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Howdy folks. Got a quick straw poll for you all. For ages now I've resisted the urge to put serial numbers on my blades. Rather than number them like a mass produced item, I far prefer to treat them more like artworks and just personally sign each blade once they're done. Furthermore, as I...

I agree having a regular training partner to "spar" against is very beneficial... but I think the key benefit lies in the "regular training" part of that sentence. Having a regular training partner makes it easier to do drills, and to vary your training / practice regime. Playing them a lot...

Thanks for the recommendation. I don't hate T05... Seriously I don't. I actually think it's a really great rubber and I like using it. It's that little paper price tag that's attached to the packaging that I can't stand -- they're God-awful things. Against my better judgement, I actually read...

Brilliant suggestions everyone... Thanks so much, I really mean it. In the posts above are at least five or six possible alternatives which honestly never occurred to me. Which is exactly what I wanted frankly.... possibilities outside of my own imagination. Thanks a bunch folks. If you know...

Good points 🙂 thanks for contributing. I'm asking because I'm looking for something specific for a new blade-dev project I'm working on. I considered all the usual suspects when deciding what rubber to try, but none of them were quite right, and I ultimately came up a blank. So now, I'm...

Yeah, good point. My bad - I forgot to add the words "affordable", "left-field suggestions welcome" and "not Butterfly" to my question. (Not a cheapskate, or a Butterfly-hater over here.... I'm just 'thrifty through principled necessity' 😂😂)

ANSWER: "Buggered if I know sorry! 🤷🏻🤷🏻 No seriously folks, I mean it. I have no friggin' idea whatsoever, which rubber out there: has a top sheet like a Nittaku G-1, but also has a fast and springy tensor-style sponge. Sorry if that little revelation disappoints you at all. ...But...

Sergio that blade is a thing of absolute beauty -- hats off to you! She is just lovely. Congratulations and huge respect on reaching the big 1k mate... one crazy-arse, obsessive TT Bladesmith to another! Be cool my brother! 😎🍻🪚🏓

Plus 1 for the Telson 100 -- it's a beast, and a bargain. Gotta try it at least once. Don't boost it, it doesn't need it. Goes equally well on FH (if not better), Usually plenty of red rubbers around, but the black rubbers always sell out bloody quick. If you want to try it in black, you need...

Fair enough 🙂 Maybe not the Telson then. It's a really great rubber, but in my experience you need an ALL+ to OFF- all-wood blade with softer outers and a tiny bit of flex to it, in order to access its mid-range gears when opening up or slow-looping. These more traditional blades makes both...

For something more left field, try a Loki Telson 100. Dignics level speed and T05 level spin. It's a Chinese rubber but has a soft, non-tacky Japanese top sheet to it, and it's also brand new -- only been available for about 3-6 months. On the negative side, if you use a stiff / hard carbon...

The ITTF rules now specify you can only use water to clean your rubbers. Myself I use a water spray bottle to wet the rubbers well, then I wipe them clean with a piece of chamois. I don't use those blue thick chamois sponges the majors sell, as some of them can be very abrasive to the rubber...

Haven't done a scientific study of it, but I do make blades for a living -- and absolutely sealing makes a difference (it stiffens the outers and speeds up the blade) but ithe degree depends hugely on the type of sealant, and it's thickness. The three sealants I use most often are water-based...

Myself I just use the 18mm snap off knives, though I've also wondered if a linoleum knife or old-fashioned cut throat razor may be better. I find the secret is to aim to complete the cut in 2-4 passes, depending on the hardness and type of the rubber: - First pass goes through the sponge up to...

You're welcome, and thanks for the feedback. 🙂 I haven't tried the hard T05 at all yet, and I'm a little hesitant to try something too hard on a one ply. As I mentioned earlier in this thread (and other similar ones), my usual preference is to go with mid soft to mid hard sponge on one plys in...

Thanks for the timely bump of a favorite subject 😂 Just about to step back onto the whole "one-ply rubber experimentation" treadmill myself ('cause it's so much fun 😁). I caught up with a fellow one-ply fan for a fun hit recently. He brought his DS90 fitted with Rakza Z Max both sides to the...

Thanks for that. 🙂 Making it an option is a good idea, but I have decided to move away from doing so much custom stuff, and focussing on pre-made blades instead. With the J-Pen, I was actually thinking of supplying the cork separately as well with the blade, but supplying it pre-cut to shape...

Thanks for posting this 🙂 Don't want to derail the thread, but do many J-Pen players prefer no cork in the BH side? I've heard recently a lot of J-Pen players actually prefer no cork on the backhand, so I'm intrigued you chose to remove it, and all the reasons why. I'm new to J-Pen myself and...

There's actually a massive lot of information required to answer all those those questions you've asked sorry. I somewhat suspect you won't be able to get a straight answer to most of your questions, as the playing characteristics of hardwood blades are a very subjective thing. To be honest...

I gotta admit, for me personally the red T100 teams *soooooo bloody nicely* with a black Rxton 9 on a fast-ish all-wood blade. Had a full on looping session with this particular combo both tonight and previously on Saturday. Away from the table these two rubbers together are just an absolute...