Christmas came early this year

[Archosaurus]

Well, these just arrived. Several days earlier than they were stated to.


http://i.imgur.com/or5EtzE.jpg


I have just one question: is this bad? The wood coloring is irregular, and the finish doesn't appear to be the best. There's small cuts along the grain.


Is it just stiga sub-100 dollar blade quality, or a manufacturing fault? Does it matter?

http://i.imgur.com/GiqaXrj.jpg

@NextLevel
@UpSideDownCarl

You know equipment, get in here.

 

[UpSideDownCarl]

Glad you got your gear. Sweet.

After I teach my next class I will ask you some questions. Like, are the splinters on the blade face or near the edges?

Even Stiga's $190.00+ blades have stuff like that.

Don't glue and cut till later. I will have info that will be really useful about setting up your blade that is specific to Stiga blades. But I've gotta teach now.


Sent from Deep Space by Abacus

 

[Archosaurus]

The splinters are along the whole blade. I looked at pictures of other Stiga blades, and some have it. So I think it's normal.

Unfortunately I already cut and glued because I did some bounce tests on the bare wood and whatnot and I couldn't see, hear or feel anything strange.

I'm probably not going to reglue unless it's absolutely important, but I will surely keep it in mind for my next purchase. Everything feels and looks fine about the blade so I'm not concerned about the weird features.

Thanks.

This rubber is ridiculously tacky and spinny. I can feel it grab onto the ball, and I'm not even brushing it very hard right now.

http://i.imgur.com/ZzSXiQi.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/aHHH2LD.jpg

 

[SilentRain]

Stiga isnt really on point in terms of quality control. I bought 5 clipper cr blades from them and all 5 had different weights and quality. But they are not so bad that you should ask for a refund. Just that some are better than the rest. Dont worry about it. At the end of the day, as long as it plays nice, its fine.

 

[Archosaurus]

I did some very soft loops onto a wall and floor that absolutely kills spin and doesn't bounce at all, and I could feel the ball grab and it still spun well on the floor.

I think I'll really like this.

 

[Suga D]

Totally agree. Lookin' nice, Archie

If it doesn't break before, you can use this blade for the next couple of years.
Pls let us know how it plays and how you like it after you've played with it for a bit.
[Emoji2]

 

[Archosaurus]

I'm ridiculously delicate with my equipment, so I think it should well last a few years. I'm looking into putting something soft into my racket case, because I'm a bit paranoid about the durability of the blade because it feels incredibly flimsy.


Up to now, I'm impressed, and I haven't even really taken a swing yet.

 

[passifid]

Great choice very similar to my first set up which I use still for fun. A word of advice, the best chinese forehand rubber for under 20 is the globe 999 national. Never waste money on dhs. Also flip your bat to try the blue on the bh as well as fh as I found it better suited to backhand personally but enjoy and spin them out the park

 

[Archosaurus]

Great choice very similar to my first set up which I use still for fun. A word of advice, the best chinese forehand rubber for under 20 is the globe 999 national. Never waste money on dhs. Also flip your bat to try the blue on the bh as well as fh as I found it better suited to backhand personally but enjoy and spin them out the park

@UpSideDownCarl and Der_Echte mostly got me to this conclusion, so go congratulate them, not me.

I won't be upgrading any time soon, but I'll keep it in mind. I'll also be flipping the bat when I'm breaking it in to see what I like best. I took the blue sponge because it was actually a few euro cheaper, and I like variation.

 

[NextLevel]

Thanks.

This rubber is ridiculously tacky and spinny. I can feel it grab onto the ball, and I'm not even brushing it very hard right now.

Compared to what you previously used, grasshopper. Compared to what you previously used. Otherwise, you will picking up your jaw if you play with Tenergy 05 or Evolution MX-S.

 

[Archosaurus]

Compared to what you previously used, grasshopper. Compared to what you previously used. Otherwise, you will picking up your jaw if you play with Tenergy 05 or Evolution MX-S.

Well, compared to the price more so. For 10 eur a sheet, this is a steal.

I won't be picking up a modern high end rubber any time soon, because I'm a cheapass and because this rubber lasts for a few millenia.

 

[NextLevel]

Well, compared to the price more so. For 10 eur a sheet, this is a steal.

I won't be picking up a modern high end rubber any time soon, because I'm a cheapass and because this rubber lasts for a few millenia.

So how many rubbers have you bought at that price that show you this?

 

[Archosaurus]

So how many rubbers have you bought at that price that show you this?

None at all. But based on what I've seen, having this capability with 10eur a sheet is a steal.

How much of a steal it is compared to other rubber, well, I'll find out some day.

 

[NextLevel]

None at all. But based on what I've seen, having this capability with 10eur a sheet is a steal.

How much of a steal it is compared to other rubber, well, I'll find out some day.

So let's get this straight - you have not used any other rubber at the same price, and you haven't used any respectably spinny rubber, yet you know that your rubber is a steal.

I have news for you buddy, any inverted rubber that is ITTF approved is grippy as long as it isn't the staple of a premade.

IT's amazing how hard you try not to get it.

 

[passifid]

So let's get this straight - you have not used any other rubber at the same price, and you haven't used any respectably spinny rubber, yet you know that your rubber is a steal.

