My Viscaria ST Handle Blade weighs 80 grams

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Hi,

I have just got my hands on a new Viscaria ST handle blade in the UK. It weighs 80 grams and I am a little concerned if that might be too light. I know it is a genuine blade because I got it from a reliable source. Teessport are expecting delivery of the ST handle in the middle of May.

I have the option to return the blade but am not sure whether to keep it or return it.

Does anyone else here have any experience on the playing characteristics of an 80 gram Viscaria?

My current bat set up is ZJK ALC (FL), Hurricane 8 on FH and Rakza 7 on BH.
 
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I could Imagine that the straight Version has hollow handles. Some people on Forums wrote that they they have gotten light ones Like you have. If so you can expect IT to be slower and have more vibrations. But Sometimes the veneers vary in thickness from Blade to blade
 
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dominus7, do you like the 84g weight of your Viscaria FL or would you prefer heavier or lighter?

I have held someone else's Viscaria FL blade recently and it appears to me the handle part would be lighter on the ST version and could even account for a 4g difference.
 
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dominus7, do you like the 84g weight of your Viscaria FL or would you prefer heavier or lighter?

I have held someone else's Viscaria FL blade recently and it appears to me the handle part would be lighter on the ST version and could even account for a 4g difference.
I'm happy with the blade, it's weight is enough to feel the ball, I think is more flexible than thicker Viscaria, and is more controllable, but I'm using a Michael Maze clone now, because if I scratch it or hit it against the table, it won't be so expensive get a new one
 
A guy at my club has an older Viscaria with FL handle that is very light, so I don't think the handle matters. It has Tenergy rubbers on both sides which are rather heavy, so the blade must be super light... I liked it a lot and told him to think of me if he ever wants to sell.

Sent from my SM-G960F using Tapatalk
 
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The handle does not matter. Wood is a natural substance. I have seen Viscarias that were as light as 80 grams and as heavy as 98 grams. That is bigger than a normal weight range variation for blades. But there were periods where Butterfly made most of their Viscarias much lighter, 80-87 grams and other periods where they made them a little heavier.

However, the important question you are asking, Jewels, is: how does the weight affect things.

Most Viscarias that I have felt that weigh under 85 grams feel a lot worse than the ones I have felt that are in the 88-92 gram range. I have an idea why someone with a Viscaria under 85 grams may not be able to feel what is missing in comparison to an 92 gram blade.

So this is basic information on blades and weight:

If you have a blade that is the same make, same wood plies, same thickness, same construction--ie 2 Viscarias--the heavier one will almost always feel better. The exception, the reason for the word "almost" is if the heavier one had some sort of defect which is rare with Viscaria blades. Or, if the heavier one damaged in some way that affected play: like if there was a crack on the blade face near the handle.

So, if you took 10 Viscarias that weighed 80 grams, 10 that weighed 85 grams and 10 that weighed 90 grams, they would all feel like a Viscaria. The difference between the 80 and 85 gram blades would be a little less noticeable and less significant than the difference between the 80 and 90 gram blades. But the consistent feeling would be that the lighter blades would be duller, less responsive, less alive, less crisp. The extra mass behind the ball in the heavier blades would give you more of a feeling of control and power.

If you have done these tests on enough blades and blade kinds, you start realizing the results are pretty consistent across blade kinds. The reason: the composite plies do not change. The wood plies are theoretically the same, but they are not really. Some wood is denser. Some wood is less dense. The heavier sheets of the same wood have better and more consistent playing characteristics.

Then why would a 92 gram blade be better than a 98 gram blade? It wouldn't. But for each of us, there is a racket weight were the weight will slow down our swing and we start to get diminishing returns. For some it is at about 88 grams. For others, 92. For some, 98. So you would have to determine where the diminishing returns start to appear for you.

So, Jewels, if there is a reason for you to keep the 80 gram blade, like, if you are better served by lighter blades, then 80 grams is still fine. But if you will as comfortable--or more comfortable--with a little more weight, I would exchange it. If I used a setup with a blade that was 80 grams, I would hate how light it was. I have another friend who is a darn good player who, if he has a blade heavier than 82 grams he freaks out. Some of that is what you are used to. But some of that has to do with different body and strength.

Heavier will always have better feel if it is really the same blade type and there is nothing wrong with the heavier blade. The question then is, what would be the correct blade weight for you. And most people can hold more weight than they realize with all this emphasis on 85 grams.
 
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I play with an 86 gm FL viscaria and it feels fine to me ... + 1 to everything that Carl said. but the question that you are asking as to how much effect the FL to ST change has is a difficult one to answer and only the blade manufactures will be able to tell , if they have tried to make two otherwise similar blades with different handle types from the same wood .... but I would bet it feels good.

In your position the only real option I see is to get your hands on another Viscaria ( ST ) but heavier and compare how your feeling changes with the exact same rubbers ...
 
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If you compare a 80 and a 90 g Viscaria (if both have the same blade thickness) then they do feel different in regards to the feedback. Some might prefer the feedback of the heavier one and others of the lighter one. This is a more subjective thing.

An objective parameter that you should take into consideration is the weight distribution!

Compared to a 80 g Viscaria the 90 g version has more or less 8-10 g more mass in the head of the blade (if the mass of the grip is identical).

So the 90 g Viscaria is not only heavier but also a lot head heavier!
 
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Thanks for the replies. Another player that recently bought the ST version said his one weighed 79.58g. He also said the average weight of the ST version at his local shop weighed between 79g to 80g.

I wasn’t able to post link because I’m new and don’t have enough posts yet. Here’s what I could post:

tabletennisdaily.com/forum/showthread.php?20676-My-Lovely-Viscaria-ST-2019&p=272990

I think it could just be that this batch is light. I have decided to keep my blade. I normally put elastic bands on the edge of my blade under the edging tape for protection so that should add a bit of weight.
 
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