Modernised 1980s Blade Project - Custom Sanwei Balsa Inner-ALC

[Corbin]

Hey everyone,


I wanted to share a little passion project I’ve been working on: a custom Sanwei blade that’s based on an old balsa–carbon blade my dad played back in the late 1980s, but updated with a more modern, W968-style inner ALC concept.


My goal was pretty specific:

“Modernised 1985 balsa–carbon with lots of control and dwell, that can "almost" perform like a W968 with tacky rubbers.”

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Blade Specifications​

Brand: Sanwei (custom made)
Construction: Balsa Inner-ALC
Total thickness: 6.0 mm


Plies & Composite:

• Core: 4.0 mm balsa
• Composite: Arylate-Carbon (ALC) directly on the balsa core (both sides)
  • (Same yellow ALC weave as used in DHS W968)
• Middle ply: Ayous ≈ 0.45–0.50 mm (each side)
• Outer ply: Limba ≈ 0.30–0.40 mm (each side)

Other details:

• Head size: large – 159 × 152 mm
• Handle: FL (Flared)
• Target weight: 78–85 g

So in short: it’s a 6.0 mm, light, balsa inner-ALC with limba/ayous outer structure and a large head, built to give a lot of control and dwell but with a big sweet spot and enough stiffness to handle hard, tacky FH rubbers.

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Rubber Setup​

I’m pairing the blade with a full Chinese/tacky setup:


FH:

• Friendship 729 Battle 2 National Special Edition / Special Supply
• 40°, 2.15 mm, black, blue sponge (blue packaging)
• Boosted two times with Haifu Black (National)

BH:

• DHS Hurricane 3-50
• 37°, 2.1 mm, red, unboosted

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Concept & Expectations​

• The balsa core + low total weight keeps some of that classic 80s “light and lively” feeling.
• Inner ALC directly on the core plus limba/ayous outer is inspired by the W968 philosophy:
  • Big sweet spot
  • Stable on harder shots
  • Designed to work well with tacky FH rubbers
• With Battle 2 National SE 40° (double boosted) on FH, I’m expecting:
  • Very heavy spin
  • High arc on openers
  • Enough top gear to get close to W968 territory in terms of FH performance, but with a softer, more forgiving balsa feel.
• With H3-50 37° unboosted on BH:
  • Lots of control and dwell
  • Spinny, safe BH openers and banana flicks
  • A bit of a “classic” controlled BH feel to balance the aggressive FH.

First shots will most likely be a BH banana, followed by a good old FH loop to see how the blade loads and releases the ball.

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I’ll update with impressions​

I’ll add a follow-up (probably mid-late January) once the blade arrives and I’ve had a proper session with it – especially on:

• Short game & touch
• FH loop from close/mid distance
• BH banana, spin openers and blocks
• How “W968-like” it actually feels in terms of spin and power vs the control and dwell I wanted to preserve from the old 1985 blade.

If anyone has played similar balsa + inner ALC + tacky FH combinations, I’d love to hear your experiences and what kind of rubbers you paired them with.
Even if you don't have a similar combination, I'd still love to hear your opinion.

 

[Larshos]

So I'm not misunderstanding you; you're getting Sanwei to make a custom blade for you? Do they have a service for this?

 

[andymagata]

How do you separate the wood layers on any blade? Both modern and old ones. I guess the plies might get destroyed except for the core?

 

[Corbin]

So I'm not misunderstanding you; you're getting Sanwei to make a custom blade for you? Do they have a service for this?

Yes, thats right.
They have a service for that, but only if you ask them.

If you have an exact combination of wood layers/carbon layers on your mind you can ask them to build one for you.
They will either recommend one of their blades which would behave similar, or after you give them a detailed description, build one for you.

 

[Corbin]

How do you separate the wood layers on any blade? Both modern and old ones. I guess the plies might get destroyed except for the core?

Yeah, that’s on me – my wording was maybe a bit misleading 😅

I didn’t actually separate the plies on the old blade.
What I meant was that I used that as a reference for the custom build, not as the result of literally peeling it apart.

 

[Larshos]

Yes, thats right.
They have a service for that, but only if you ask them.

If you have an exact combination of wood layers/carbon layers on your mind you can ask them to build one for you.
They will either recommend one of their blades which would behave similar, or after you give them a detailed description, build one for you.

Cool! What kind of price range are we talking about?

 

[DrBean]

Quite a few Chinese blade makers have this service. Ranges from 400-4000 RMB, most will run you under 2000, if not lower.

I've not used Sanwei - bought a couple of their blades before and was thoroughly disappointed with their craftsmanship and absolutely disgusted with their attitude. Yinhe offers this service as well.

Apart from that there are independent shops that will make whatever you want. There's one shop that uses a bunch of studs as a core. I'm playing around with their premade blades currently - it's pretty good. They also do blade restorations, if you have blade you're particularly fond of.

I also seen a shop do a 13 layer hinoki blade. Nice thing about these shops is they can recreate a discontinued blade, or basically whatever you imagine.

 

[Corbin]

Cool! What kind of price range are we talking about?

The prices for a Sanwei custom blade usually range from 90$ to 170$ from which I read online.
I think it all comes down to the complexity and manufacturing process of the blade.
I paid 150$ for mine - aprox. 130€ or 113 british pounds.

 

[Corbin]

Quite a few Chinese blade makers have this service. Ranges from 400-4000 RMB, most will run you under 2000, if not lower.

I've not used Sanwei - bought a couple of their blades before and was thoroughly disappointed with their craftsmanship and absolutely disgusted with their attitude. Yinhe offers this service as well.

Apart from that there are independent shops that will make whatever you want. There's one shop that uses a bunch of studs as a core. I'm playing around with their premade blades currently - it's pretty good. They also do blade restorations, if you have blade you're particularly fond of.

I also seen a shop do a 13 layer hinoki blade. Nice thing about these shops is they can recreate a discontinued blade, or basically whatever you imagine.

Thanks a lot for the detailed info – really helpful!
I’ve actually had only positive experiences with Sanwei customs so far (fast and friendly communication, always speaking with the same person), but it’s always good to know there are solid alternatives like Yinhe you mentioned.
I can't comment on the craftsmanship, but i will as soon as the blade arrives.

The restoration service is gold for sentimental blades . Appreciate you sharing the options – always good to have more choices in this niche!

 

[DrBean]

Thanks a lot for the detailed info – really helpful!
I’ve actually had only positive experiences with Sanwei customs so far (fast and friendly communication, always speaking with the same person), but it’s always good to know there are solid alternatives like Yinhe you mentioned.
I can't comment on the craftsmanship, but i will as soon as the blade arrives.

The restoration service is gold for sentimental blades . Appreciate you sharing the options – always good to have more choices in this niche!

I don't usually caution people away from brands because everyone has off days, and if you make enough stuff a some of it will be doodoo even with the best QA. It's just my personal experience that I've given them plenty of chances, and almost always was let down, which I attribute to my character issue (lol). I find that the paid reviews of their products/reviews from creators connected to them don't quite match up with the non-paid reviews, which is what I've experienced as well. But, I think they've decent cost-performance ratio, particularly for amateurs.