Gaps along and between surface wood grinds

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Hello everyone

So sometimes when I look at blades, I notice some of them got more "gaps" on the surface compare to other. I wonder how big/many/much gaps are normal, and what do you consider to be on the other end of the spectrum.

I remember once getting a (lightly weighted) Tihbar Samsonov Force Pro Black Edition with a lot of gaps on the surface. There were literally missing "wood strings" that it was off-putting. I ended up selling the blade.

The pictures I have attached below are from a medium price range blade (with Limba surface), so I did not expect premium craftsmanship like fibre blades from Butterfly, or instrument blades from Nittaku. But still I would like to know what you guys/girls think. Is this one shown below within the acceptable ranges?

Are these "gaps" just nature of wood grind?
What is normal? What is acceptable? What is simple not good?

Imports - 4 of 10.jpgImports - 3 of 10.jpgImports - 1 of 10.jpg

I had to down size the pictures to upload them, apologies in advance.
Pen for size comparison.
 
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These are jointed veneers. Doesn't affect play. IMO whoever made your blade did a decent job, they can be even more pronounced generally.
 
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how can one tell whether its jointed veneers or not? is it based on these "gaps" all over the surface ?

Sorry, Those aren't high resolution photos. Instead of jointed veneers, it could also be natural occurrences (ie veins of the wood) that is shown when it is cut. This is common with limba. Or at most areas of minor splinter. Neither are things I would worry about.

Regarding jointed veneers. Those glued sections are as strong if not stronger than the wood's own integrity (from my experience), so once again, nothing to worry about.

Just glue on some sheets and play.
 
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Yeah. All you are talking about is the wood grain. There is no way to have wood without the wood's actual grain.

Judge by how the blade plays and feels. Not by how you think it looks.

Different kinds of wood will have grains with different characteristics. But all wood has grain. Without it, nutrition won't move from roots through trunk to branches.

If you like the feel of Limba, that grain you are talking about is part of why you would like the feeling of that wood.

A wood with a different grain pattern would also feel different.

So, judge by how you like the feel of the blade. Not by the look of the grain. Other woods will have grain that is not as porous. But the woods that feel good in your hand, don't judge them by how they look. How the blade feels when you use it is the important part.
 
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Here are 3 blades with 3 different kinds of wood:

A Nittaku Acoustic:

cache.php.jpg

Notice the Nittaku Acoustic has the same kind of wood in its top ply as the wood in the blade you showed above and the grain is quite similar. So that has nothing, absolutely nothing to do with craftsmanship.

The next blade is a one ply Hinoki blade. The grain in this is very regular, very linear, and very fine. The result is, it looks beautiful. But some people like how Hinoki feels and some people do not. Whether you like how it feels or not though, I am sure you will agree, this grain looks beautiful. :)

darker_speed90_new1_02.jpg


The next blade is a Viscaria. The wood on the top ply is Koto. The wood grain is longer and more linear than the Limba from the Acoustic. But not as picturesque as the grain of the Hinoki. The grain is more porous than the Hinoki and less porous than the Limba.

201808081041249438.jpg

There are many people who will like the feel of one of these woods and not the other two. They all feel very different.
 
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yes like these, and my question is how much is too much? maybe Lasta has already answered my question, im not sure.
This is just how limba is supposed to look like.
I actually have the impression that the more veins, the better. At least the cheaper limba blades I saw, had less veins, while if you look at MIJ Butterfly, Nittakus or OSPs, they will usually have lots of it.

My guess is that older pieces of wood have more and deeper veins, and older wood are usually better.

Anyways, I find limba pretty AF. I handpicked mine to have lots of these things. [emoji4]
 
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says Spin and more spin.
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