Do any pro players out there use one ply blades?

[Wakkibatty]

Was just curious how many (if any) pro / national level players out there currently use a one-ply blade during competition (be it kiso, cedar, ayous or something else entirely).

I love the feeling / feedback from my one-ply blade and honestly don't notice much of a speed/ spin deficit compared to the more popular ALC / ZLC / composite blades I've tried (Viscaria | Xiom Hugo | Butterfly Zhang Jike etc). Do any pros out there actually use them regularly?

 

[Dominikk85]

Have any non jpen pro players have ever used one ply blades in the last 30 years?

I'm sure some of the jpen players used it but have one ply blade ever been used by SH pro players?

 

[Wakkibatty]

I honestly don't know​​​​​​ - but I haven't heard of any pro shakehand one-ply users, and can't find any evidence of any modern pro or semi-pro players EVER using them, and I'm just wondering why that is.

​​​​​I mean -- is it because there's a performance deficit in one-ply blades compared to composite blades? Is it a sponsorship thing? Is it that coaches are encouraging developing players towards some blades over others, or is it simply just a matter of personal taste?

What confuses me about it is that, having made and tried a massive selection of all wood and composite blades myself, in my personal opinion a good one ply blade can provide arguably better performance on a number of key measures than most composite blades.

So if there's an actual game-play benefit to be had from using a really good one ply (and there definitely is for me personally), then why don't the top players use them more?

If there were only very few pro players using them, it would make sense to me, as statistically speaking there are only very few one.ply blades being made, and they are expensive to buy.

But the fact that (seemingly) NO professionals at all use them anywhere that I can see, I just find that extremely unusual statistically, especially given how fast and spinny many of these blades can be. It kind of suggests that one-ply blades just can't cut the mustard in competition compared to a good composite blade... but having used them myself, that idea to me just seems absolute rubbish. 🤷🏻

 

[Chang]

I think back then I read that Cristian Pletea used Tibhar H-1-9, which is one ply balsa blade.

 

[Zwill]

I think back then I read that Cristian Pletea used Tibhar H-1-9, which is one ply balsa blade.

Nooo, that must be a 1 ply Hinoki at 9mm? That would make sense. 1 ply balsa sounds like it wouldn't last a training 😅

 

[lodro]

maybe they are not widely used because they have a reputation of breaking in half ????????????????

 

[Draycott old man]

maybe they are not widely used because they have a reputation of breaking in half ????????????????

They can split in half but as long as it's with the grain no worries in glueing then back together my 15 years old blade has split in the same place twice.but still feels as though it was brand new!!!! As far as I'm concerned there's nothing like the feel of a one ply blade , that's only my opinion!!! No one ply blade is the same and that's why I believe no professional players use them !!!

 

[Wakkibatty]

maybe they are not widely used because they have a reputation of breaking in half ????????????????

It also depends on the specific species / cultivar of wood used in the blade

Hinoki blades are famous for breaking due to their unique grain structure - the wood that grows during summer is lower density (and weaker) than wood that grows during the slower period of growth they experience during winter.

When Hinoki snaps along the grain, it typically snaps along the path of least resistance, which is usually through the lower density wood along the grain. Other faster growing species of one ply wood however have less natural variation between annual growth periods and are not as prone to this problem.

 

[Wakkibatty]

Nooo, that must be a 1 ply Hinoki at 9mm? That would make sense. 1 ply balsa sounds like it wouldn't last a training 😅

Correct - the H-1-9 is a Hinoki blade... Though apparently there are aa few all-balsa one ply blades out there (though to make it work, they *must*be using above-average density balsa in the blade, taken from the lower half of the trunk just above the buttress.

The standard commercial density for balsa is around 120-150kg per cubic metre. Technically it goes as low as 65kg per cube, and as high as 300kg per cube, but those are considered speciality grades and you have to go looking for them to find them.

