Equipment Junkie CoVID Dreams - New Blade Made for Me By Nate

Nope. I have never really registered it. But, now I will be able to compare.

It is also possible that I use that difference in height in how I manipulate my grip and add pressure with my thumb on BH. But I will find out when I try it out.

And, in my head, it seems that is going to feel good.

I do think it will make it more comfortable and also better when you do your bh grip by moving your thumb not hindered by the lower part of the rubber.
 
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.....started cutting that "thumb-chamfer" on the handle a bit shallower because I liked it lining up flush with most 2.0mm - max rubber.....

Okay. Impressions with Nexy Karis M.

I hit with the blade this afternoon.

The first thing I notice, the handle is comfortable. I don't notice the sealant on the handle as an issue. So, I am fine with it. In terms of what Nate called the "Thumb Chamfer", I did not notice that it changed the feel. But the handle felt quite nice.

Some things I noticed: the core ply on the Limba/RedWood blade is thicker than the core on the V+ (Limba/Ayous). The Limba plies on the LRW blade are thinner than the Limba plies on the V+ (particularly the medial Limba ply on the V+ is thicker).

When contact was soft, the resonance of the blade was a lower pitch and the contact felt a little dispersed. This made it so there was a lot of control while touching the ball softly. when I dug into shots more fully, the wood had a sharper quality. The tone of the sound the blade makes on contact is still a little lower pitched than the V+, but the speed was not that different.

Nexy used to talk (maybe still does) about dual impact. What I was just describing above felt like what Nexy was trying to get at with the term Dual Impact: softer for touch shots, more power and bang impact on deeper or more powerful contact. So, there is a dynamic range; said differently the blade seems to have extra gears.

Overall, the V+ has a higher pitch on all shots. But the pace of the two rackets seemed pretty similar.

For short game and touch shots, the LRW felt like it had a little advantage. It also had more of a dynamic range in gears as well.

But, on bigger loops and power shots, it felt like the V+ holds the ball and lets the rubber grab the ball harder. And the LRW propels the ball out a little sooner. It is hard to tell if this is because the Limba plies are thinner on the LRW or because the RedWood core is propelling the ball out more.

Also, since I am comparing a V+ with R48 rubbers to the LRW with Nexy Karis M, I will have to see what things feel like when I have a rubber with more of a catapult sponge and grippy, spin sensitive topsheet.

Round 1 is in the books.
 
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Okay. Impressions with Nexy Karis M.

I hit with the blade this afternoon.

The first thing I notice, the handle is comfortable. I don't notice the sealant on the handle as an issue. So, I am fine with it. In terms of what Nate called the "Thumb Chamfer", I did not notice that it changed the feel. But the handle felt quite nice.

Some things I noticed: the core ply on the Limba/RedWood blade is thicker than the core on the V+ (Limba/Ayous). The Limba plies on the LRW blade are thinner than the Limba plies on the V+ (particularly the medial Limba ply on the V+ is thicker).

When contact was soft, the resonance of the blade was a lower pitch and the contact felt a little dispersed. This made it so there was a lot of control while touching the ball softly. when I dug into shots more fully, the wood had a sharper quality. The tone of the sound the blade makes on contact is still a little lower pitched than the V+, but the speed was not that different.

Nexy used to talk (maybe still does) about dual impact. What I was just describing above felt like what Nexy was trying to get at with the term Dual Impact: softer for touch shots, more power and bang impact on deeper or more powerful contact. So, there is a dynamic range; said differently the blade seems to have extra gears.

Overall, the V+ has a higher pitch on all shots. But the pace of the two rackets seemed pretty similar.

For short game and touch shots, the LRW felt like it had a little advantage. It also had more of a dynamic range in gears as well.

But, on bigger loops and power shots, it felt like the V+ holds the ball and lets the rubber grab the ball harder. And the LRW propels the ball out a little sooner. It is hard to tell if this is because the Limba plies are thinner on the LRW or because the RedWood core is propelling the ball out more.

