The biggest reason why I don't buy expensive blades is that I've researched the issue for a while and still can't determine why an expensive blade would play any better than a cheaper clone of it.
In the end, a blade is generally 5 to 9 pieces of plywood glued together with maybe 2 of those layers made of a thin synthetic materials. Higher end blades and clones use the same industrial processes to make blades, and there is no special technology required in gluing together pieces of plywood, which is something that's been done for hundreds of years. Maybe some company like Nittaku will use bone glue for some of its blades but whether it makes a difference or whether it's actually even true is still debated.
So as far as how a ball interacts with a wood sandwich is a matter of physics and not something Butterfly or DHS can really change.
What about wood selection? That's an issue as poor quality wood can splinter or be not as consistent. But the fact that Viscarias can vary by 150 hz in hardness frequency, and Nittaku blades can vary by up to 15g in weight, means that at least commercial versions of even popular expensive blades aren't subject to rigorous wood selection control. Maybe some companies are better than others at this. I have personally weighed about 10 Yasaka Resonate AI blades at a store and they all were 88 grams, which is roughly around the factory listed weight.
Pros play with Butterfly and DHS blades because they get paid to. And even then they are given a non-commercial version or are given multiple blades where only a few are suitable. The often heard story goes something like 'famous pro player was given over a dozen blades to choose from and only liked 2 and send the rest back.' So even the blades that these companies give to their star players get rejected because the feel of the wood of each individual blade is an important factor and not something that simply being expensive cannot control for.
In this sense, pros are all EJs but they just get to do it for free. And in order for you to ensure your expensive pro blade is right for you, you'd need to have as good of a feel for equipment as them and then buy multiple blades of each model to test.
So, to conclude:
1. Blades with the same composition will play similarly because physics doesn't change when you slap on a different nameplate on the handle.
2. Finding a blade with the composition that suits play style and a comfortable handle should theoretically have way more value to hobby players than concerns which make blades like Butterfly more expensive (i.e, finish, design, marketing, and sponsorship).
3. If you do get to an advanced enough level where EJ'ing is worth the trouble, then buying a $250 blade of the composition you like playing with won't ensure you get one that's right for you. It might be a dud or the variation might not suit you. It's likely better to buy 8 $40 clone blades of the same or similar composition and pick the best ones from that lot. Of course, you may get lucky on the first one you buy that's perfectly suited for you (whether it's a Stuor Harimoto clone or a Butterfly Golden Viscaria) and come away thinking that specific model is an amazing blade that everyone should be playing with.
If you want to make the process even cheaper, then you can ask to play with everyone's blade at the club in order to find out what sort of handle shape/size and composition feels best.
You're actually asking an excellent question here, in trying to figure out exactly what a high-quality blade is in the first place.
Very few large manufacturers actually bother to define it properly in their marketing materials (for entirely selfish reasons IMO), possibly because they don't want people's decision-making to be too well informed.
I've also just realised that -- despite all the various discussion of equipment I've read and contributed to on the TTD boards over time -- I can't actually recall any one of us (ie: the experienced blade-makes in the audience) clearly and explicitly outlining all the necessary factors that go into making a high quality blade
(at least, not in one single post they haven't, and not in any of the threads I've personally read.
Maybe there is such a list somewhere on the boards, but seriously -- who's got time to go looking for it?)
Given you've actually asked a hugely reasonable and entirely pertinent question, and given I have a vested interest in people being able to spot a high-quality blade when they see one (not to mention them being willing to pony up the readies afterwards), I decided I should probably address the issue.
Here then is my own (brief?
) attempt to rectify that omission, and explain precisely and concisely as I can,
exactly what a high quality blade actually is, and how you can better spot one.
PLEASE NOTE:
Everything that follows is based purely and entirely on my own experience and personal opinions, as both an amateur player, and a professional bladesmith.
The following info is therefore as personal and subjective as a professional opinion can get really. Hopefully however it will also have enough impartial substance to it, that nothing I have to say is terribly controversial, debatable, or entirely self-serving.
As always, dissenting opinions are very welcome, as is further discussion or questioning on the specifics. I can't and won't share all of my blade-making secrets here sorry, as they are part and parcel of how I make my living.
Hopefully despite any necessary omissions, this can still act as a buying guide of sorts for those who genuinely and specifically want to buy high quality gear, from ANY manufacturer.
SO THEN -- WHAT IS A HIGH QUALITY BLADE EXACTLY?
- As a bare minimum: a high quality blade is constructed from high quality wood, good quality glue, and has been made using consistent, efficient manufacturing techniques, in a consistent and controlled environment.
- The composite fabrics you use in a blade (if any) matter in terms of playing feel, but not so much in terms of quality. Composites typically don't vary much from batch to batch in terms of mechanical properties. They are made to be homogenous - if you've seen one batch of a specific fabric type, weave, weight and/or thread count from a specific manufacturer, then you've seen them all.
- High quality wood however is the exact opposite! Every tree, slab, beam, board, timber plank and section of timber plank is essentially unique on some level. No two pieces are ever truly identical, so at the end of the day, wood choice and wood utilisation matters far more in a blade than probably any other factor.
- Regardless of the type or species involved, high quality wood is in short supply world wide. For this reason, a good quality blade is rarely going to be the cheapest option in front of you. Demand and prices for quality wood are constantly high as architects, builders, manufacturers, carpenters (and other wood-loving creative types) keep using the stuff to build things like houses, furniture, picture frames, wind generators, and other similarly useless items that you can't play TT with (wood-hogging bastards, the lot of them! )
- Even if your blade features layers of the most expensive, over-engineered, sci-fi sounding, horrendously expensive composite fabric on earth, that's still only 15% of your blade's volume at most. The other 85% is wood, glue, material design and manufacturing technique doing jobs the composite material simply can't.
