Homemade table tennis blade

[tropical]

It is an art!

 

[Jaffar Lone]

Lovely, maybe someday you can put these blades for sale

Another new blade, this time Kiri - mahogany - walnut with a beech handle. After a few goes I've finally managed to get a template of an anatomical handle that I'm happy with. This has been made with polyurethane glue rather than PVA. It's definitely harder and therefore the blade feels a little like a commercial one. I've also noticed that the sweet spot seems larger. It's 88g and 6.4mm thick so the weight isn't an issue. The only problem was I damaged the edge a little when oiling the blade!
Other than that I'm happy with this one.
View attachment 12747

 

[GinjaNinja]

Two new blades: Mahogany - ayous - balsa. 8.4mm - a 6mm balsa core. 74g. Oak and spruce handle


Maple - ayous - ayous. 5.4mm. 88g. Sapele, ash and beech handle.

 

[Renol]

Two new blades: Mahogany - ayous - balsa. 8.4mm - a 6mm balsa core. 74g. Oak and spruce handle
View attachment 12939View attachment 12940View attachment 12941

Maple - ayous - ayous. 5.4mm. 88g. Sapele, ash and beech handle.
View attachment 12942View attachment 12943

Nice blades. You may want to take note at the part highlighted in red below.

 

[bobpuls]

Are you sure that the second layer is ayous? Looks more like spruce to me.

 

[GinjaNinja]

Are you sure that the second layer is ayous? Looks more like spruce to me.

Yes, definitely ayous but it is horizontal rather than vertical. I managed to get hold of several sheets very cheaply but they are a strange size so I ended up using them horizontally. Not sure how it plays yet, but the walnut - mahogany - kiri blade in the previous page plays great and is now my main blade.It was made with PU glue which I find has a more solid feel than PVA which is a bit soft for me. The good thing about this hobby is that everything you do is personal, I make the handles I like, the wood I like, the speed I like etc. I made one with a birch outer which has great spin but the handle wasn't quite right so I'll make it again with a different handle.

 

[bobpuls]

Yes, definitely ayous but it is horizontal rather than vertical. I managed to get hold of several sheets very cheaply but they are a strange size so I ended up using them horizontally. Not sure how it plays yet, but the walnut - mahogany - kiri blade in the previous page plays great and is now my main blade.It was made with PU glue which I find has a more solid feel than PVA which is a bit soft for me. The good thing about this hobby is that everything you do is personal, I make the handles I like, the wood I like, the speed I like etc. I made one with a birch outer which has great spin but the handle wasn't quite right so I'll make it again with a different handle.

OOO never get hands on brown ayous ... main is always "white" but yes exactly .... you can build what ewer you like to satisfies your needs .... i have 8 incarnations of my blade to achieve what i need ...but still i really like the feeling of the heavy blade 100 grams +- but want it into 85 grams blade ..... this is hard to accomplish .

 

[GinjaNinja]

OOO never get hands on brown ayous ... main is always "white" but yes exactly .... you can build what ewer you like to satisfies your needs .... i have 8 incarnations of my blade to achieve what i need ...but still i really like the feeling of the heavy blade 100 grams +- but want it into 85 grams blade ..... this is hard to accomplish .

Unfortunately nothing so exciting as brown ayous, I think it's just the light and the direction of the veneer making it look that way. The ayous is quite pale and yellowish. This picture shows it quite well:


This is one of the few balsa blades I've made, I've had two that have warped. If I make a balsa blade I now leave it in the press for at least 4 days and then it seems Ok - I've never had this with ayous or kiri which have all been fine. Have you or anyone else had this problem with balsa? Any other tips? I presume it's just to do with moisture?

 

[bobpuls]

Yes I have the same experience with balsa when water based glue is present... You have to let it dry longer.

 

[GinjaNinja]

After receiving positive feedback I've now started making blades for a few other people.
The first was for Aaron who is a professional table tennis coach based in the North West of England. As well as being a nice guy and top coach, he is really strong player. I asked to him to try a few of my blades so I could get some feedback and in the end I made this blade for him:

This is a Kiri - Mahogany - Walnut composition with ash, beech and walnut anatomic handle. I've asked him to leave a frank and honest review as I've had several questions relating to how they play.