Also, since I am comparing a V+ with R48 rubbers to the LRW with Nexy Karis M, I will have to see what things feel like when I have a rubber with more of a catapult sponge and grippy, spin sensitive topsheet.

Round 1 is in the books.

Thanks for the impressions! I'm glad you don't find the sealed handle too bothersome. It seems like the redwood is a little stiffer in the direction of the wood-grain compared to many of the other core materials I have used, so I'm not surprised it doesn't give as much flex as the V+ (not to mention the Poly-glue vs hide-glue). It's interesting that you noticed a pronounced difference between high- and low-speed shots, so I'm definitely interested to hear your impressions if you eventually get a chance to try it with some other rubber sheets.
 
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Thanks for the impressions! I'm glad you don't find the sealed handle too bothersome. It seems like the redwood is a little stiffer in the direction of the wood-grain compared to many of the other core materials I have used, so I'm not surprised it doesn't give as much flex as the V+ (not to mention the Poly-glue vs hide-glue). It's interesting that you noticed a pronounced difference between high- and low-speed shots, so I'm definitely interested to hear your impressions if you eventually get a chance to try it with some other rubber sheets.

I will likely try it with Victas next, then MXP then T05/T64.

That should give me some perspectives.
 
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I have now tried with Victas. With Victas it felt more similar to the V+ than not. It still has a softer feel and a lower pitched vibration than the V+. The speed of the two blades is quite similar. And I like the feeling of the lower pitch vibration.
 
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I have now tried with Victas. With Victas it felt more similar to the V+ than not. It still has a softer feel and a lower pitched vibration than the V+. The speed of the two blades is quite similar. And I like the feeling of the lower pitch vibration.

That's great to know - I appreciate your insight! From your experiences, it's looking like redwood may be an acceptable core-material. :)
 
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That's great to know - I appreciate your insight! From your experiences, it's looking like redwood may be an acceptable core-material. :)

Yeah. To me it feels like a pretty good core material which adds some control and I don't feel like there is a loss of speed that goes with that additional control so far.

Next I will see how it feels with MXP.
 
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So, I got impatient about my long, slow plan of first trying MXP on both sides and then trying T05/T64 after. So, today I tried the blade with T05 on one side and MXP on the other. It felt pretty good and now I am getting closer to rubbers I would actually use on the blade. I am debating getting R48 for this blade for both sides or T05/T05fx so I am playing with new rubbers on the blade.

Today, with the MXP and the T05 the blade felt quite comparable to the V+. The V+ still appears to be a little faster. The blade from Nate feels softer and has really nice control. And the slight added speed from my V+ is not something I would miss or care about because, when I supplied the power with the Nate blade, I could make the ball go as fast as it can go, and those shots were't going to come back and the difference in speed made no difference when I added the power. :)

One thing did come up today that I had not registered before and had previously not been bothered by. Right now in NY it is kind of cold and that causes the air indoors, in a room that has been heated, to be pretty dry. As a result, today, without question, I COULD FEEL THE SEALANT ON THE HANDLE and the handle was way more slippery than I would ever want. Again, it had not bothered me the previous times I played. But today, it was definitely something I did not want. And, for direct comparison, the V+ handle which has no sealant was not slippery at all today just as usual.

After I was done playing, I actually took some nail polish remover on a folded piece of paper towel and did some sealant removal from the handle. When I was finished doing this I could feel the handle felt better and less slippery. I am not sure I got all the sealant off. But, all I care about with that is that I am not holding a handle that is slippery. Smooth is fine. But not slippery.

