Help choosing blade!

[John S]

Hello!

I need help to find a penhold blade.

I have been asking around in the forums but it's not right and so I wanted to make a proper thread and see what comes out of it.

A few months ago I bought a stiga azalea off (jttaa) cpen, 87grams. It's very heavy for me and end up with a sore wrist every time I play. The rubbers are magna tx ii and g1. With the new blade I'll get tg2 and vega euro since the others are almost 5 years old, yeah I know...

I guess I'm looking for a 5 ply or a 5+2 with good dwell, medium speed and good vibrations/feel. I have a gravitation towards all wood, but I don't mind carbon. And because of the wrist, I want something at 80 grams or lower.

My mind went to the intensity and yeo since I also have them in shakehand and fit me perfectly. My issue is that ppl say that the yeo is heavy at 87grams and have asked a few stores here, and 85 is the lightest they have, and unfortunately, the intensity I can't find for a decent price. Other than dandoy for about 120€.

And there's another thing, the handle of the azalea is massive, if you can recommend blades for smaller hands, it will be massively appreciated!

I would prefer avoiding paying a premium, so any recommendations from cheaper companies are welcome, yinhe, palio, yasaka, sanwei, 729 and whatever else you might think of!

I was thinking of ordering from dandoy EU, but the options there are pretty limited, so I don't mind going to aliexpress and getting the rubbers separately at local shops.

Anyway, sorry for the essay and thanks for reading!

 

[John S]

Please, anyone?😂😅🙏

 

[Gozo]

puny tiny weeny itsy bitsy handle: nittaku Acoustic.

Made for wee small hands.

Azalea = massive handle? 😍😍😍

 

[John S]

puny tiny weeny itsy bitsy handle: nittaku Acoustic.

Made for wee small hands.

Azalea = massive handle? 😍😍😍

Thanks, how's the weight for the acoustic? Also is it tiny in shake or pen?

And yes, for some reason stiga decided to make the shake version a tiny handle of 93 grams, it's 5 ply wood. And the penhold MASSIVE!

 

[SFF_lib]

Intensity NCT is the one to go. For shakehand you can get a 75g but still delivery decent spin and speed away from the table. High flex and catapult effect (used by Xu Xin before for a long time)

 

[John S]

Intensity NCT is the one to go. For shakehand you can get a 75g but still delivery decent spin and speed away from the table. High flex and catapult effect (used by Xu Xin before for a long time)

I know, I've been using shake for 2 years now, I just thought that maybe I could get something similar for cheaper. But I guess you get what you pay for. It's better to pay a hit more and get something you know.

 

[enoxzr]

If weight is a major factor for you, why not give a balsa carbon blade a go? I have a Butterfly BalsaCarbo X7 22 and Yinhe T11s on the way, where I expect the Yinhe blade to be harder and stiffer.

Personally I always end up going back to my Butterfly blade after trying out something else, something about the lightness together with the feeling the blade offers that makes me keep coming back to it.

Not sure if the Butterfly blade is available in a penhold grip, but the T11s is, although that might be too stiff for you seeing what you described. I am sure though there must be a balsa blade available in penhold grip that suits your needs.

 

[Gozo]

Thanks, how's the weight for the acoustic? Also is it tiny in shake or pen?

And yes, for some reason stiga decided to make the shake version a tiny handle of 93 grams, it's 5 ply wood. And the penhold MASSIVE!

I do not know the weight exactly but it is too light and fluffy for me. However I maybe bias because I am using a set-up that is above two hundred grammes aka Gozo(tm) custom blade.

My Acoustic is a shakehand and is currently used by my elementary school going son.

 

[John S]

If weight is a major factor for you, why not give a balsa carbon blade a go? I have a Butterfly BalsaCarbo X7 22 and Yinhe T11s on the way, where I expect the Yinhe blade to be harder and stiffer.

Personally I always end up going back to my Butterfly blade after trying out something else, something about the lightness together with the feeling the blade offers that makes me keep coming back to it.

Not sure if the Butterfly blade is available in a penhold grip, but the T11s is, although that might be too stiff for you seeing what you described. I am sure though there must be a balsa blade available in penhold grip that suits your needs.

I've seen the t11s and I do want to try it out. It's a similar case with the intensity for me, no matter what I try, I always end up going back to it.

I did a bit of research and saw that the intensity's average pen weight is around 75 grams, so if I decide against it for availability reasons or price, I'll probably go for the t11s. Thanks for bringing it up, I had completely forgot about it!

 

[enoxzr]

I've seen the t11s and I do want to try it out. It's a similar case with the intensity for me, no matter what I try, I always end up going back to it.

I did a bit of research and saw that the intensity's average pen weight is around 75 grams, so if I decide against it for availability reasons or price, I'll probably go for the t11s. Thanks for bringing it up, I had completely forgot about it!

Your welcome!
And for about 26 euros on Aliexpress right now it doesn't hurt thr wallet that much to give the T11s a try. I am eager to try mine, read it was a great match with short pips, hence I wanted to try it.