I have news for you buddy, any inverted rubber that is ITTF approved is grippy as long as it isn't the staple of a premade.

IT's amazing how hard you try not to get it.

Here you go. I've tried maybe 8 chinese style rubber about that price , 3 729 3 dhs 2 globe 1palio and a few others, 729 is pretty darn spiny. More so for a beginner than the neo series and it's softer and easier to spin than the non neo.

Anyhow I personally found t05 to be much more spiny and controllable than stiga airoc astro m. But really fast and spin deficient with my stroke which is a super thin brush compared to almost every tacky rubber. If you are saying 729 fx tacky isn't spiny I feel you should re evaluate your grading criteria.

In fact if you can find me a better traditional Chinese rubber for the same price or the t05 (I can get them for 3.50 in gbp) I will re evaluate my best barging price rubbers. But 729 for 350 a sheet or globe for 5 pounds a sheet are my number 1 for cheap...9

Sorry if this came off as mean but I feel you were bullying a little by saying 729 isn't particularly good for its price. Which it's pretty much considered just for being a good cheap rubber.

I mean arch has just got a new decent set up after several bouts of (quite well deserved) banter and pooping on this is somthing I frown on.

If you'd like aditonal opinions here are about 10 negative and 50 postie reviews which a lot consider it to be towards beginners and spin http://www.tabletennisdb.com/rubber/729-super-fx.html

 

[UpSideDownCarl]

Well, I guess if you glued it, play with it. Don't want to make you second guess yourself, but, here goes:

1) if the splinters are on the blade face I would actually have contacted them and sent it back. A brand new blade with a splintering ply on the blade face is a real quality control issue.

But if you mean everywhere except on the blade face when you say "everywhere" then that is okay.

2) Stiga is notorious for not finishing their blades. They cut them and the blades are left rough. If you wanted to put a positive spin on this you could interpret it as if they are encouraging you to finish the blade yourself and to personalize it a little.

So, every time I have bought a new Stiga blade, I have sanded the edges, the splinters and the rough spots off with extra fine sandpaper. And I have filed the wings to shape them to my liking almost the way a penhold player will. Then I have sealed the blade face with a very thin layer of sealant to protect the wood. Once the sealant is dried, the blade is ready for action.

Here is a photo of how I like my wings filed:

That feels really nice on the hand to me. Maybe it adds a tiny bit to the flex as well. [emoji2]

Hope this info helps.

Those of you who know my equipment and are paying attention may notice something. [emoji2] I had those rubbers lying around for a while and they were on my ZLF from the last time I got rubbers from Landers. They only had a few weeks of wear in them. So I figured I would use them until they were dead before putting my next set of Evolution on. Problem is, Tenergy is pretty good. Too bad I remember that now. Oh....if only I could have the MX-P topsheet on that Tenergy sponge....I think that would be k-k-k-karazy!

 

[Archosaurus]

Well, let me rephrase then: I would not feel bad paying 10eur for a sheet of 729 FX.

Carl, the splinters I'm talking about are also on your blade in the pictures. If it's your blade.

I don't know if they're splinters or what, but they're the grooves in the wood. It's fairly uniform, and everywhere from the grip to the blade face. Absolutely no wood is sticking out, or is otherwise in what is obviously a damaged state.

I didn't seal my blade, but I could always peel the sheets off, seal it then reglue if I feel bad about the durability of the blade. I don't have any sealant on me right now, but I should have probably actually bought some. Oh well, mistakes were made. Just gotta learn from 'em.

I also sand all my blades. I like to screw around with penhold, and it really digs into the fingers if you don't sand it. This STIGA blade is exceptionally unfinished, so I'll have to take it to the workshop tomorrow.


I will play with the blade tomorrow and report my findings. Anything I should watch out for?

 

[SilentRain]

If theres no wood sticking out and that it is uniform then its not a splinter.What you are referring to is most likely the wood grain which is normal. The AE outerply uses limba which I find to have more pronounced wood grain than most other wood. The wood grains in limba form relatively deep groves that when you peel off your rubber, you can see the glue take the shape of the groove. You can sometimes even feel the grooves if you run your fingers around it. But this is very normal for limba wood so theres nothing to be afraid off.

 

[Archosaurus]

If theres no wood sticking out and that it is uniform then its not a splinter.What you are referring to is most likely the wood grain which is normal. The AE outerply uses limba which I find to have more pronounced wood grain than most other wood. The wood grains in limba form relatively deep groves that when you peel off your rubber, you can see the glue take the shape of the groove. You can sometimes even feel the grooves if you run your fingers around it. But this is very normal for limba wood so theres nothing to be afraid off.

What I thought, but I've not expected an instrument like a table tennis blade to have such grain.

There was a single small splinter on the handle, but otherwise the blade is fine. At least now I know it's normal, and just the grain. Thanks.

 

[UpSideDownCarl]

Yeah. That is my blade Archie. There are no splinters on my blade. That is 100% the grain of the wood. The word splinter means something different than that.

I wouldn't take the rubber off to seal the blade. But when you do take the rubbers off, take them off very gently and then seal the blade after you take the rubber off. It will be worth doing. But only when you have some reason where you need to take the rubbers off.


Sent from Deep Space by Abacus