Donic Original True Carbon differences in production?

[Cadoia]

So I have a Donic Original True Carbon blade that I actually got directly from Anders Lind. My friend tried it and loved it so much he ordered the same for himself.
We are both surprised to discover it plays COMPLETELY different. Its not even close.
Even the sound is different. His is like "klunk klunk" wood sound, where mine sounds like a regular carbon blade is supposed to sound.
It looks identical to mine.

So I have few thoughts:
1) I got mine from Anders Lind, do they have their blades custom made but still carry the brand/model name? Possible?
2) Could it really be a German made blade from Donic could have such a huge difference in quality in production?

I kind of feel sorry for my friend. He is not rich and spend this money for a inferior blade.

 

[OrsonBear]

Where you command ? Can you get a refund or return it ?

 

[Lazer]

Wood is a live material, so there will always be differences. No two blades are identical.

Cheers
L-zr

 

[Cadoia]

Where you command ? Can you get a refund or return it ?

command? not sure what you mean.
Anyways my friend bought it from TT11 estonia. And we are in South America. logistically a nightmare as we even ship through the US to get things here. Also he already used the blade for a month or so now.

 

[SlowPower]

Same for every manufacturer including expensive butterfly blades.
Its always a lottery to get a similar blade!

 

[riemsesy]

I have a Donic Original True Carbon inner

command? not sure what you mean.

probably a translation issue.. order = command

 

[Cadoia]

Wood is a live material, so there will always be differences. No two blades are identical.

Cheers
L-zr

I get that. my friends viscaria is slightly different than mine but not by much.
this is is more of a huge difference. night and day.

 

[Jimbob MacInbred]

Well, you've already been told that most, if not all the manufacturers can have production differences, since wood is a live material as Lazer put it.

Wood is a live material, so there will always be differences. No two blades are identical.

You get that...your friend also?
While there can always be unintentional differences between two blades (be it two Viscarias, two True Carbons or whatever blade), there can also be intentional differences, which is linked to this question...

...do they have their blades custom made but still carry the brand/model name? Possible?

Pro players "naturally" have slightly different needs that pure amateurs. They might see a certain blade of their sponsor as a good basis, but perhaps would like to have a slightly thicker core, thicker handle, enlarged head, heavier weight, softer or harder glue being used...it could be anything. Usually a sponsor like Donic, Tibhar, Butterfly etc. will have it done for their player....

Could it really be a German made blade from Donic could have such a huge difference in quality in production?

Donic is a german brand, yes, but the blade itself is very likely not "Made in Germany". Soulspin is, as far as I know the only commercial blade maker, who not only sells blades under its own brand name, but also produces blades for other brands such as Donic, for instance the Waldner/Persson/Appelgran World Champion 89 blades. They are made by Soulspin and have "Made in Germany" printed on their blades faces. The True Carbon Inner doesn't have this print, which leads me to believe that it probably is made in china.
But as already mentioned, you can see these kind of differences with any brand. Whether a blade is made in germany, china, japan, slovenia is not really that relevant in that context.

... and spend this money for a inferior blade.

How did you (or your friend) come to this conclusion? Because it sounds different? Have you guys played with the blades yet?
By the way: How heavy are the blades? Maybe the blade that you got from Lind is 92g and the blade your friend received is 83g. A weight difference can explain the different sound to some degree.
I happen to have two versions of essentially the same blade (Made in China). One is 89g, the other is 81g. The heavier has the slightly higher pitch and is noticebly more powerful. But the 81g version is actually easier for me the handle overall and hence, for me, is the more suitable ("better") blade.
Maybe your friends blade is indeed the "better" blade for him...

The good thing is that TT11 is usually very customer friendly. So, if your friend is still disappointed about it, then he should send it (undamaged) back to TT11 and ask for a heavier one in return. Sure, it would be a hassle and it would take time. Or maybe a club mate of yours is interested and would buy it for good price.

 

[kindof99]

It was made in China, not in Germany. And it is true, no blades are identical.

 

[Lazer]

Well, you've already been told that most, if not all the manufacturers can have production differences, since wood is a live material as Lazer put it.

You get that...your friend also?
While there can always be unintentional differences between two blades (be it two Viscarias, two True Carbons or whatever blade), there can also be intentional differences, which is linked to this question...

Pro players "naturally" have slightly different needs that pure amateurs. They might see a certain blade of their sponsor as a good basis, but perhaps would like to have a slightly thicker core, thicker handle, enlarged head, heavier weight, softer or harder glue being used...it could be anything. Usually a sponsor like Donic, Tibhar, Butterfly etc. will have it done for their player....

Donic is a german brand, yes, but the blade itself is very likely not "Made in Germany". Soulspin is, as far as I know the only commercial blade maker, who not only sells blades under its own brand name, but also produces blades for other brands such as Donic, for instance the Waldner/Persson/Appelgran World Champion 89 blades. They are made by Soulspin and have "Made in Germany" printed on their blades faces. The True Carbon Inner doesn't have this print, which leads me to believe that it probably is made in china.
But as already mentioned, you can see these kind of differences with any brand. Whether a blade is made in germany, china, japan, slovenia is not really that relevant in that context.

How did you (or your friend) come to this conclusion? Because it sounds different? Have you guys played with the blades yet?
By the way: How heavy are the blades? Maybe the blade that you got from Lind is 92g and the blade your friend received is 83g. A weight difference can explain the different sound to some degree.
I happen to have two versions of essentially the same blade (Made in China). One is 89g, the other is 81g. The heavier has the slightly higher pitch and is noticebly more powerful. But the 81g version is actually easier for me the handle overall and hence, for me, is the more suitable ("better") blade.
Maybe your friends blade is indeed the "better" blade for him...