 

[John S]

Your welcome!
And for about 26 euros on Aliexpress right now it doesn't hurt thr wallet that much to give the T11s a try. I am eager to try mine, read it was a great match with short pips, hence I wanted to try it.

Gotcha, you think it's gonna pair well with a classic china setup? I was thinking of tg2 and vega euro df. That's what I'll throw on the intensity.

 

[enoxzr]

Gotcha, you think it's gonna pair well with a classic china setup? I was thinking of tg2 and vega euro df. That's what I'll throw on the intensity.

As far as I read up on the blade is that in general it likes softer rubbers, because the blade is very stiff. So depending on your preference, maybe take the rubbers a hardness lower than you normally would.

To my limited experience balsa carbon blades can go both European and Chinese setup wise.

 

[John S]

As far as I read up on the blade is that in general it likes softer rubbers, because the blade is very stiff. So depending on your preference, maybe take the rubbers a hardness lower than you normally would.

To my limited experience balsa carbon blades can go both European and Chinese setup wise.

That's good to hear. Thanks!

Also when you play with the yinhe, if you remember, let me know how it is.

 

[dingyibvs]

The T-8, T-10, and T-11 are all absolute canons with zero dwell. The only loop you can do with them is a brush loop. Balsa blades are not popular because balsa is very stiff, the T-8/10/11 add on top of that a fairly thick carbon layer.

 

[S-Pin]

puny tiny weeny itsy bitsy handle: nittaku Acoustic.

Made for wee small hands.

Azalea = massive handle? 😍😍😍

I've got Azalea FL, it's not massive at all, it's round, conical and has a very narrow neck. It was marketed as a female blade strangely. Acoustic LG handle is massive.

But yes, a lighter regular Acoustic would be a great option after Azalea which has a similar feel. And one can find one below 80g.

 

[mocker88]

Sanwei V5 PRO could fit you nice

 

[Dominikk85]

Sanwei has round handles I like for RBP. Sanwei m8 is very cheap and light all wood blade. I think it is discontinued now but you still get it on aliexpress. Or the new sanwei echo.

 

[John S]

I've got Azalea FL, it's not massive at all, it's round, conical and has a very narrow neck. It was marketed as a female blade strangely. Acoustic LG handle is massive.

But yes, a lighter regular Acoustic would be a great option after Azalea which has a similar feel. And one can find one below 80g.

I had 2 Azalea off blades. One was an fl which has a very small and thin handle that I don't like, and one is a Chinese penhold which is massive, thick and wide.

I also don't like how they play, they weigh 93 grams for the fl and 87 for the pen. I sold the fl and just kept the pen for experiments.

I had the jttaa versions and that's probably why, they are extremely fast, both of them and I could not for the love of me figure out how to handle them...

Decided to get rid of the fl version and I'll probably buy a penhold ma lin extra offensive for my main penhold blade because it's extremely similar to my main fl blade, the stiga intensity. I also have an fl ma lin eo, so I have played it and I like it.

It's also much cheaper, like 1/3 of the price of the intensity...

 

[S-Pin]

I had 2 Azalea off blades. One was an fl which has a very small and thin handle that I don't like, and one is a Chinese penhold which is massive, thick and wide.

I also don't like how they play, they weigh 93 grams for the fl and 87 for the pen. I sold the fl and just kept the pen for experiments.

I had the jttaa versions and that's probably why, they are extremely fast, both of them and I could not for the love of me figure out how to handle them...

Decided to get rid of the fl version and I'll probably buy a penhold ma lin extra offensive for my main penhold blade because it's extremely similar to my main fl blade, the stiga intensity. I also have an fl ma lin eo, so I have played it and I like it.

It's also much cheaper, like 1/3 of the price of the intensity...

I have Azalea Allround 84g, and it's about as fast as my Acoustic blades, the feeling is just a bit harder than Acu but not dissimilar, a decent alternative for one third of the price.
It's a good blade, a very good even in my view, maybe even one of the best Stiga all-wood 5-ply (not that I tried many)), but I just don't know why using it when there is the Acoustic.
Marketing it as a women's blade was a bad idea. Is it discontinued?

 

[John S]

I have Azalea Allround 84g, and it's about as fast as my Acoustic blades, the feeling is just a bit harder than Acu but not dissimilar, a decent alternative for one third of the price.
It's a good blade, a very good even in my view, maybe even one of the best Stiga all-wood 5-ply (not that I tried many)), but I just don't know why using it when there is the Acoustic.
Marketing it as a women's blade was a bad idea. Is it discontinued?

It's not discontinued, but nowadays they're only made in Japan. I've tried quite a few stiga blades. It is decent, but mine are waaaaay too heavy, and small handles... I have the "pro" oriented jttaa versions, that's why they're heavy and so damn fast. Maybe a normal one would be a different story. But as of now, the worst blades I own.

I compare them to viscaria, ma lin extra off, intensity nct, Clipper wood, long v and few others.