My blade plays different than it used to

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Carl,
would leaving his in a hot, dry, ventilated area help restore his blade back to its original feel? I think I've mentioned this before, but I tend to leave my paddle in its case in the trunk of my car parked outside in the hot dry texas summer heat, and it the blade just feels nicer (I suspect because all my sweat evaporates). I used to leave it in a gym locker at my work, but I felt the humidity defenitely bogged the blade and rubbers down.
 
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says Spin and more spin.
says Spin and more spin.
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Carl,
would leaving his in a hot, dry, ventilated area help restore his blade back to its original feel? I think I've mentioned this before, but I tend to leave my paddle in its case in the trunk of my car parked outside in the hot dry texas summer heat, and it the blade just feels nicer (I suspect because all my sweat evaporates). I used to leave it in a gym locker at my work, but I felt the humidity defenitely bogged the blade and rubbers down.

I have a feeling the heat might be bad for the rubber. But it could do what you said to the wood.

They even heat treat some woods to make them crisper. Sometimes those are called burned plies.


Sent from The Subterranean Workshop by Telepathy
 
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I should add that there is a blade lacquer I tried from Revolution, also water soluble in the bottle. It is easy to apply and dries quickly, but the problem I had with it is that it does not really cross-link much with the wood. So I found that it tended to prevent the glue from attaching the rubber thoroughly and then it peeled off the wood. I didn't like it at all, I had that happen a few times and gave up on the stuff. I went back to my hairspray trick. Probably Carl's suggestion of rubber cement on the blade and WBG on the sponge is something I should look into. I have never actually tried it, but it seems like it should work well.
 
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I should add that there is a blade lacquer I tried from Revolution, also water soluble in the bottle. It is easy to apply and dries quickly, but the problem I had with it is that it does not really cross-link much with the wood. So I found that it tended to prevent the glue from attaching the rubber thoroughly and then it peeled off the wood. I didn't like it at all, I had that happen a few times and gave up on the stuff. I went back to my hairspray trick. Probably Carl's suggestion of rubber cement on the blade and WBG on the sponge is something I should look into. I have never actually tried it, but it seems like it should work well.

Carl is right with the rubber cement. In fact, if you are not in need of immediate tournament play, rubber cement is the safest for the wood and does not change the characteristic of the top ply wood with repeated use like water based glue. The top ply that are most feeling sensitive tend to be very thin and delicate. As Carl said, the more layers of sealant used, the more the wood characteristic will change. Xu Xin uses an Intensity without the NCT coating for exactly that reason.
 
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I have a feeling the heat might be bad for the rubber. But it could do what you said to the wood.

After having used the racket case with heat pads for a while i can say that the rubbers definitely show signs of wear a little sooner, but it's rather marginal.

They even heat treat some woods to make them crisper. Sometimes those are called burned plies.


Sent from The Subterranean Workshop by Telepathy

Absolutely true. It's just a conclusion, but I think this evaporated moisture could be one of the reasons why old blades feel so nice, since most likely all the inner moisture has evaporated.
But i think nowadays blade makers mostly use the vacuum method rather than exposing blades to too high temperatures, 'cause they can make the moisture evaporate at lower temperatures, without risking too much damage done to the wood because of the heat treatment.
 
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