I think, perhaps a lot of people hold their rackets differently, or maybe, tighter, than I do. But I hold with the fingers around the handle very loosely. That and a slippery handle do not go so well together. So, now I know, even though it was fine when the air was more humid, the handle definitely was too slippery with the dry air conditions we had today. So, I can conclusively say, for me, it is not a good thing to use a handle that has been sealed. :)

From a logic standpoint, the idea never made sense to me in the first place. I want the wood of the handle to be able to absorb some of my sweat when I am sweaty. And a sealed handle should not be able to do that. It would have been good to also test the sealed handle on a day when it was very humid and I was sweating a lot. However, I have feeling those may be worse conditions for the use of a handle that has been sealed. So I am okay not trying that.

Today was enough for me to know that I don't want sealant on my handle even when the job of sealing has been expertly done and the layer is very very thin.

Next time I play with it, I will see how the handle feels now that I removed at least some of the sealant....or, I think I did. :)

But the sealant on the handle issue did not change the fact that this is a very nice blade with excellent control and I can really get a lot of spin on the ball with it.

Today I did much more of the serve and receive part of my play with the Nate blade and I could easily swtich from my V+ to this blade and the change would be a minor one. The blades are similar in many ways. The main difference is that the Nate blade has a lower, deeper pitch and a softer feel.
 
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Carl, I have exactly the same feeling about handle sealing.
Frankly speaking in my club no one likes sealed handles and we have only two or three veterans with very old blades all-sealed since the VOC glue era.
I play with very loose grip and its very annoying to feel some sweat drops dropping from the edge of the handle and running through the arm to the elbow when you squeeze firmly on impact.
My personal understanding is that the handle should be of more porous wood which soaks easier, but dries faster.
For laminated handles maybe it would be better the more heavy/less porous wood ply to be under the lighter and more porous one.

 
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I had been thinking of getting new T05/T05fx for the Nate Special. But now I am thinking I may just order R48 for it. The first set of R48 I got did seem to lose a lot of it's oomph after 3 weeks of play. But it still plays decently well and I have gotten used to it. And I can get it for a price that is 1/3 lower than the price of Tenergy. So.......As much as I do think Tenergy, in the long run, might be a better rubber, I still would rather get something that is a little less expensive. :)
 
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UpSideDownCarl;338860So, I got impatient about my long, slow plan of first trying MXP on both sides and then trying T05/T64 after. So, today I tried the blade with T05 on one side and MXP on the other. It felt pretty good and now I am getting closer to rubbers I would actually use on the blade. I am debating getting R48 for this blade for both sides or T05/T05fx so I am playing with new rubbers on the blade.

Today, with the MXP and the T05 the blade felt quite comparable to the V+. The V+ still appears to be a little faster. The blade from Nate feels softer and has really nice control. And the slight added speed from my V+ is not something I would miss or care about because, when I supplied the power with the Nate blade, I could make the ball go as fast as it can go, and those shots were't going to come back and the difference in speed made no difference when I added the power. :)

One thing did come up today that I had not registered before and had previously not been bothered by. Right now in NY it is kind of cold and that causes the air indoors, in a room that has been heated, to be pretty dry. As a result, today, without question, I COULD FEEL THE SEALANT ON THE HANDLE and the handle was way more slippery than I would ever want. Again, it had not bothered me the previous times I played. But today, it was definitely something I did not want. And, for direct comparison, the V+ handle which has no sealant was not slippery at all today just as usual.

After I was done playing, I actually took some nail polish remover on a folded piece of paper towel and did some sealant removal from the handle. When I was finished doing this I could feel the handle felt better and less slippery. I am not sure I got all the sealant off. But, all I care about with that is that I am not holding a handle that is slippery. Smooth is fine. But not slippery.

I think, perhaps a lot of people hold their rackets differently, or maybe, tighter, than I do. But I hold with the fingers around the handle very loosely. That and a slippery handle do not go so well together. So, now I know, even though it was fine when the air was more humid, the handle definitely was too slippery with the dry air conditions we had today. So, I can conclusively say, for me, it is not a good thing to use a handle that has been sealed. :)

From a logic standpoint, the idea never made sense to me in the first place. I want the wood of the handle to be able to absorb some of my sweat when I am sweaty. And a sealed handle should not be able to do that. It would have been good to also test the sealed handle on a day when it was very humid and I was sweating a lot. However, I have feeling those may be worse conditions for the use of a handle that has been sealed. So I am okay not trying that.

