EJ Covid dreams, hungarian edition.

Originally Posted by Nate4s

Looks great - I'm liking OSP's new handle design. Can I ask what you're looking to accomplish with the hollowed handle?

Donic Senso effect. Move balance to the head. Make vibrations easier to feel.

EDIT: Long story
I requested the Senso drilling, but OSP said that he could not drill through because the badge would not fit. So he moved the drilling inside the handle. He said it accomplishes the same thing.

Throughout my EJ career, I always liked Senso blades the most. But the feedback is much more noticeble/louder. It is really hard to explain, but they feel much better to me than non-senso versions.

Originally Posted by Kuba Hajto

Donic Senso effect. Move balance to the head. Make vibrations easier to feel.

EDIT: Long story
I requested the Senso drilling, but OSP said that he could not drill through because the badge would not fit. So he moved the drilling inside the handle. He said it accomplishes the same thing.

Throughout my EJ career, I always liked Senso blades the most. But the feedback is much more noticeble/louder. It is really hard to explain, but they feel much better to me than non-senso versions.

That makes a lot of sense - both in terms of moving that balance toward the head and modifying the feedback properties. Thanks for sharing!

I have found that solid walnut handles provide a nicer, clearer vibration when compared to softer woods and laminated handles that most manufacturers use (however, I have never seen solid walnut used in commercial blades). I initially started making blades with solid walnut, then moved toward laminated handles for aesthetic reasons (and because solid walnut is often too heavy for creating blades under 90g), and have just started going back to solid walnut because of how much better those handles feel to me (in terms of the clarity of vibration transfer). If you like your blades head-heavy, then this would not be a good option for you since it tends to move the balance point toward the handle, but I do wonder if it would provide a feel somewhat like you're describing.

It is funny Der_Echte goes around breaking handles open to fill the hollow spots and you ask specifically for it.

Nate has made it so Der doesn't have to do that anymore by giving him heavy blades that are handle heavy. hahahahaha.

Thank you Nate.

Yeah, I wouldn't be the one asking for hollowed handles (unless I was a burning to take them off, but OP dun asked for his custome setup... he got his custom setup, and I would bet sum cheez-its that what he got gunna suit him or satisfy him better than commercial blades. WORTH IT.

Originally Posted by Kuba Hajto

Nah it is not a sum of the best parts. Life taught me that "the sum of best things", does not really work in real life...

The thing is, I started my table tennis life with Donic Appelgren Allplay Senso V2. I cannot stand if the blade has "handle balance". It feels like if I had one less joint in the body than I should. I wanted to have a crispy flexy 5ply, because I don't have one in my collection yet. I also bought a blade I do not plan to ever use on a charity auction, but that is a story for another thread (probably the one where everyone posts pictures of their new stuff collectively).

I could be wrong. But, to me, it looks like you may have misunderstood what Der was saying. I know he sort of speaks in riddles. And he isn't always the easiest to understand.

But, he was basically saying that you getting a custom blade, the way you wanted it, is good and you probably will like the blade.

That being said, the reasons for your getting this blade are fine and can stand alone without the first sentence.

Originally Posted by Kuba Hajto

Donic Senso effect. Move balance to the head. Make vibrations easier to feel.

EDIT: Long story
I requested the Senso drilling, but OSP said that he could not drill through because the badge would not fit. So he moved the drilling inside the handle. He said it accomplishes the same thing.

Throughout my EJ career, I always liked Senso blades the most. But the feedback is much more noticeble/louder. It is really hard to explain, but they feel much better to me than non-senso versions.

And I was wondering that it's only me in the whole world who likes/used to like Senso handles.

I am impartial. If I get used to a head heavy blade, it is fine with me. I am also fine with the extra feeling in the handle. A center balanced blade or a handle heavy blade is a bit easier for me to get used to. But, I can get used to any of the above options.

My experience is, different blades, different balances, allow you to do slightly different things. I could develop technique around any weight balance within a fairly reasonable range. It makes no substantial difference to me.

But for sure, a blade with more weight in the handle that is the same weight as a blade with a hollowed handle will feel like it is a lighter blade: part of why is: if you hollowed out the handle heavy blade and removed the same amount of mass as was removed from the blade whose handle has already been hollowed out, the previously handle heavy blade WOULD BE a lighter blade.

Conversely, a blade that is 85 grams with a hollow handle, if you put back the material that was removed in the hollowing, will actually be a heavier blade.

So, usually, a blade that was 90 grams with 5 grams removed from the handle which now weighs 85 grams, will still feel kind of like a 90 gram blade.

But, again, if you are used to a particular blade or setup, and have developed your technique around that, something with a similar weight balance is more likely to work for you.

Originally Posted by Kuba Hajto

That I can attest, my blade was made from "90g sheet", and I ended up with 85g blade in the end. It's funny you picked that exact numbers.

For some reason, a lot of commercial or semi-commercial blade makers love the idea of 85 grams and the amount of wood they remove is often in that ballpark of 5 grams.

Which begs the question: then why does Der_Echte like to add back 30 grams to the handle.

hahahahahaha.

Originally Posted by Kuba Hajto

That I can attest, my blade was made from "90g sheet", and I ended up with 85g blade in the end. It's funny you picked that exact numbers.

I have 2 Donic Senso Ultra Carbons. Both are in the 89-90 gms range. The senso handles as per my earlier evaluation give a wonderful feel on the correct ball contact. If you hit the ball in the 'sweet spot' the feeling/sensation which you get in your hand is something difficult to put in words. However, if you mistime and do not make the right contact then you get a very different feel. So, essentially, it helped me in linking the stroke with that feel to understand if I timed the ball correctly or not.
But one thing which moved me away from Donic WSUC was that it is very wide at the neck, some people might understand it as wide wings. That did not helped in my grip also, using heavier rubbers moved the balance too much towards the head for me and I started getting wrist pain due to that.
However, as I write these words, I am still thinking of using these blades as a backup sometimes. It is so difficult to let go of the good memories which you create when you just started playing and somehow things start falling in place.

Originally Posted by UpSideDownCarl

For some reason, a lot of commercial or semi-commercial blade makers love the idea of 85 grams and the amount of wood they remove is often in that ballpark of 5 grams.

Which begs the question: then why does Der_Echte like to add back 30 grams to the handle.

hahahahahaha.

When you figure out the reason why dogs like certain things, then you have found it.

Originally Posted by KM1976

And I was wondering that it's only me in the whole world who likes/used to like Senso handles.

KM,

As much as I dislike hollow handles, not so many years ago, the world's largest EJ, TTD Member erm, hooked me up with a pile of Persson Power Play blades, many of them were the senso handles. So hear is one of world's most objectional people playing such a blade.

I had been telling him so mush about not liking hollow handles, but when I looped with one of his senso handle PPP, I was landing the ball pretty easily... not real powerfully, but it landed more often. I am not one to fly against results, and I DID know I should gear down for a spell, so I used the PPP for a year. Prolly grew 2-3 full levels in 1.5 years using it.

After some looking at that handle, I would say it is not terrible, as with knives, when you make a more arching design, the knife is actually stronger. The issue would be weight forward. I dealt with that a couple ways. The blade itself is not really overly head heavy as the plies of the wood are not overly heavy. I used modern dynamic softer rubbers that were not real heavy... and I also glued them on as low as I could glue them.