Whilst working with Aaron on his blade I had a request from Wayne for another blade with the same composition. Wayne is another really nice guy who generates loads of spin and plays in the first division in one of our local leagues. He specifically asked to be able to feel the wood on the handle so I made it from one piece of oak - again it's anatomic. I've also asked Wayne if he would leave a review.



Since making these two I've had 3 more 'orders' for blades, two of which will be the same composition. The other is for defensive/all plus combination blade which I've not made before but I'm really excited about.

 

[Jaffar Lone]

Have you made limba outer plies blade also.

After receiving positive feedback I've now started making blades for a few other people.
The first was for Aaron who is a professional table tennis coach based in the North West of England. As well as being a nice guy and top coach, he is really strong player. I asked to him to try a few of my blades so I could get some feedback and in the end I made this blade for him:
View attachment 13368
This is a Kiri - Mahogany - Walnut composition with ash, beech and walnut anatomic handle. I've asked him to leave a frank and honest review as I've had several questions relating to how they play.

Whilst working with Aaron on his blade I had a request from Wayne for another blade with the same composition. Wayne is another really nice guy who generates loads of spin and plays in the first division in one of our local leagues. He specifically asked to be able to feel the wood on the handle so I made it from one piece of oak - again it's anatomic. I've also asked Wayne if he would leave a review.

View attachment 13369

Since making these two I've had 3 more 'orders' for blades, two of which will be the same composition. The other is for defensive/all plus combination blade which I've not made before but I'm really excited about.

 

[GinjaNinja]

Have you made limba outer plies blade also.

Yes, I've made a few with limba and recently made one with koto which I'll add photo of when I get a chance.

 

[AaronBeech]

Ginja Nigja (GN) recently came down to my club and brought a series of home made blades. All his blades were made with different types of wood and glues and all played different, with bigger and smaller sweet spots. The one thing that highly impressed me about all these bats were the feel on every shot, the finish and the balance. After trying out the various bats and reviewing them, (GN) made me a very nice 5 ply blade with a Kiri core, Mahogany middle and Walnut outer. I'm very pleased with this blade, it doesn't have much flex but it plays very well. The sweet spot is big due to the Walnut + Mahogany and it has fantastic control with the soft core. Looping away is easy near and mid range with good dwell. It has a slightly different playing angle that I am used to though. I need to open my bat up a few more degrees on both my BH and FH, but when made this adjustment is it very consistent. Thanks for the blade and you should give up your day job and make more blades.




View attachment 11526View attachment 11527View attachment 11528

View attachment 11525[/QUOTE]

 

[GinjaNinja]

Ginja Nigja (GN) recently came down to my club and brought a series of home made blades. All his blades were made with different types of wood and glues and all played different, with bigger and smaller sweet spots. The one thing that highly impressed me about all these bats were the feel on every shot, the finish and the balance. After trying out the various bats and reviewing them, (GN) made me a very nice 5 ply blade with a Kiri core, Mahogany middle and Walnut outer. I'm very pleased with this blade, it doesn't have much flex but it plays very well. The sweet spot is big due to the Walnut + Mahogany and it has fantastic control with the soft core. Looping away is easy near and mid range with good dwell. It has a slightly different playing angle that I am used to though. I need to open my bat up a few more degrees on both my BH and FH, but when made this adjustment is it very consistent. Thanks for the blade and you should give up your day job and make more blades.

[/QUOTE]


Below is the photo of Aaron's blade, the attachments on Aaron's post show the first blade I made.

 

[ttplace]

beautiful blade

 

[GinjaNinja]

beautiful blade

Thanks - very kind words. It's proving popular this blade as I've had more requests. Here's the same composition of materials, however one of the piles is placed at 90 degrees as the player wanted a little more flex than Aaron's. The handle is beech with New Zealand abalone inlay.

 

[iamjason8]

Mighty fine looking blade there. Do a few more and you might be able to do this professionally or as a side job.

 

[GinjaNinja]

Very kind thank you. I love my job so it will never be a profession but I do like making blades and it's great to see others enjoying playing with them.

 

[SFF_lib]

Very kind thank you. I love my job so it will never be a profession but I do like making blades and it's great to see others enjoying playing with them.

When you can make cpen let me know. I am interested

Sent from my WAS-LX2 using Tapatalk

 

[GinjaNinja]

Hi
Cpen is fine, no problem. The process is the same for each blade - just different templates, currently I have 3 different ones which cover the different handle types. PM me if you are interested.