Today was enough for me to know that I don't want sealant on my handle even when the job of sealing has been expertly done and the layer is very very thin.

Next time I play with it, I will see how the handle feels now that I removed at least some of the sealant....or, I think I did. :)

But the sealant on the handle issue did not change the fact that this is a very nice blade with excellent control and I can really get a lot of spin on the ball with it.

Today I did much more of the serve and receive part of my play with the Nate blade and I could easily swtich from my V+ to this blade and the change would be a minor one. The blades are similar in many ways. The main difference is that the Nate blade has a lower, deeper pitch and a softer feel.

As always, I appreciate your in-depth analysis. It completely makes sense why you and many others don't like a sealed handle. I think for me, I don't sweat that much, so there's almost a nice grippiness to a sealed handle for lower sweat hands (especially when I used to use a gloss finish). Upon reflection, I think the reason I have been sealing them is for aesthetic reasons (darkens the wood appearance, keeps it "fresh" for longer, etc) and because people generally haven't commented on it (so there was little feedback good or bad - so this is very helpful). On a related note, I don't think nail polish remover (acetone) will be enough to remove the cured finish, which is a thin polyurethane based finish - you may have to use something like a stripper/paint-thinner/MEK to actually get rid of it....or even just a light sanding.

I'm glad to know it's relatively similar to the V+ in playing ability! I wonder how much difference there would be between the two blades if I had used thicker limba layers.
 
What about the Vibrations: are they more sensible with harder and thicker rubbers, or the opposite, and what is your preferred sensation, and with which rubbers you have more rubber/more blade feeling and what you prefer.
Every wood has its own kind of synergy with different rubbers, and every player has its own kind of synergy with the blade+rubber system.
I know that you are very familiar with great stake of rubbers, but, from what you've said, I would dare to suggest Xiom Omega V Asia 2 mm, or Omega V Tour 2 mm. Neither Pro versions, nor VII generations.
 
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Carl, I think you would absolutely LOVE Tibhar FX-S in place of t05fx. FX-S us ONE LOUD PUPPY when you really spank it.

Is NYC still got the City Goon Squad on patrol looking for incoming arriving out of town trouble makers like yours truly?

When the heat from the goonies is off, I will swing by East Coast usual North to South drill. I will have a small stock of FX-S with me, I kinda got some recently as part of an economic stimulus to the tt industry.

Sent from my SM-N970U using Tapatalk
 
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As always, I appreciate your in-depth analysis. It completely makes sense why you and many others don't like a sealed handle. I think for me, I don't sweat that much, so there's almost a nice grippiness to a sealed handle for lower sweat hands (especially when I used to use a gloss finish). Upon reflection, I think the reason I have been sealing them is for aesthetic reasons (darkens the wood appearance, keeps it "fresh" for longer, etc) and because people generally haven't commented on it (so there was little feedback good or bad - so this is very helpful). On a related note, I don't think nail polish remover (acetone) will be enough to remove the cured finish, which is a thin polyurethane based finish - you may have to use something like a stripper/paint-thinner/MEK to actually get rid of it....or even just a light sanding.

I'm glad to know it's relatively similar to the V+ in playing ability! I wonder how much difference there would be between the two blades if I had used thicker limba layers.
For me, the interesting thing was, in the past I had experienced not liking sealed blade handles in the scenario of sweat. But in this instance, it was extreme dry condtions and my hands being so dry that the handle felt slippery. However, in the normal air conditions where my hands did not feel sweaty or dry, I did not notice the sealant on the handle as being an issue. I am not sure if I would be bothered by this sealant if in humid NYC summer conditions where you do sweat.

