Impressive Korean Custom Blade Maker Vid

says Table tennis clown
says Table tennis clown
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The skill and touch with the belt sander takes some practice. It would be interesting to see how Butterfly produce something with far more automation.

there is an old video that shows how Butterfly makes (made ???) blades and it is pretty much the same way as shown in the Korean videos BUT as I said, this was an old video and who knows how they make the blades now, maybe it is all done by robots. 😂

Furthermore, these Korean blades seem to be made in small series which can of course not be compared with the single custom made to order as for example SDC. makes them for you.

 
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Perhaps I'm going to sound very arrogant, but I'm looking at this from a different perspective, so I have to call it like I see it. I don't see any special skill or craftsmanship, in fact I find the whole process very clumsy. Of course this doesn't mean those blades can't play great, just commenting on the build process here.

Maybe this was only done for the video, but he's using PVA glue to bond a vertical layer to another vertical layer. If there wasn't a carbon layer in there, that baby would curl like a burrito. He doesn't pre-sand the veneer, not a good practice, and he seals the entire thing before attaching the handles. I bet I can remove those handles just by looking sideways at them.

They use a CNC to cut the shape of the blade, it's fine with just a carbon layer which cuts very easily, but I would love to see how it turns out with ALC or ZLC. Still, you can see in some points those edges look very rough.

Shaping the handles on a belt sander?! True craftsmanship right there if he's able to keep the dimensions consistent. This one really confuses me, the caliper and scale are the most used tools in my workshop, I use them every step of the way.

He's just using cheap wood, painting and engraving it to make it look good. The handles do look good from afar, and I must say the engraving process is well done, but those things will be filled with sweat and grime in no time.

The cases do look good and robust.
 
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says Table tennis clown
says Table tennis clown
Well-Known Member
Apr 2020
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Perhaps I'm going to sound very arrogant, but I'm looking at this from a different perspective, so I have to call it like I see it. I don't see any special skill or craftsmanship, in fact I find the whole process very clumsy. Of course this doesn't mean those blades can't play great, just commenting on the build process here.

Maybe this was only done for the video, but he's using PVA glue to bond a vertical layer to another vertical layer. If there wasn't a carbon layer in there, that baby would curl like a burrito. He doesn't pre-sand the veneer, not a good practice, and he seals the entire thing before attaching the handles. I bet I can remove those handles just by looking sideways at them.

They use a CNC to cut the shape of the blade, it's fine with just a carbon layer which cuts very easily, but I would love to see how it turns out with ALC or ZLC. Still, you can see in some points those edges look very rough.

Shaping the handles on a belt sander?! True craftsmanship right there if he's able to keep the dimensions consistent. This one really confuses me, the caliper and scale are the most used tools in my workshop, I use them every step of the way.

He's just using cheap wood, painting and engraving it to make it look good. The handles do look good from afar, and I must say the engraving process is well done, but those things will be filled with sweat and grime in no time.

The cases do look good and robust.

Indeed.
While they are making an undisputed gem of a blade AND the case, one can not stop thinking that these units
are made more for the collector rather than the serious TT-player.
Still, there is horses for courses and I gladly offer my services to receive and test one of those blades. 🤣

 
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says Hi In first i want to thank you for your interest...
says Hi In first i want to thank you for your interest...
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Perhaps I'm going to sound very arrogant, but I'm looking at this from a different perspective, so I have to call it like I see it. I don't see any special skill or craftsmanship, in fact I find the whole process very clumsy. Of course this doesn't mean those blades can't play great, just commenting on the build process here.

Maybe this was only done for the video, but he's using PVA glue to bond a vertical layer to another vertical layer. If there wasn't a carbon layer in there, that baby would curl like a burrito. He doesn't pre-sand the veneer, not a good practice, and he seals the entire thing before attaching the handles. I bet I can remove those handles just by looking sideways at them.

They use a CNC to cut the shape of the blade, it's fine with just a carbon layer which cuts very easily, but I would love to see how it turns out with ALC or ZLC. Still, you can see in some points those edges look very rough.

Shaping the handles on a belt sander?! True craftsmanship right there if he's able to keep the dimensions consistent. This one really confuses me, the caliper and scale are the most used tools in my workshop, I use them every step of the way.

He's just using cheap wood, painting and engraving it to make it look good. The handles do look good from afar, and I must say the engraving process is well done, but those things will be filled with sweat and grime in no time.

The cases do look good and robust.
Exactly ... this is just copy cat process without any deep knowledge about what they are doing ... I will never buy any cheap Chinese copy after i saw this .

 
says Table tennis clown
says Table tennis clown
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Apr 2020
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bobpuls;380730

.. I will never buy any cheap Chinese copy after i saw this .

You are not comparing apples with apples. Korea is not China.
I am not making a qualification between these two countries but would just like to say
that there are some great quality items to be had made in china at a very reasonable price.
One has to be selective and do ones research but then this applies to any purchase of any kind of goods.
 
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