- Remember: Omit composite fabric from a blade entirely, and you can still make some magnificent equipment regardless . Omit wood from a blade entirely and you have two scraps of stiff, scratchy, semi-threadbare fabric badly in need of ironing. High quality blades are all about the wood -- full stop!! So can we please now just shut up about all the various weaves of Darth Vader toilet paper large manufacturers shove into their blades, to make them seem more high-tech than they actually are.
- High quality wood is wood of the right density and strength, and which has the right mechanical properties for its position and purpose in the blade.
- Good quality wood has no significant grain, drying or machining defects, and has the MOST EVEN DENSITY YOU CAN MANAGE throughout the length and breadth of every ply layer. This usually necessitates the wood grain having a reasonably even and regular pattern to it. Consistency is far more important here than perfection. Perfectly straight grain is lovely to have, but is not always necessary. Remember, grain patterns largely come from the way the wood is cut.
- Wood with huge differences in density that occur over a short distance, should generally be avoided. Big density shifts in a small space = inconsistent bounce.
- Wavy curly wood grain is often viewed with suspicion when used in a blade, except if its in a handle scale. However, even here, it really depends on the species, and the blademaker's overall intent, as consistency of grain is always far, far more important than perfection. Many woods have naturally wavy or interlocked grain, but can still make for a magnificent TT blade that performs beautifully and predictably (eg: Queensland maple!)
- Large knots or too many knots are generally to be avoided. Small, pinhead-sized knots (5mm wide or less) are usually okay, depending on where they are located in the blade. The two big issues with knots are density shifts and grain variance. Density shifts cause uneven bounce, and grain pattern shifts can lead to uneven stiffness / hardness / irregular flex. Small knots (like bird's eye knots) however generally don't affect any of these factors hugely in my experience, but it really depends on the species, the location, and the individual piece of wood in question. Knots are knot (...sorry...) a deal breaker -- really it depends on how much you trust the blade's maker and their judgement.
- Regular spacing of wood grain lines in a piece of wood is generally desirable. This does not necessarily make it brilliant wood, nor terrible wood.... it's just a little less likely that particular piece of wood truly sucks. Regular grain patterns *usually* mean the tree had regular growing conditions year on year. This makes it *slightly* less likely there are big density shifts in the wood, but there's still no guarantee either way. (Think of it as a generally promising sign, but nothing more. Apart from questions of aesthetics, the spacing and regularity of wood-grain banding doesn't mean an awful lot for the way it performs (Hinoki is a bit of an exception, but more on that later)
- A high quality blade has tight butt-joints and thin, consistent glue lines between all the various pieces / layers of wood. Ply widths should be consistent.
- A high quality blade has good balance down its central line of symmetry (ie: the left and right sides of each playing surface are the same weight.
- A good quality blade flexes consistently. If the blade is symmetrical, then it should flex roughly the same amount in both directions. (If it's a two speed blade, it may (deliberately) flex more one way than the other). Regardless of its construction however, the way and amount it flex should remain constant from day to day. If your blade suddenly changes its flex, or if two identical pre-made blades flex hugely differently it can sometimes be a sign of delamination, or density shifts in the wood, or some other potential manufacturing flaw.
- Cupped blades (ie blades with concave playing surfaces) are usually either a sign of bad wood, flawed construction, or bad storage conditions.
- Cupped blades can still (occasionally) straighten out if treated right and stored in the right conditions, and can still be eminently playable afterwards.... but again, it depends on the blade, and the cause of the cupping.
- [EDIT: I forgot to mention sorry -- while it is *possible* for a cupped blade to straighten over time and be usable, it's also relatively rare. If the cupping is mild, and tends to change from day to day, then that's a sign of normal natural wood movement, as a result of insufficient sealing. If it's a large amount of cupping, and it stays relatively stable, then it's far less likely to correct itself, and the blade is either permanently cupped, or else has far too much sealant on it. If sanding off the excess sealant doesn't then straighten it, you might need to consider just throwing it away. Like I've said before elsewhere: If the cupping is related to movement after its manufacture, then the blade is potentially salvageable. If the cupping occurred during manufacture however there's typically very little that can be done to save it.
There's a lot more I could say here, but I'll leave things there for now. If any other blade makers out there wish to add desirable features to this list, I encourage them to do so.
Hopefully the above list of features (if nothing else) will help you make some more informed decisions when choosing your next blade.
Hopefully it also demonstrates that:
- there are a HOST of factors that go towards a blade being of low or high quality,
- not all of those factors are easily discernible at time of purchase, and
- you can't make a silk purse (or a good blade) out of a sow's ear. High quality blades require high quality materials and high productions standards... neither of which come cheap in most cases.
I'm not saying here you need to spend hundreds to buy a good blade, as that's simply not true. At time of writing, you can currently satisfy ALL of the above conditions as a maker, and still buy yourself a pretty damn good blade as a customer, all for less than a three-figure sum.
That being said, hopefully you can also see that the lower that price gets, the harder it is to satisfy all the above factors with every blade you build, and the greater the scope becomes for makers to be forced to cut corners in order to produce a useable blade as a very low price point.
While I admit you don't always get what you pay for with a super expensive blade... it's also true to say it's probably not going to suck hugely either. Most likely it will be perfectly adequate, but just not to your personal liking if anything.
When it comes to truly cheap blades however, the odds of finding a truly great one going for a song, in comparison are much. much less likely. There's a lot more slightly over-priced high quality blades out there, then there are truly exceptional cut-rate gems quietly lurking at the bottom of the bargain bin.