Aesthetic reasons. I actually had a discussion about sealant on the handle with Hipnotic (Sergio) a few years ago where, I believe what I was saying, if I recall correctly, that, if the sealant was simply to keep the handle looking good, I did not see that as a reason to seal, at least, not for me. I would rather a handle that looks beat up but absorbs my sweat. That being said, if someone else wants the aesthics of a nice clean handle, that is up to them. I am good with my rackets looking like they have been through some battles. :) But each person can make their own choices on those kinds of considerations. Even if, in threads where someone is asking how to clean their handle, I will mess around. :)

Nail polish remover. I think you may be right. Yesterday I thought I had gotten enough of the sealant off for me to be happy. Today, I am not 100% sure. But, I think, if I gave the handle a very light sanding in a few key places, that might be all I need. I am still going to see how it feels with what I did so far because, the less I can do to the blade to change things, in my mind, the better.

I may actually bevel the edges of the wings a little more. I do love the way they are finished and slightly rounded from an aesthetic standpoint. But I know I did slightly feel the edges of the blade. I think I got so used to how much I have beveled the wings of all my other blades that I may be a bit spoiled on that front. :) See photos of the wings of my V+ below for reference:

All in all, I do really like the blade. I have put the T64 on the BH side for now (removed the MXP) and next time, I think I will try the blade with T05 FH and T64 BH and see how that feels before I decide whether I want to get New Tenergy or New R48 to put on the blade. I think either rubber will be a good choice.

IMG_3156.JPG





 
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langel;338934What about the Vibrations: are they more sensible with harder and thicker rubbers, or the opposite, and what is your preferred sensation, and with which rubbers you have more rubber/more blade feeling and what you prefer.
Every wood has its own kind of synergy with different rubbers, and every player has its own kind of synergy with the blade+rubber system.
I know that you are very familiar with great stake of rubbers, but, from what you've said, I would dare to suggest Xiom Omega V Asia 2 mm, or Omega V Tour 2 mm. Neither Pro versions, nor VII generations.
I like the way the blade feels. I have tried it with 4 different rubbers so far: Nexy Karis M, Victas V>01 Stiff, T05 & MXP. I think, what I felt about the blade was consistent almost thoughout. One observation I had with Nexy Karis did not seem to be noticeable with any of the other rubbers so I would attribute that to the Nexy rubber. That was the slower on softer touch and faster as you added more force.

With all the rubbers, the Nate Special has had a lower, deeper tone/pitch/sound/feeling. On ball impact it gives a nice feeling but the feeling of the V+ is more sharp and clear. As an indication of some of what that means, I remember lending my blade to a friend who is a pretty decent player and a level or three higher than me (Der_Echte has played with him and so has NextLevel: Der, Matt, the Penhold player with RPB who was at the Korean club the first time we went and the last....also a member on MyTT), he tried my blade and said, "the reason I would not want to use this blade is, I feel like I can feel exactly where the ball hits the racket. Maybe it has too much feeling for me." So, the Nate Special has a slightly more subdued feeling where you can feel things. But the tone is not turned up as high. :) For me, I feel an adequate amount with it. And the blade feels pretty nice. So, I am okay with it.

As far as rubbers and blades. I do think different rubbers do feel different on different woods and different blades. But I think the rubbers still do what they do. So, I can usually feel through the rubber to what is the blade and not the rubber. But that is also why I wanted to try the blade with lots of different rubbers.

But, when I buy a brand new set of rubbers for this blade, it will either be R48 on both sides or it will be T05/T05fx. I confess, I feel like those rubbers are better than most and I am good with that.

 
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Der_ said:
Carl, I think you would absolutely LOVE Tibhar FX-S in place of t05fx. FX-S us ONE LOUD PUPPY when you really spank it.

Is NYC still got the City Goon Squad on patrol looking for incoming arriving out of town trouble makers like yours truly?

