Just discovered my first bat from 38 years ago in the attic

[boretennis]

just discovered my 38 year old first bat in the attic. everything is completely dried up and dead, so i can finally play anti. the backhand mark v has some interesting black spot where my finger used to sit. wonder what that is? 38 year old fat & sweat? this area is dry & hard like coal.
I'm curious if the blade (applegren allplay) is still working fine after all those years.

 

[Schuster M.]

i have seen that blackness on a rubber before, i have a friend with an old tibhar ultra or extra defense rubber (can't remember the exact name), he has that racket since he was a kid or teenager (now he is 30) and his backhand rubber looks like that exactly where he was keeping his finger, besides being black it was also like eaten into the rubber, his finger all these years there, it started to make the rubber thinner in the middle where he was keeping his finger. Thought it was not as exaggerated as in your photo.

 

[boretennis]

it started to make the rubber thinner in the middle where he was keeping his finger.

yes, the sponge in this area is almost not existing anymore and it is hard like coal, you can just crack it with your finger. the FH rubber is dead & gripless, but still soft.
maybe i should not put new rubbers on the blade but frame it like it is

 

[Schuster M.]

yes, the sponge in this area is almost not existing anymore and it is hard like coal, you can just crack it with your finger. the FH rubber is dead & gripless, but still soft.
maybe i should not put new rubbers on the blade but frame it like it is

Actually that is a great idea, good luck man!

 

[SFF_lib]

just discovered my 38 year old first bat in the attic. everything is completely dried up and dead, so i can finally play anti. the backhand mark v has some interesting black spot where my finger used to sit. wonder what that is? 38 year old fat & sweat? this area is dry & hard like coal.
I'm curious if the blade (applegren allplay) is still working fine after all those years.

View attachment 34993

It will work just fine.


In my collection I have a few Stiga blades from the 1980s and 1990s. The feel is amazing.

When pair with fast rubbers like D05 it's fast enough for today's game.

 

[NetProphet]

just discovered my 38 year old first bat in the attic. everything is completely dried up and dead, so i can finally play anti. the backhand mark v has some interesting black spot where my finger used to sit. wonder what that is? 38 year old fat & sweat? this area is dry & hard like coal.
I'm curious if the blade (applegren allplay) is still working fine after all those years.

View attachment 34993

Wow, great find! Must have felt great to discover that 😲
I think somewhere in my parents attic there might be my old Stiga with a red Sriver and a Black Mark V on it, last played in ~1994-1995
I can't imagine the nostalgia of I were to find that racket.

Please put fresh rubber on the blade and tell us how it feels to take her for a spin again!! 😁

 

[longle]

That black spot indicates that your rubber is in the final stages of cancer, you should remove it before it spreads to the blade

 

[boretennis]

When pair with fast rubbers like D05 it's fast enough for today's game.

Please put fresh rubber on the blade and tell us how it feels to take her for a spin again!! 😁

i had a spare palio hadou and mercury II so i glued those on, but they were unsurprisingly not potent enough on this blade / for my playstyle. the blade felt really nice in my hand though, so would love to give it a second life. but since it would be a sentimental just-for-fun setup i don't really want to spend D05 money. which budget-friendly faster rubbers come to mind?

 

[Milton Table Tennis Club]

I had a 20 yr old Butterfly Kazan with sriver I pulled out when I started playing again a few years ago. The sriver had a blend soft to crispy hard rubber surface. I could barely keep it on the table.

 

[SFF_lib]

i had a spare palio hadou and mercury II so i glued those on, but they were unsurprisingly not potent enough on this blade / for my playstyle. the blade felt really nice in my hand though, so would love to give it a second life. but since it would be a sentimental just-for-fun setup i don't really want to spend D05 money. which budget-friendly faster rubbers come to mind?

Easy a R7 or G1 they last forever

 

[Tyce]

Rakza 7 pairs well, but so does 39d H3 Neo. Keep in mind that the balance will be quite different with modern rubbers.
You could just get something like ak47 which is light cheap and works on most blades

 

[NetProphet]

i had a spare palio hadou and mercury II so i glued those on, but they were unsurprisingly not potent enough on this blade / for my playstyle. the blade felt really nice in my hand though, so would love to give it a second life. but since it would be a sentimental just-for-fun setup i don't really want to spend D05 money. which budget-friendly faster rubbers come to mind?

I'd second the R7 and G1 recommendation. Great durability if you're only going to use it every now and again and also perfect FH and BH rubber combination imo.
If they're more than you wanted to spend I could recommend Yinhe JA3 and maybe Moon 12 for maybe half the price?

 

[Tony's Table Tennis]

Mark V
Good rubber!

 

[longle]

Mark V
Good rubber!

there are veterans here who still stick with old combo: Butterfly Sardius + Mark V + Raza 7 and consistently beating the youngsters

 

[Tony's Table Tennis]

there are veterans here who still stick with old combo: Butterfly Sardius + Mark V + Raza 7 and consistently beating the youngsters

nothing wrong with that.
I know Mark V has the version 40 rubber, for 40mm ball. Also some other varieties.
Are those veterans using the original Mark V?

 

[longle]

nothing wrong with that.
I know Mark V has the version 40 rubber, for 40mm ball. Also some other varieties.
Are those veterans using the original Mark V?

yes they all are using the original ones, they don't seem to like the modern harder rubbers

 

[Tony's Table Tennis]

yes they all are using the original ones, they don't seem to like the modern harder rubbers

well, if it works, don't change it

It does amaze me how these classics, just go on forever....

Mark V is still a highly sold rubber in Japan (a huge table tennis tier 1 market)

For those that don't know, this is Japan's World-TT Magazine's data on the most sold rubbers ranking list in Feb of 2025. Mark V is there, while some younger coaches might not even know what rubber it is.

 

[longle]

many players here using G1 as well, it lasts a long time

 

[Tony's Table Tennis]

many players here using G1 as well, it lasts a long time

yep
In Taiwan, G1 is probably one of the most popular rubbers for players to change to after spending some years going into intermediate and could stay on for a long time and then possible change to Butterfly later on.
an idea

7~10 years old, could use cheaper more entry level, the better ones could change to Donic Acuda
then 11~15 you would see alot of Nittaku Fastarc where G1 is the most sold, even up to 18 years old and these including junior national team girls players. How do I know? other than seeing they rackets? well, it is also one of the most 2nd hand rubbers I get from donations from these pros.
Mens change to H3 or Butterfly a lot faster than womens is also a trend I see, but G1 is still highly used in the semi-pro to pro space. I can't comment on amateur space.

so whenever some coach that says you need Butterfly or the national grade equipment...... etc, I look back at the thousands of Taiwanese table tennis kids, over the previous decade and say, well, the data I see states you don't need to invest in an arm and a leg to become a Pro.