Bat balance

Oh man. So much of this is just personal taste and it sounds like you are reading a lot into this.

Blade companies hollow out the handles because:

1) it causes you to feel the ball contact more and
2) it makes it so they can say the blade weighs less

If the handle has not been hollowed out the blade will feel more solid and it will feel a bit lighter even though it is actually heavier. Head heavy can make the blade accelerate slower. But it also means there is more mass in the head relative to the rest of the racket.

So, a blade that would have been 93 grams, with 5 grams removed from the handle registers 88 grams but still feels like it is 93 grams. And the mass behind the ball is the mass of a 93 gram blade so, you feel that mass behind the ball.

Again, in the end, whether you like head heavy, mid balanced or handle heavy is really a personal preference and could also simply be based on what you have and what you are used to. If you do not have a messed up wrist, there is no reason to think about this subject. Just play with the blade you have. If you don't like your blade, get a different blade.

I agree. I Feel like that if the blade is somewhat balanced i Do not have Any problem if it is heavy. If the weigth is less But much more headheavy it feels heavier for me. Do not know What i prefer.

Do not know how much difference is needed to be able to Feel a difference? Thinking that you should be able to try and make up your own opinion. Maybe edge tape to the handle and stuff like that. Think people here know macgyver stuff pretty good here.

You will have to try a number of similar blades with different weight balances and have some experiences to figure out your preferences.

Some people are totally fine, or even crave the modern push for hollow handle, head heavy setups.

I have been very public about my preferences of a solid handle feel and weight lower, even if the blade weight goes into territory that pops the eyes out of players - like 120g … and that blade, confirmed by Carl, swung easier than the original version of that blade, that Carl was very familiar with.

There are reasons of physics why it is easier to initiate acceleration (or accelerate the acceleration as the bat is already moving) with wrist. It centers around the argument that more mass low makes an easier to execute fulcrum. Also, no hollow feel is a better feedback over an earthquake.

The argument for a head heavy bat is the impact feels powerful like a hammer... kinda because it is almost like swinging a hammer... harder to initiate acceleration or accelerate bat at motion... but can still finally make bat speed and since more mass is forward, it feels like more power is delivered to the ball.

Those are simplified arguments for or against either. Again, you will need to have some experience to know and feel for yourself for you to form and know your own preference.

I guess if you really wanted to know with just one bat, you could play your bat with a few easy mods to learn with your blade you are familiar with...

- Add lead weight tape of 5 grams or more to edge of bat as much centered at top. BTY and some other outfits sell this stuff, call it power tape or something like that.

- Add 6 grams of grip tape, that is usually 2 grips which may be too thick, even 3 grams is a noticeable difference to know and feel. Often, a head heavy bat need just a few grams low.

- Take off both handle pieces. If the pieces are not hollow already, hollow them to remove a few grams and slap it together and have at it.

- Take off handle pieces if handle piece or throat is hollow, if not, you already hollowed out the handle pieces, so add some glue in there and add reinforcing metal, like paperclips or small nails. Measure your bat weight before, and on the scale, put bat, the removed handle pieces, and the proposed clips to get the weight a few grams over the original weight... glue will add a few more grams. Slap it together and have at it. This is the Beast Mod.

- Add grip tape to your Beast Mod blade... even more beastly you will find.

If you dig deep, you can find beast mod threads, original and later where many of us presented views and stories.

I do think that, whatever you are used to will work so this is not an issue worth worrying too much about.

I know Der has a preference for weight in the handle. I have had blades that were head, handle and mid balanced and once I was really used to them, they were all fine. But I do like mid or handle better IN THEORY. It is just that, in practice, once I am used to something, I know the theory does not really matter as much as my brain might think it does.

It's good to keep in mind we are talking about a few grams here. Der's example between 93 and 88 grams is like the weight of an ordinary wedding ring. If you take off your ring to play you have shifted the balance of your arm towards the elbow by five grams. It won't change anything. A few grams doesn't matter relative to a > 60 kg adult.

Brs said:

It's good to keep in mind we are talking about a few grams here. Der's example between 93 and 88 grams is like the weight of an ordinary wedding ring. If you take off your ring to play you have shifted the balance of your arm towards the elbow by five grams. It won't change anything. A few grams doesn't matter relative to a > 60 kg adult.

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One of Der's rackets I tried, he added 35 grams to the handle, and the blade's weight went from 85 grams to 120 grams. And I confess, it felt good. And it did not feel heavier after than it did before.

But I still agree with your point.

Could you please share a method to remove the handle? I've read about putting the blade in a microwave or boiling the handle for 10 minutes... both methods sound pretty scary to try on a 100+ EUR blade

Der_Echte said:

- Take off both handle pieces.

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doppelganger_LT said:

Could you please share a method to remove the handle? I've read about putting the blade in a microwave or boiling the handle for 10 minutes... both methods sound pretty scary to try on a 100+ EUR blade

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I quoted you in a thread where Der explains how to do it so as not to get this thread to go on a tangent so early in the thread.

You can dig through the thread, which is a good idea anyway, a lot of people said some great things... but here is how I eventually settled on how to remove handle.

I purchased from amazon a $20 USD heat gun, the ones you use to heat up floor tiles to make them easy to remove. It is much like the average hair drier, but a hair drier has a much wider opening and the heat is more widely spread. I guess in a pinch, you could use a hair drier, but it would take longer.

Still, my way to use even the heat gun is to go SLOW and wave it back and forth quickly, you do not want to burn the wood. TAKE YOUR TIME. It is not a national travesty if the task takes 10 minutes.

Once the handles have been heated enough, slide a box cutter blade or something very thin under the handle and work it back and forth, apply some heat, work the metal... you get the idea... do not try to do it in one shot of you mess stuff up of slip and cut yourself. GO SLOW and controlled, work with safety and leverage. Use the technique you use when paring an apple, so if you mess up, the blade slips only a short distance and you can control the run-off. Use a thin artists putty knife if you can get one, they will not cut off your finger if you mess up.