Blade Makers' Challenge - Nate

[Nate4s]

Hello!

The point of this thread is to document my process for building Der_Echte's custom blade as a part of the blade makers' challenge he issued a short time ago: Der_Echte's Challenge Post

At the time of this posting, it appears that all of the other blade makers have completed their builds or are in the final stages of getting their blades completed. I haven't even begun! I was out of state at the time the challenge requirements came in (and just got back home a couple days ago), and I was completely out of any carbon materials (unfortunately, I ordered more carbon the day of the challenge posting and am still waiting for it to arrive). Rest assured, I knew the design of the blade I was going to make for Der_Echte's challenge (i.e., I didn't let anyone else's beautiful blades influence my own build). So, while I wait for my carbon materials to arrive, here's a sneak peak at the materials I have going into this build:

 

[Der_Echte]

Nate got the Goon Squad doing the DRAG NET......

 

[Nate4s]

With the TTD-server fire issue, I haven't been able to update my progress on the blade I've been making for Der_Echte's challenge (thankfully, it seems like everything has been restored across TTD).

My carbon materials got in over the weekend, so I was able to start gluing up the plies. I've settled on using a mid-cure epoxy that cures in about 15 minutes, so I've found that it's easiest to first glue the core to the medial wood plies (and let that cure) before attempting to epoxy the carbon and outer layers into place under that time-constraint. In order to satisfy Der_Echte's request for a soft-feeling blade with some dwell (with a white outer ply), I've opted for the following composition: Alaskan Yellow Cedar (outer) - 165gsm Carbon/Kevlar - Limba (medial) - Kiri (core)....[same on other side].

In regard to why I chose Alaskan Yellow Cedar over Koto outers: I have a few blades that I've made with identical compositions other than the outer ply - in one such case, a comparison between 1) Koto - Limba - WRC (core) and 2) Alaskan Yellow Cedar - Limba - WRC (core). These comparisons have shown me that Alaskan Yellow Cedar, while much softer than Koto, generally produces a blade with a higher frequency vibration than a Koto outer. My hope is that this produces a blade with a nice soft-feeling contact with some excellent speed potential. Lastly, fun fact: Alaskan Yellow Cedar isn't technically a "Cedar", it's a Cypress!

For Der_Echte's handle, there were a few things I wanted to incorporate: 1) I wanted to put the bulk of the weight at the butt of the handle, 2) I'm not a fan of using pieces of wood for the handle that don't travel the entire length of the handle (e.g., I didn't just want to use a heavy "butt-cap"), 3) I wanted the top layer to be Walnut. I settled on creating a handle primarily made of two wedges/tapers, where the thickest part of the Ipe-wood is at the butt of the handle, and the thickest part of the walnut-wood is at the thumb-chafer (so the cut would be entirely walnut and not bisecting other wood layers). I love the idea of the weight distribution shifting gradually throughout the length of the handle. At the present, the handles weigh 38 grams (I'll be trimming off a little from the end once glued on the blade-face, so this might lighten up a little bit).

Here's a little picture to keep you visually-updated on the progress (don't mind the carbon fray at the edges - I'll clean that up near the end).

 

[Chase Bradshaw]

Ohhh yeah I like it. Is the Kevlar running vertically or horizontally?

 

[Nate4s]

Ohhh yeah I like it. Is the Kevlar running vertically or horizontally?

Thanks! The Kevlar fibers are running horizontally (and carbon fibers are running vertically, from handle to tip of blade).

 

[Der_Echte]

Hi Nate,

A dude in our TT meatup setup tables for 2 hrs kinda club didn't have his bat last week and I let him use your 104g koto outer... he wants to kidnap it... but he likes flared handles... so he will need to contact you and pay $500 or the price of JM S. ZLC...

Sergey looked like he was gunna steal one or all of the blades Chase made, so I had to secure them. Nah, they are available to him and anyone anytime.

Sent from my SM-N970U using Tapatalk

 

[UpSideDownCarl]

A few things people should know. The blade I received from Nate is awesome! There are several blade makers who make hand crafted blades of high HIGH quality who post and are findable on this forum. For so many players looking for new equipment, contacting one of these blade makers, telling the blade maker what they would be interested in and what their experience and level of play are and having a custom blade maker design a blade for that specific person would be so much more beneficial AND COST EFFECTIVE than trying to find the right blade from one of the major TT Manufacturers, that, it would really be worth considering doing that.

