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...pretty much what golden-son said. But just to clarify for the record: My comments were explaining exactly which rubbers in my own personal opinion perform best on hinoki and other inherently elastic, high rebound softwoods My comments were also geared towards answering a specific question...

Absolutely -- atmospheric changes in humidity change the mass (and volume) of a blade over time a surprising amount. This naturally happens to varying degrees with ALL timber species (be they hardwoods or coniferous softwoods). The type of blade (all wood or composite) makes little difference...

Fascinating discussion everyone 🙂🙂 I really love these kind of subjects. My view is that neither is more important than the other, and arguing which is more important or adds more to player performance, kind of misses the whole point of TT equipment management entirely. Both a blade and its...

Re: OP -- Really great question, thanks for asking it. You've already heard most of the reasons for the price difference from other posters -- I e.: wood quality, glue use, brand equity & positioning, intended target market, and country of manufacture. All these factors directly go into the...

Short answer is just sand it off in most cases, but really it also depends on what the sealant is, and how deep it's penetrated into both the handle scales and the core woods inside the playing surface. If it's oil based polyurethane, it's best to probably lightly sand it off, as the oil based...

While it's expensive stuff, I really do recommend Osmo oil, as due to its canuba wax content, it's the only handle sealant I've found that doesn't make the handle slippery. Canuba wax is the same stuff surfers rub on their boards to provide grip for their feet as they surf. It's a perfectly...

Yes you should seal your handle. All wood swells up when it gets wet - a phenomenon called wood movement. It's why doors and gates occasionally jam during winter due to water being absorbed from the surrounding damp atmosphere. If your handle scales swell up too much from either sweat or...

If you went to 600 grit (and stepped down to that grit properly from higher grit papers i.e: 120 > 180 > 240> 400> 600 grit) then you've almost certainly burnished the wood in the process. To explain: All Wood comprises of largely the same three polymers: cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin...

If the handle is sticky that can be a sign of debris build up on your handle. Over time, dirt, sweat, dead skin cells and sebum (an ingredient in human skin oil) can build up on the blade's handle. If the sanding doesn't remove it, try washing the handle with a damp cloth and a few drops of...

Share my racquet photo? Which one? (Man -- talk about confusing open-ended questions... 🤣🤣) Do you mean: - Racquets I currently play with regularly? (i.e.: My comp bats) - Racquets I DON'T currently play comp with regularly but DO like to have a fun hit with pretty regularly? (i.e.: my...

It's a good rubber lodro, but it definitely has less regular speed than the R9. Frankly it feels only slightly faster to me (unboosted) than a regular R3Pro. It's not a slow rubber at all, but it's also a long, long way from having a tensor-like feel. To my mind It's feels more like an...

Yeah boistingit makes sense. I've tried the R7 several times now. It's a great rubber for serving, but lacks hitting power away from the table. After using R7 in games for quite a.while, I'm back on the R9 in 38 degrees, and the extra power is noticable.

The Aussie one is a form of liquid rosin I think, in which case it would cover your blade with a very fine layer of genuinely sticky, liquified pine tree sap. On an old tacky rubbers you might get away with this, on a newer grippy rubbers maybe not so much. There are several other brands...

You can buy specially formulated chemical sprays that are designed to heighten the grip levels of indoor shoes. Apparently they're hugely popular with basketball players, as I'm given to understand their use is completely legal under the rules of the game. I also believe there are several...

With me, my pivot point came in my very early 20's, when I realized that my chances of earning a decent living as a pro weren't great. (note I said money, not talent. Even then I still was not fully aware of just how hard it was to get good at this game. Even then, I still had delusions borne...

Fascinating thread folks. I can add very little to this discussion that may be helpful in assisting this young man to reach his goal. But I would like to add something real and tangible to this discussion nonetheless, though I'm also taking a risk here in doing so. All I want to add is just a...

Haven't used Vega euro for ages, but as I recall the R7S is maybe a little bit higher throw.... Honestly not that much difference in throw angle between them from memory anyway.

A Yasaka Rakza 7 Soft, or Hexer Powergrip SFX might be worth a shot.

Thanks for the tip 🙂 Never actually tried Vaseline / petroleum jelly, but I can conceive of it helping to revive the elastomers with synthetic rubber (just so long as there's no turpentine in it... Turps is a solvent for natural rubber, so I doubt it would prolong the life of the rubber much 😂)...

I've used nittaku glue sheets a lot in the past. For me they've always worked great -- had no problems at all with either ox or inverted rubbers. Nowadays I use glue on my own personal blades because it works out cheaper, but that said I would happily use glue sheets again should the need arise.