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Hi all
I know these blades are often discussed and compared, in many case without much consensus from what I have found in my research.
I have been playing with Viscarias for a while (I have 2) and am very comfortable with them, but recently had the opportunity to try both the other blades and wanted to share some thoughts that may (or may not) help others in the future.
I am an offensive player with a stronger FH than BH but who generally likes a fairly close to the table topspin driven game. What I have always liked about the Viscaria is the feeling of crispness and directness it offers whilst still feeling soft enough to give me some feeling and good contact This helps me to feel comfortable with attacking and blocking but without compromising my push game. The handle was probably the only area I felt I might be more comfortable with the other options (straight on both) which is why I tried them.
I have used the same rubbers on all blades (K3 FH & R7 BH) although the two sets are slightly different in age as one has around 25h and the other around 6h. I first tried the Boll & Jike and having now ruled the Boll out as a main blade option, am now comparing Viscaria and Jike more closely.
Blades are slightly different weights;
Viscaria 90g (4 years old)
Boll 85g (8 years old but unused until now)
Jike 86g (9 years old but light use)
The key areas I was trying to evaluate;
1. Crispness / hardness - Boll > Viscaria > Jike
The Boll stood out for me as noticeably harder and crisper than the other two - I like this character a lot in a blade, but on balance found the Boll a tad too much for me right now. The impact just felt less tolerant of a less than perfect contact - less margin for error on this, which probably hurt me in matchplay situations.
The Viscaria and Jike were not far apart, but to me the Jike felt slightly softer - the jury is out for me as to which I prefer right now in this area.
2. Comfort of handle Jike > Viscaria > Boll
I like both the straight handles here and enjoy playing with them slightly more than the flared Viscaria. What I have found however is that the Boll, when I play matches, starts to feel slippery and less secure in my hand, in particular when serving using a pistol grip for a pendulum/reverse pendulum serve. I had to towel down my hand much more regularly in order to feel secure - this is an issue for me. The Jike seems better in this regard and the Viscaria is never an issue.
3. Control Jike = Viscaria > Boll
Not much to choose between the Jike and the Viscaria from what I have seen to date, but once again the Boll appears to have slightly less control and feeling
4. Speed Boll > Viscaria = Jike
Boll feels slightly faster than the other two - I need to spend a little more time with the Viscaria and Jike to really establish if there is any meaningful difference but I suspect there isn't much, if any.
Not surprisingly there is a lot of similarity between these blades as might be expected given their construction is identical, but the different handles certainly contribute to a different feeling when holding and playing. As Baal has said in the past, there is no doubt something that gives the Boll more crispness and a slightly harder feeling - it may be a treatment of some sort on the blade. The weight difference is negligible between Boll & Jike while the Viscaria is 4-5g or so heavier than either and so might offer a little more heft and speed.
I would be happy to hear any of your thoughts on these or any questions that I may not have covered - I have only really focused on what I look for in a blade.
I know these blades are often discussed and compared, in many case without much consensus from what I have found in my research.
I have been playing with Viscarias for a while (I have 2) and am very comfortable with them, but recently had the opportunity to try both the other blades and wanted to share some thoughts that may (or may not) help others in the future.
I am an offensive player with a stronger FH than BH but who generally likes a fairly close to the table topspin driven game. What I have always liked about the Viscaria is the feeling of crispness and directness it offers whilst still feeling soft enough to give me some feeling and good contact This helps me to feel comfortable with attacking and blocking but without compromising my push game. The handle was probably the only area I felt I might be more comfortable with the other options (straight on both) which is why I tried them.
I have used the same rubbers on all blades (K3 FH & R7 BH) although the two sets are slightly different in age as one has around 25h and the other around 6h. I first tried the Boll & Jike and having now ruled the Boll out as a main blade option, am now comparing Viscaria and Jike more closely.
Blades are slightly different weights;
Viscaria 90g (4 years old)
Boll 85g (8 years old but unused until now)
Jike 86g (9 years old but light use)
The key areas I was trying to evaluate;
1. Crispness / hardness - Boll > Viscaria > Jike
The Boll stood out for me as noticeably harder and crisper than the other two - I like this character a lot in a blade, but on balance found the Boll a tad too much for me right now. The impact just felt less tolerant of a less than perfect contact - less margin for error on this, which probably hurt me in matchplay situations.
The Viscaria and Jike were not far apart, but to me the Jike felt slightly softer - the jury is out for me as to which I prefer right now in this area.
2. Comfort of handle Jike > Viscaria > Boll
I like both the straight handles here and enjoy playing with them slightly more than the flared Viscaria. What I have found however is that the Boll, when I play matches, starts to feel slippery and less secure in my hand, in particular when serving using a pistol grip for a pendulum/reverse pendulum serve. I had to towel down my hand much more regularly in order to feel secure - this is an issue for me. The Jike seems better in this regard and the Viscaria is never an issue.
3. Control Jike = Viscaria > Boll
Not much to choose between the Jike and the Viscaria from what I have seen to date, but once again the Boll appears to have slightly less control and feeling
4. Speed Boll > Viscaria = Jike
Boll feels slightly faster than the other two - I need to spend a little more time with the Viscaria and Jike to really establish if there is any meaningful difference but I suspect there isn't much, if any.
Not surprisingly there is a lot of similarity between these blades as might be expected given their construction is identical, but the different handles certainly contribute to a different feeling when holding and playing. As Baal has said in the past, there is no doubt something that gives the Boll more crispness and a slightly harder feeling - it may be a treatment of some sort on the blade. The weight difference is negligible between Boll & Jike while the Viscaria is 4-5g or so heavier than either and so might offer a little more heft and speed.
I would be happy to hear any of your thoughts on these or any questions that I may not have covered - I have only really focused on what I look for in a blade.