That Der_Echte has initiated this "challenge" is a great idea and could help people on the forum see what kind of blade they could get if they contacted one of these blade makers. And the idea of a blade, designed for your specific needs, well, that is something that, in any other circumstance, only the top pros have access to. I personally would take advantage of that kind of access.

 

[Der_Echte]

In general, the cost of a Blade from the custom Blade makers is an outstanding value as well.

Sent from my SM-N970U using Tapatalk

 

[thomas.pong]

Love the thought process and composition of this blade! And the handle is looking very nice!

Could you tell us how thick the blade is?

 

[Nate4s]

Love the thought process and composition of this blade! And the handle is looking very nice!

Could you tell us how thick the blade is?

Thanks for the kind words, Thomas!

The blade is currently 6.02 mm thick - I'll need to sand a few hundredths off to get it under the threshold Der_Echte specified. 😂

 

[Nate4s]

Update: Handles are sufficiently attached and the glue is cured. Peak Frequency is 1507 hz. 😍

 

[Der_Echte]

Sounds like this one gunna be a real CRACKER.

 

[Nate4s]

Sounds like this one gunna be a real CRACKER.

I may have to keep this one for personal inspection. The ball appears to be bouncing off the surface with more energy than I'm putting into it. You wouldn't want it anyway (too fast and too heavy, I fear). 😎

 

[Chase Bradshaw]

How much did it end up weighing?

 

[Nate4s]

Chase Bradshaw;343281

How much did it end up weighing?

Great question! I ended up "failing" the challenge on that single attribute (everything else I met the requested specifications) - I even emailed Der-Echte to see what he wanted me to do*... It ended up at 112g (about 8 grams heavier than I expected). 🤯

Perhaps my handles were a bit too heavy... But the balance is very low and feels superb! I'll take some better pictures tomorrow once I have some daylight.

*It's always a pleasure making blades for Der_Echte, who is always happy to experiment and is flexible when things don't go exactly as planned (I offered to make a lighter blade to match the heavy handle, but he enthusiastically told me to finish the blade I had originally intended to build).

 

[Der_Echte]

Wow, the simple lines on that handle gunna get the Jil Sander minimalist crowd barking a new tune real soon.

I didn't ask Nate to comprimise on what he was trying to do, I demanded that he shoot me.

 

[Nate4s]

It is done.

 

[UpSideDownCarl]

A top ply with characteristics like Hinoki and a handle like that!!!! That is a beautiful looking blade.

I have a feeling the weight is exactly what Der actually, secretly wanted. That is going to be a bulletproof spin and speed monster. Perfect for someone famous for having a high toss serve and a Rambo Loop.

 

[Der_Echte]

Remember, Next Level REGISTERED the actual trademark for HTSB... High Toss Servy Bastardy... That would be a fun one to burn those initials into the blade bottom, but maybe only NL and a couple others would be the only ones who would "get it".

I would expect the blade to meet the spirit of what I was asking the blade makers to do - make something different in the neighborhood of my feel and speed profile preferences... and tell a story.

As much as I would crave this blade, maybe local TT pal Sergey would want this balde, he already liked the DE Ground Ponder from Chase, said he could drive well and still adjust for the slwoer heavy shots. Yeah, I gotta be careful and keep Sergey's test limitied to 2 hours if I let him get hiz pawz on that thing.

 

[tt_kidz]

Great question! I ended up "failing" the challenge on that single attribute (everything else I met the requested specifications) - I even emailed Der-Echte to see what he wanted me to do*... It ended up at 112g (about 8 grams heavier than I expected). 🤯

Perhaps my handles were a bit too heavy... But the balance is very low and feels superb! I'll take some better pictures tomorrow once I have some daylight.

*It's always a pleasure making blades for Der_Echte, who is always happy to experiment and is flexible when things don't go exactly as planned (I offered to make a lighter blade to match the heavy handle, but he enthusiastically told me to finish the blade I had originally intended to build).

Love the handle ... gives the illusion that this is one skinny handle but i doubt so since this Der's blade