Fixing a broken blade legal or not?

[sergio87]

So, I had a Butterfly Senkoh FT S and I broke it. It wasn't even done in anger (which is how I expected to one day break one of my blades) - it simply slipped out of my hand and fell JUST RIGHT (or should I say Just Wrong) onto the ground, and snapped along a line from the base to the tip (under the rubber) and just off the centre. I then used some simple glue for wood, cleaned both surfaces of dust and what not, and then glued the two parts together, stuck the rubber back on and played on...

My question is as follows:
Is this legal? Can I legally continue to play with this blade even though it may not have a full consistency of the shot over the entire surface under the rubber? (I use it as a spare bat at the moment and I bought another one of the same (Senkoh FT S) to continue using for the competition).

 

[JHB]

As long as you don't transgress the "85% wood" rule, I can't really see any problem. In any case what the eye doesn't see the mind doesn't grieve about, if you follow my meaning. When I stripped the old rubbers off my bat they took pieces of the top ply with them; I filled the resultant holes with Plastic Wood, put new rubbers on and carried on - I know it's there, no-one else does or cares less so far as I know.

Just my £0.02 of course - I'm not an umpire !

 

[Der_Echte]

Square J-pen blades break like that down the grain ALL the time. If one uses a strong wood glue, lines everything up, and allows it to cure long enough, the repair is good forever. As long as the repair maintained a consistent surface, your bat will still be legal.

 

[Tinykin]

If you are not a senior National or international player, I wouldn't worry about it.
Umpires are very wary of players doing funny stuff with their bat.
I can envision JHB having trouble explaining the plastic wood repair if challenged by an opponent. But fixing a clean break should not be a problem at amateur level if done so it's not clearly noticeable.

 

[sergio87]

Alright, thanks. I guess my issue is that if I don't use a rubber on the backhand then the break-line can be clearly seen if inspected closely, so I was just wondering if a player can pull out a rule on me and say no - you can't play with that "broken" blade. It's a grade ranked at around 1600 ELO but some players are very serious about it..

 

[Tinykin]

In that case buy a new blade.
It's not worth the hassle if you reach a final and an opponent decides to lodge a protest.

 

[JHB]

I can envision JHB having trouble explaining the plastic wood repair if challenged by an opponent. But fixing a clean break should not be a problem at amateur level if done so it's not clearly noticeable.

Yes that might be challenging, it's probably just as well I don't play competitively at the moment ! My point though was that it can't be seen without stripping the rubber(s) off, so I wonder how it would ever come to be challenged. If it happens, I guess my defence will be that I think the bat is still 85% wood.

Don't worry, if I was playing at a level that mattered I'd buy a new blade ! Or use the Giant Dragon.

 

[Der_Echte]

Get a new black plastic cover piece, shouldn't cost too much.

 

[Der_Echte]

http://shop.butterflyonline.com/racket-sheet

USD $3 for a .25 piece seems like a lot, but maybe you can make your own.

 

[sergio87]

In that case buy a new blade.
It's not worth the hassle if you reach a final and an opponent decides to lodge a protest.

Yep, that's why I bought one. And the forehand rubbers are the same on both, but I use the fixed blade to practice with a new backhand rubber and shot type. My main bat has no back rubber. I might also consider Der_Echte's suggestion and just put another cover on the back, which should bring the line visibility to a minimum, and then claim 85% wood if still noticed, as suggested by JHB

Thanks for the tips.

 

[Extreme-MAXX]

It is better to purchase a new one the ability of the blade dropped