If you were to use standard density 150kg per cube balsa in a one-ply, I agree it would probably not last very long. 🙂

 

[passifid]

Most recent was probably Qiu Dang he used to be a jpen with both sides until a few years ago

 

[Draycott old man]

Maybe if I lose 3 stone ,everyone around the worlds level drop's, maybe I could be the next One Ply Blade pro !!!! I can dream lol 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

 

[Scarfed Garchomp]

Achanta Sharath Kamal used the H-3-9 at one point. I think that pros outside of single sided penholders do not really need or prefer the sheer stiffness provided by such a thick blade, as it seems like seldom do pros ever use a blade exceeding 7mm especially when it comes to composite fiber.

 

[lodro]

They can split in half but as long as it's with the grain no worries in glueing then back together my 15 years old blade has split in the same place twice.but still feels as though it was brand new!!!! As far as I'm concerned there's nothing like the feel of a one ply blade , that's only my opinion!!! No one ply blade is the same and that's why I believe no professional players use them !!!

No one ply blade is the same and that's why I believe no professional players use them !!!

Now that makes perfect sense to me.
Having at least 1 identically feeling blade as a back up surely is a MUST for a professional player.
One would not want to travel half around the world to take part in a tournament and then having to drop out on day 1 with a broken blade 😂

 

[thomas.pong]

No one ply blade is the same and that's why I believe no professional players use them !!!

Now that makes perfect sense to me.
Having at least 1 identically feeling blade as a back up surely is a MUST for a professional player.
One would not want to travel half around the world to take part in a tournament and then having to drop out on day 1 with a broken blade 😂

Hater! 😂

 

[Dominikk85]

maybe they are not widely used because they have a reputation of breaking in half ????????????????

A Sponsored pro wouldn't care much about that, wouldn't he? Maybe weight is an issue?

 

[Kolev]

One ply hinoki blades are fast and stiff, but they lack in the spin department

 

[lodro]

A Sponsored pro wouldn't care much about that, wouldn't he? Maybe weight is an issue?

if the blades are all feeling different, and no 2 blades are the same it is then not a matter of them braking it becomes a matter of
having to continue a match with a replacement blade that feels different.

Signed : "Hinoki hater" 🤣

 

[Gozo Aruna]

Ghost, Phantom & Maybach. You'll never see these vehicle used by professional drivers in their professional setting. These vehicles belong inside a nice garage, valet parked and chauffeured driven. It is not for the likes of Colin Mcrae nor for the likes of Mika Hakkinen.

Similarly a One Ply Hinoki worth its salt are collectors' item and are priced by collectors. Its price is high enough to deter regular folks and its scarcity just make it worse, price wise.

We, the collectors ain't need no pro people to make the price go even more astronomical. Those darn pros can go play with their little carbon thingamagic and leave us collectors alone.

 

[Wakkibatty]

One ply hinoki blades are fast and stiff, but they lack in the spin department

I'm actually very surprised to hear that... Is that the experience of all Hinoki one ply owners?

My own one ply blades are both extremely fast AND extremely spinny (they can also flex a bit when I use them right) but then again they're not made from Hinoki and I don't own an Hinoki one-ply blade myself (not yet anyway☺️☺️), so I honestly don't know.

 

[lodro]

Ghost, Phantom & Maybach. You'll never see these vehicle used by professional drivers in their professional setting. These vehicles belong inside a nice garage, valet parked and chauffeured driven. It is not for the likes of Colin Mcrae nor for the likes of Mika Hakkinen.

Similarly a One Ply Hinoki worth its salt are collectors item and is priced by collectors. Its price is high enough to deter regular folks and its scarcity just make it worse, price wise.

We, collectors ain't need no pro people to make the price go even more astronomical. Those darn pros can go play with their little carbon thingy and leave us collectors alone.

Love it, it puts things in perspective. 😁

As I am not a pro, all my blades are collector blades too.
Ever so often I glue some new rubbers on one of them and then give it away.
That is the only chance I have to prevent me from eternally experimenting with too many blades and too many rubber variations.

All is well 😊