When the heat from the goonies is off, I will swing by East Coast usual North to South drill. I will have a small stock of FX-S with me, I kinda got some recently as part of an economic stimulus to the tt industry.
Because I am primary care to my mom who is now 89, and has some immune system stuff going on, I have to keep my circles fairly closed until I have been vaccinated. My mom got her first dose of vaccine today. Things went well with that. But, until more of the population is vaccinated, expanding my current bubble would not be a wise decision. Which also means, if I am playing TT, it is not at a club and is with someone in my bubble. (My sister has a table in her home).

As far as FXS, Not my thing. I tired it. I like FXP better for how I play. I would be happy with MXP/FXP. That would be fine. I like R48 a little more than MXP at this point. I like T05/T05fx as well. Not so interested in too many other things right now even though I know there are lots of rubbers that are comparable. In a world where price was not an issue, I would just get Tenergy because it is freakin good and lasts really long. R48 feels better for the first three weeks and then.......well.....I do like it after the performance drops off because I really like the topsheet. But....after 3 weeks, Tenergy feels better and does more......
langel;338944Yeah, Der_Echte is on the softer side, and it may happen he'd be right.
That's why I asked the questions above.

Though I'd be still on a little harder side, with a little bit more rubber over wood.
Yeah, I personally like rubbers that are medium for FH and Medium to Medium Soft for BH. I like to let the ball sink into the sponge and let the topsheet perform magic tricks. So I don't love super hard topsheets because I do a lot of stuff with soft touch that would not get the ball to sink into the sponge with a harder sponge. When I swing big, I know how to use the medium sponge. For that, I would be fine with the hard sponge. But, it would cut off a lot of the creative stuff I do with softer sponge that makes me happy.

I could use MXP on both FH and BH. I would rather FXP for BH. I could use T05 for both sides but I like T05fx or T64 better for BH. If there was something just like R48 that was R43 (But not like R47) I could be fine using that for BH. But.....I don't really like R47. And the R48 topsheet is so soft that my BH likes it a lot even thought the sponge is 48. :)

And if I had FXP or T05fx on both sides, I would know what to do with that as well. R48s topsheet is so soft I am not sure I would want a softer version for my FH, but I would be able to use that as well for either wing. :)
Konrad said:
quantum x Pro for me it is the best rubber from new technology if your area has good tibhar prices it is great choice on fh sideRasanter 48/ Rhyzer 45 pro combo has potential +Rh45 pro for all wood harder core is something that plays better than soft blades with carbon. victas 07stiff is good too but maybe little less bouncy than Rhyzer 45
There are lots of good rubbers. I have limited my window on which rubbers I want on the blade based on the stuff that makes me the most happy. :)

 
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SO much helpful information in this thread!

I know how you feel about dirty handles and I can agree - function is more important than aesthetics and there's something nice about having a blade whose handle shows it has clearly been used (and loved). Sand those wings! I remember getting my first couple Butterfly blades in the early 2000's and they came out of the factory razor sharp, so when I make my blades I put enough of a small bevel on them to avoid those odd middle-finger blisters that come with an un-sanded, sharp wing (but not enough of a bevel to be "comfort fit", like your V+ is).

It's good to know that other people have tried it and agree with your assessment - it seems like the redwood provides a lower-frequency, high-control/feedback type feeling. Limba-Limba blades I've made with Kiri or Western Red Cedar cores seem like they are a step or two sharper/clearer feeling than the Redwood core variant. I have made a few blades with thicker redwood cores than the one I sent your way (which I was keeping at the industry standard 5.8mm thick), and they have a higher frequency (like redwood thickness and subsequent frequency scale in a non-linear fashion). I wonder if I made that blade with a core that's 0.4mm thicker (6.2mm overall) if that would tighten up that feeling to a comparable level as the V+.

I'm amazed at all the rubbers you've tried on the blade - that has given me more data on the blade than I could have ever asked for! On a related note, I'm actually kind of tempted to try Tenergy 19 on my BH (I used Tenergy 05 on my BH a decade ago with great success)...
 
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