Der_Echte's SDC Spartan XD

For those who never saw it, this was the first version of the Spartan

The composition was Koto / I-C / Ayous / Kiri, with 5.8mm and about 105g. The blade itself is not that heavy, about 68g without handles, which is high for a blade with a kiri core but not that uncommon for blades with Ayous for example.

At first, Der wanted a faster and heavier version of this blade, so the initial thought was to make it thicker. But he also told me to brake the rules, for which I was glad because I broke them all. Personally, I feel my best blades happen when I'm not too constrained, and luckily this was the case.

I really like I-C, but it's more of a control/spin fiber, it does not have much more to give speed to give in this composition. I knew I wanted something soft and dynamic so I chose Kevlar. Kevlar is a plain fiber, it has no carbon, so the feeling is not as muted as ALC or IC for example, this was something he would like. For the top ply I wanted something soft but not too soft, so I chose Kumamoto Hinoki which is slightly crispier than Kiso Hinoki. For the second layer I went with Spruce, mostly because I've used the kevlar/Spruce combination a few times in my personal blades and I really liked it.

The plan was to use a really heavy kiri core, and I do have some really heavy ones, even heavier than Ayous. But after gluing the outer plies and fiber, I did the math and realized that even that wouldn't get us where we wanted to be in terms of weight. And it's a good thing that happen, because I got to use my heavy Cypress cores. This really made sense, Der wanted a blade with a linear power output and Kiri "catches" the ball at high impact. This Cypress has a totally different grain structure and will add to the power, not contain it. At least this was my thought process...

For the handle I was thinking of a futuristic Spartan, and so Spartan XD was born, aka "The Mandalorian":

Kumamoto Hinoki / Kevlar / Spruce / Cypress - 113.6g - 6mm - 1356Hz - Balance: 1.7cm (Very Low)







And, for those who care, this is a nice example of how frequency doesn't tell the whole story. The frequency on this one was about 24hz lower than on the original Spartan, which I was totally expecting. Mass matters, especially the mass of the core, it brings the stiffness/weight ratio down and gives a lower reading, but I immediately told Der this one would be faster. I was not wrong.

2 nights in a row hitting with the Spartan XD... blade is easiy a KEEPER. I could tell from the first hour operating this thing I could use it as my main weapon.

Originally Posted by lasta

I like how you are using similar types of wood across. I'm guessing this one feels pretty solid/uniform, I approve!

I get what you are saying, but it's not all about the similarity of the woods, ply thickness and arrangement matters as well. There are plenty of "mono" wood blades out there that still feel hollow.

A week into using the Spartan XD I can say that the top end is astounding... I get some balls by Sergey I normally do not. I can hit for spin or power... tend to hit for power on slow dead balls.

I do not lose anything on low to medium impacts. It simply feels right.

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I could kidnap and hold Sergey's beloved Octcharov blades hostage, but allow him the use of Spartan XD and MX-K FH / FX-P BH and by golly, Sergey would still rule our city with this setup. He smiles every time he strikes a ball with it.

My conclusion after 1 week plus is that I will use for my EDC until further notice. I can still break out the hinoki outer, Barch outer, or MAU versions out of nowhere and be a boss, I now got a bag of 15 bats with me that are like this.

When I found DER`s impressions about his new "Spartan XD"

I have never had such a favorable first day impression of a blade ever (since the MAU). Feel is where I want it, some vibration pass through, but some muted. Top end on well struck balls entering the beginning parts of OFF+... that is plenty of top end for me, I have no need for a Tamca 500 OFF++ class. Opening sping heavy and great feel. I little crisp, only a little on fast loops. Short area whip is rewarding.

2 nights in a row hitting with the Spartan XD... blade is easiy a KEEPER. I could tell from the first hour operating this thing I could use it as my main weapon.

I immediately wanted to test this blade, but ......

Weight came in at a very LIGHT FEEELING 113 grams with very low balance (1.7 cm I think).

113g for the blade without rubbers ??? 😳
I contacted Sérgio and asked him, how we could manage to get the same (or a similar) feeling with a little lower weight. Of course I wanted to change as little as possible. Therefore I choosed exactly the same composition ans asked Sérgio to choose a different handle design to reduce the weight.

DER`s Spartan XD has a big part of the heavy black wood, which makes the blade heavy and the balance very low.

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Therefore we talked about using more of the brown wood, which fits very well to the outer veneer of this blade. We did not discuss about a special design and look. This was Sérgio`s job and I am very happy with his solution. 😁







DER called his blade Spartan XD for "EXTRA DUTY". I will call mine Spartan XB for "EXTRA BEAUTY". 😉 Weight is 98,8g instead of 113g, Balance = 2,4 (low) instead of 1,7 (very low), speed seems to be similar (1,380 Hz instead of 1.356 Hz).

Uh-Oh, Looks like Magic dun got him a Spartan Variant !!

Magic, if you got the same construction with the handle of your choice, you will know that you dun got a rocket ship bulletproof blade that can pound or spin when you want it.

Now make them battle each other! 😈

The XD would clearly be more spinny and powerful... but the operator behind the blade, Magic hiz damn self seems to have a lot of experience and skill, Der_Echte might not be the favorite in that matchup.

I am honestly glad a leading TT forumer like Magic decided to go the route of a custom maker... the custom makers are CLEARLY more suited to players who know what they want.

Originally Posted by Der_Echte

I am honestly glad a leading TT forumer like Magic decided to go the route of a custom maker... the custom makers are CLEARLY more suited to players who know what they want.

Magic was actually my first official customer 😁