Influence of the blade weight (same blade)

[BHSlap]

Does the weight need to be distributed evenly? I'm guessing no given the new stiga blade lets you add weights to the end of the handle to change it's weight. So maybe you (and I) might get value from experimenting with a crude attempt at the same type of weight addition to a blade via something somewhere being added to it.

 

[kapahoo]

It is an old trick to fasten a coin or something similar at the end of the handle to shift the balance a bit.

 

[SlowPower]

Unless one of us sets out to actually experiment and come up with measurable results it is all guesswork .

There was recently a thread that speculated about the weight added by the glue we use to fix the rubbers to the blades. This is of course a bit different but it is quite amazing how weight can accumulate. At that occasion I measured the weight of an XVT gluesheet and came to 2.5 g or 5g for both sides.

I am making my own blades for about 6 months now and for calculating the weight before gluing I take 20g in for a 5ply wood 2ply fiber.
This might vary from 16 to 24g.

This is for the uncut sheets of veneer, so glue is about 10g total in the finished blade.
When I want to make a blade fast and heavy I can easily use 30 gramma, but thats only 5g more in total.

If you want to use more you have to use thicker viscosity epoxy because a lot of it will get pressed out.

 

[BHSlap]

It is an old trick to fasten a coin or something similar at the end of the handle to shift the balance a bit.

Good to know it's a thing. Will do some experimenting.

 

[Lowday20298]

What creates different weights of the same model? Is it inconsistency of thickness of the wood plies? Or inconsistencies in head size of the bat? Different amounts of glue? Or different densities of the wood?

The number of plies at least should be the same.

Inconsistensies in wood densities. That's why people say that heavier blades feel more solid. A heavier blade will be more dense and have more stable playing characteristics along with better feel and a more clear feel.

 

[UpSideDownCarl]

Unless one of us sets out to actually experiment and come up with measurable results it is all guesswork .

There was recently a thread that speculated about the weight added by the glue we use to fix the rubbers to the blades. This is of course a bit different but it is quite amazing how weight can accumulate. At that occasion I measured the weight of an XVT gluesheet and came to 2.5 g or 5g for both sides.

Yeah. The thing with rubber or latex glue that is different is that the idea is for it to occupy space between the rubber and the blade and the latex or rubber substance in the glue is substantial. But it is true that we would have to take the glue that would have been put onto the blade, dry it and weigh it.

But it also has to be remembered that, when comparing the weight of two blades, where the glue to laminate the wood is the difference between weights, you are not comparing one blade with NO GLUE to another with a lot of glue. You would have to be comparing the weight of a blade that has enough glue to bond the wood, to a blade that has soooooo much glue that it would cause a material weight change in the blade.

That much glue may also cause the blade to end up thicker because 10 grams more glue on one blade than the amount of glue on a blade sufficiently glued would likely be quite a bit of glue. And when laminating wood plies, I don't think you put three or more layers of glue on the wood plies, for laminating. But you do, precisely do that when gluing rubbers to a blade, and it would make sense that a glue SHEET would not just be the equivalent of 1 thin layer of glue.

So, if you had two blades of the same make, lets say, two Viscarias, and one had enough more glue for the glue in the blade to cause it to weight 10 grams more than the other Viscaria and nothing else was different: if that kind of thing happened, a good company's quality control should catch the monumental difference in amounts of glue. Also, as the plies were being bound together in the press for laminating the wood, a lot of that excess glue would come out the sides and not stay between the wood plies.

I guess we should ask a blade maker for thoughts on how much of a difference in weight gluing anomalies could cause in two blades with the weight of everything else the same. But to me, a slip up of too much glue on one blade would be something that would likely be caught in various stages of the process of making the blades if the blade is from a decent company.

 

[kingkimchi]

Are U joking? 91-93 grams is only a starting point in acceptable weight for a solid performing blade.

I am a short pips player. above 85 grams for me is going to break my wrist

 

[Kolev]

I am a short pips player. above 85 grams for me is going to break my wrist

I agree with you, not because of the pips, but because we are all so different and prefer different weights. I recently played a very high level young player who outperformed all of us and after the match I checked what he plays with. It was a Hallmark Aurora, with Andro impulse and some F3. The whole blade was 160g but the power, speed and spin he could create with was simply astonishing. Of course we discussed a lot what we are discussing here, but he was certain that he can't play with heavier setups

 

[lodro]

I guess we should ask a blade maker for thoughts on how much of a difference in weight gluing anomalies could cause in two blades with the weight of everything else the same.

Absolutely 😁

 

[kingkimchi]

I agree with you, not because of the pips, but because we are all so different and prefer different weights. I recently played a very high level young player who outperformed all of us and after the match I checked what he plays with. It was a Hallmark Aurora, with Andro impulse and some F3. The whole blade was 160g but the power, speed and spin he could create with was simply astonishing. Of course we discussed a lot what we are discussing here, but he was certain that he can't play with heavier setups

Ye thats right. The short pips bh smash is like knocking on the door with a short, powerful wrist movement. My current fzd alc is the lightest of the light at 82g.

 

[vossi39]

Burden on your wrist is not determined by the blade weigth itself, but the distribution of the weight.

A head heavy blade with 165g will put more burden on your wrist than a well balanced blade with 190g. And in many cases, the lighter blade have hollow handles to save weigth, which make them head heavy with even the lightest rubbers.

But that is a lesson that many have not really learned yet.

 

[Kolev]

Burden on your wrist is not determined by the blade weigth itself, but the distribution of the weight.

A head heavy blade with 165g will put more burden on your wrist than a well balanced blade with 190g. And in many cases, the lighter blade have hollow handles to save weigth, which make them head heavy with even the lightest rubbers.

But that is a lesson that many have not really learned yet.

This is true........and this is a huge subject to discuss, but still what matters is the personal feeling and comfort

 

[UpSideDownCarl]

Burden on your wrist is not determined by the blade weigth itself, but the distribution of the weight.

A head heavy blade with 165g will put more burden on your wrist than a well balanced blade with 190g. And in many cases, the lighter blade have hollow handles to save weigth, which make them head heavy with even the lightest rubbers.

But that is a lesson that many have not really learned yet.

This is true........and this is a huge subject to discuss, but still what matters is the personal feeling and comfort

But, there are some principles that can be examined. If there is more weight in the head, the blade will feel heavier. If there is more weight in the handle, the blade will feel lighter and it will be possible to get more racket speed and a more whippy stroke.

One time Der_Echte handed me a setup where the blade weighed a little over 120 grams. I hit with it for a while and he asked me what I thought the blade weight might be. It felt like an 85 gram blade. And the reason....it was an 85 gram blade with 35 grams added to the handle. It really felt great. And it was much more solid than the blade had been when it was 85 grams without the weight added to the handle.

He and I did some tests on that subject. Testing the blade before adding weight to the handle and then testing how it felt after, and adding different weights to see where the sweet spot was for adding weight to the handle. 35 grams may have been near the outer limits. But it wasn't quite at the point of no return.

 

[vossi39]

Wouldn't it be marvolous to adopt the Stiga CWT system as an industry standard for all blades, so everyone of us could balance their blade to their preference?
And then add another point to your EJ checklist at which balance point the blade/rubber combination has its optimum?