says
Serve, top, edge. Repeat.
says
Serve, top, edge. Repeat.
Active Member
I got my Viscaria in my second year of playing.
I used a Adidas premade for about 6~8 months when I first started playing and because I was playing quite a bit the rubbers gave out. I got a Donic Persson Power AR Senso V1 with china/jap hard hybrid rubbers for about 35 euros for the blade and 15 bucks for both the rubbers, my coach's recommendation and started playing.
After a year I had played some defense, that I didn't like, and got a pair of Rozena. Hated how they played on the Donic, it felt hollow and inconsistent, I wanted a blade with a big sweet spot that would have consistent contact, so after a few more months I found a good deal on a new Viscaria, it was on sale, and I bought it without knowing much, other that my coach saying it was not a blade for my level. I got it, glued the Rozenas on and started playing with no problem. Took me a week to get used to it, I fell in love with the balance it had and if I hadn't treated it so bad and hadn't got damaged, I would still use it.
But covid hit and I didn't play for some 7~8 months, when I went to play I couldn’t control it, I bought a Clipper to develop some feeling but ended up liking it, kept it for a year, then bought my bestie's Stiga Intensity NCT on a great price and played with it until now, about 1,5 year.
Now I want to get back to the original plan, BTY outer alc but the Viscaria is badly damaged. I sat down and fixed it by using super glue and wood pieces, and filling what’s missing with a glue and sawdust mixture. Then I sanded everything down to make it flat and even and it was done. The blade looked like it survived the great war, ww2 and the cold war, then came out of it with a bunch of scars like damn Rambo.
Funny part is that it plays like brand new, it’s completely even and flat. Now I’m scared to use it because I have a connection with that blade. I don't want to damage it again.
So here I am, 6 years after first buying my Viscaria, finding out that blade is now 170 euros in my local shop, same price with Boll alc, me wanting to try a straight handle having realized that all European pros use straight almost exclusively and debating if I should get a Boll alc with the nice thick and square straight handle, or another Viscaria with the nice thick squared flare.
I’m leaning towards the TBALC because I don’t like buying same blades and I feel like I want to see what it has to offer. The only case I don’t buy the boll is if the st handle doesn’t fit in my hand, or if the weight is too much or little. I’ll go to the shop and see how I like it.
So 6 years after buying my baby, and I’m kinda crawling back for round two. That’s what good equipment does.
To answer the obvious question, did it affect me negatively getting a carbon blade so early on?
No, it fit my style and I put in the work to quickly advance and control it. After the Rozena I also put Hurricane 3 on the forehand and Baracuda on the backhand, so I had a bit more control, to the point where I had no problem playing with it, and it showed in tournaments, I did well and got a few medals. If you’re thinking of doing the same thing and are confident in what you are looking for, do it. I recommend the Viscaria because it’s a softer outer carbon blade with the carbon engaging linearly and consistently, making it predictable and easy to understand. Inner carbon blades tend to have a hard kick when the carbon activates making them a bit more unpredictable on the low level. TB spirit is also another good blade, I played with it a bit a few years back, I guess the TB alc too since they are supposed to be identical, but they are a bit harder from what I remember.
I used a Adidas premade for about 6~8 months when I first started playing and because I was playing quite a bit the rubbers gave out. I got a Donic Persson Power AR Senso V1 with china/jap hard hybrid rubbers for about 35 euros for the blade and 15 bucks for both the rubbers, my coach's recommendation and started playing.
After a year I had played some defense, that I didn't like, and got a pair of Rozena. Hated how they played on the Donic, it felt hollow and inconsistent, I wanted a blade with a big sweet spot that would have consistent contact, so after a few more months I found a good deal on a new Viscaria, it was on sale, and I bought it without knowing much, other that my coach saying it was not a blade for my level. I got it, glued the Rozenas on and started playing with no problem. Took me a week to get used to it, I fell in love with the balance it had and if I hadn't treated it so bad and hadn't got damaged, I would still use it.
But covid hit and I didn't play for some 7~8 months, when I went to play I couldn’t control it, I bought a Clipper to develop some feeling but ended up liking it, kept it for a year, then bought my bestie's Stiga Intensity NCT on a great price and played with it until now, about 1,5 year.
Now I want to get back to the original plan, BTY outer alc but the Viscaria is badly damaged. I sat down and fixed it by using super glue and wood pieces, and filling what’s missing with a glue and sawdust mixture. Then I sanded everything down to make it flat and even and it was done. The blade looked like it survived the great war, ww2 and the cold war, then came out of it with a bunch of scars like damn Rambo.
Funny part is that it plays like brand new, it’s completely even and flat. Now I’m scared to use it because I have a connection with that blade. I don't want to damage it again.
So here I am, 6 years after first buying my Viscaria, finding out that blade is now 170 euros in my local shop, same price with Boll alc, me wanting to try a straight handle having realized that all European pros use straight almost exclusively and debating if I should get a Boll alc with the nice thick and square straight handle, or another Viscaria with the nice thick squared flare.
I’m leaning towards the TBALC because I don’t like buying same blades and I feel like I want to see what it has to offer. The only case I don’t buy the boll is if the st handle doesn’t fit in my hand, or if the weight is too much or little. I’ll go to the shop and see how I like it.
So 6 years after buying my baby, and I’m kinda crawling back for round two. That’s what good equipment does.
To answer the obvious question, did it affect me negatively getting a carbon blade so early on?
No, it fit my style and I put in the work to quickly advance and control it. After the Rozena I also put Hurricane 3 on the forehand and Baracuda on the backhand, so I had a bit more control, to the point where I had no problem playing with it, and it showed in tournaments, I did well and got a few medals. If you’re thinking of doing the same thing and are confident in what you are looking for, do it. I recommend the Viscaria because it’s a softer outer carbon blade with the carbon engaging linearly and consistently, making it predictable and easy to understand. Inner carbon blades tend to have a hard kick when the carbon activates making them a bit more unpredictable on the low level. TB spirit is also another good blade, I played with it a bit a few years back, I guess the TB alc too since they are supposed to be identical, but they are a bit harder from what I remember.
