Posted by P1ngP0ng3r
It is glued. It's very hard to make a hole with that shape in that area, unfortunately it's not something I can do consistently yet. But it is durable, I have it in my own blade and didn't have problems yet. Yes, the head size is 157x150mm.
What is the wood with the dark lines in the handle?
Quote:
Originally Posted by t.t.s.t.a.r
Spalted Maple
Looking at the photo of this blade you might think the top ply is full of bumps, but don't worry, it's silky smooth! It is also sealed to prevent splintering.
Available FS.
Composition: Lacewood / Larch / Glassfiber / Kiri / Glassfiber / Larch / Lacewood
Weight: 88.0g
Thickness: 5.70mm
Freq.: 1205 Hz
Balance: 2.7cm (Low)
https://www.tabletennisdaily.com/for...0/11/301_1.jpg
https://www.tabletennisdaily.com/for...0/11/301_2.jpg
https://www.tabletennisdaily.com/for...0/11/301_3.jpg
A commissioned blade, focused on a spin oriented game. Full credit to the owner for the handle design!
Composition: Hinoki / Ayous / I-C / Kiri / I-C / Ayous / Hinoki
Weight: 90.3g
Thickness: 6.0mm
Freq.: 1340Hz
Balance: 1.9cm (Very Low)
https://www.tabletennisdaily.com/for...0/13/270_1.jpg
https://www.tabletennisdaily.com/for...0/13/270_2.jpg
https://www.tabletennisdaily.com/for...0/13/270_3.jpg
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That handle is freaking awesome! Really a great looking blade .Kudos to the designer and the builder!
Agreed, this is the best looking handle I have ever seen.
Hipnotic, please elaborate a little bit on the handle.
Also what would the characterisics approximately be if You remove the I-C layer?
Cheers
L-zr
The handle was made with Amazon Rosewood, Cherry and endgrain Padauk with a Ebony cap. Don't ask me what the tag says because I can't remember [emoji28]. The owner is out there, maybe he can chime in?
It's not a very fast blade as is, it's gonna be even slower if we removed the I-C. It would probably need more thickness to compensate for that, or a harder medial layer.