The good thing is that TT11 is usually very customer friendly. So, if your friend is still disappointed about it, then he should send it (undamaged) back to TT11 and ask for a heavier one in return. Sure, it would be a hassle and it would take time. Or maybe a club mate of yours is interested and would buy it for good price.

All blades with a top layer of spruce is made in Germany. My favorite series World champ 89 all 3 of them have a spruce top layer and are made in Germany

Cheers
L-zr

 

[Jimbob MacInbred]

My favorite series World champ 89 all 3 of them have a spruce top layer and are made in Germany

Cheers
L-zr

You think I don't know that?

 

[NextLevel]

This video is relevant. One of the points he makes (which can get missed depending on your focus) is that pros get lots of blades to test so they may get many blades of the same model and then pick and keep the ones they like the feeling of. This is a form of quality control so even if a blade is not great amongst its many commercial samples, the pro has an opportunity to pick one whose feeling he prefers and that by itself can lead to a pro owning an exception to what the blades generally play like. Even without significant customization. Even without significant changes in manufacturing though it would be the poor manufacturing quality control that generates the largest deviations if the blades have the same age etc. But the pros by testing can work around this. We just buy and often accept what we get.

 

[Cadoia]

This video is relevant. One of the points he makes (which can get missed depending on your focus) is that pros get lots of blades to test so they may get many blades of the same model and then pick and keep the ones they like the feeling of. This is a form of quality control so even if a blade is not great amongst its many commercial samples, the pro has an opportunity to pick one whose feeling he prefers and that by itself can lead to a pro owning an exception to what the blades generally play like. Even without significant customization. Even without significant changes in manufacturing though it would be the poor manufacturing quality control that generates the largest deviations if the blades have the same age etc. But the pros by testing can work around this. We just buy and often accept what we get.

There we have it. it explains it all. Anders picked the best out of many. Maybe even had it modified. This is why it feels like a completely different blade. Well now I appreciate this blade even more lol.

That video was great to watch actually. Reality check for all the Equipment Junkies incl. myself.
Thanks for posting it.

I see now why these forums aren't full of Pro players haha.

 

[Cadoia]

Well, you've already been told that most, if not all the manufacturers can have production differences, since wood is a live material as Lazer put it.

You get that...your friend also?
While there can always be unintentional differences between two blades (be it two Viscarias, two True Carbons or whatever blade), there can also be intentional differences, which is linked to this question...

Pro players "naturally" have slightly different needs that pure amateurs. They might see a certain blade of their sponsor as a good basis, but perhaps would like to have a slightly thicker core, thicker handle, enlarged head, heavier weight, softer or harder glue being used...it could be anything. Usually a sponsor like Donic, Tibhar, Butterfly etc. will have it done for their player....

Donic is a german brand, yes, but the blade itself is very likely not "Made in Germany". Soulspin is, as far as I know the only commercial blade maker, who not only sells blades under its own brand name, but also produces blades for other brands such as Donic, for instance the Waldner/Persson/Appelgran World Champion 89 blades. They are made by Soulspin and have "Made in Germany" printed on their blades faces. The True Carbon Inner doesn't have this print, which leads me to believe that it probably is made in china.
But as already mentioned, you can see these kind of differences with any brand. Whether a blade is made in germany, china, japan, slovenia is not really that relevant in that context.

How did you (or your friend) come to this conclusion? Because it sounds different? Have you guys played with the blades yet?
By the way: How heavy are the blades? Maybe the blade that you got from Lind is 92g and the blade your friend received is 83g. A weight difference can explain the different sound to some degree.
I happen to have two versions of essentially the same blade (Made in China). One is 89g, the other is 81g. The heavier has the slightly higher pitch and is noticebly more powerful. But the 81g version is actually easier for me the handle overall and hence, for me, is the more suitable ("better") blade.
Maybe your friends blade is indeed the "better" blade for him...

The good thing is that TT11 is usually very customer friendly. So, if your friend is still disappointed about it, then he should send it (undamaged) back to TT11 and ask for a heavier one in return. Sure, it would be a hassle and it would take time. Or maybe a club mate of yours is interested and would buy it for good price.

Dude.... you first need to learn how to get that arrogance under control. Then we take it from there.

 

[JJ Ng]

I think you should watch the video of Timo Boll gluing his rubber. I think he literally weigh all the rubbers sent to him by Butterfly and choose the one he likes. He also weighs different blades sent to him by Butterfly and pick the blades he likes. I think he also discussed how he likes to use different blade (weight, etc.) depending on how big the competition hall is. It is like a science.

However, for us mere mortals, we don't have that opportunity to pick the best blade among all the blades sent to us by the sponsor.

I heard Lin Yun-Ju is also very picky about his persona blade and he gets to choose from, says, 20 blades that Butterfly sent him. His signature blade is $340 a pop so....you get the point.

 

[Cadoia]

I think you should watch the video of Timo Boll gluing his rubber. I think he literally weigh all the rubbers sent to him by Butterfly and choose the one he likes. He also weighs different blades sent to him by Butterfly and pick the blades he likes. I think he also discussed how he likes to use different blade (weight, etc.) depending on how big the competition hall is. It is like a science.

However, for us mere mortals, we don't have that opportunity to pick the best blade among all the blades sent to us by the sponsor.

I heard Lin Yun-Ju is also very picky about his persona blade and he gets to choose from, says, 20 blades that Butterfly sent him. His signature blade is $340 a pop so....you get the point.

Now you mention it I remember seeing that video long ago. thank you.