Nittaku manufacturing process video

[igorponger]

ln addition to zeio's contribution

ITTF T9 Manual got now revised because of RAE continued mishaps.

Yes, RAE sensors did readily reacted to ladies parphume nearby, a very annoying mishap. 😝 They did solved the issue by incorporating a perforated sampling cylinder outside.
They got now another trouble with sampling. RAE proved unable to detect VOCs from under the topsheet 😝
This present time, they gonna to make VOC tests on rubbers sheets after having been detached off the blade. (refer T9 updates).
___________________
Be erudite of everything

 

[Tony's Table Tennis]

If you seal a blade too thoroughly, you change its playing feel. The more sealant there is on a blade, the faster it gets. This means that the sealant on tem is always very thin, and easily compromised

For this reason, if your hand's sweat a lot then the blade isn't going to last very long. The sweat makes the wood swell, and that typically warps the blade (it also softens a lot of different wood glues). Water damaged Kiri can move so much that under ITTF rules it's basically a pretzel, so they often change them after a few months.

I had a 240mm X 900 X 6mm Kiri board in my workshop once that became water damaged. In the space of a few hours, one side of the damn thing curved over two inches out of true! It went from a flat timber plank to a skateboard half pipe in the course of an afternoon 🤣🤣🤣

Yep
Short answer is the feeling changes and unusable

 

[Tony's Table Tennis]

@Wakkibatty

just so you know, W968 lifespan is pretty low.
great blade, but this is where butterfly blades are some what superior as it last double to 3 times the life span.

 

[Wakkibatty]

@Wakkibatty

just so you know, W968 lifespan is pretty low.
great blade, but this is where butterfly blades are some what superior as it last double to 3 times the life span.

Thanks for the tip Never actually seen a W968 up close in the flesh, but heard plenty about the playing feel. What's the ply sandwich composition on those do you know? It might be fun to try and re-create it.

I also agree with you about the longevity & quality of Butterfly blades. While some of their blade prices are truly obscene, I honestly can't fault their construction - they are always extremely well made.

 

[z0uLess]

That OP video is a pretty good find. Not long ago Nittaku also released a video but it's less detailed and it's more in Mima Ito perspective.

Thanks for sharing. The culture of maintaining craftmanship in Japan is dear to my heart. I dont know what it is, but I was touched by hearing Mima Ito initial reaction upon arriving to where the wood is cut. Maybe it was because my grandfather was a wood craftsman. It was simply too many of the things I love put into one package.

 

[Tony's Table Tennis]

Thanks for the tip Never actually seen a W968 up close in the flesh, but heard plenty about the playing feel. What's the ply sandwich composition on those do you know? It might be fun to try and re-create it.

I also agree with you about the longevity & quality of Butterfly blades. While some of their blade prices are truly obscene, I honestly can't fault their construction - they are always extremely well made.

i was hoping for you to surgery it and tell me

 

[Gozo Zyreruna]

@Wakkibatty

just so you know, W968 lifespan is pretty low.
great blade, but this is where butterfly blades are some what superior as it last double to 3 times the life span.

Tony,

is it just w968 that has a shelf-life or is this true for all modern composite blade?

In my locality, I have seen veteran players from the speed glue / 38mm era still using the same Cypress G-max / Senkoh 30 years later down the line. Does blade have a limited useful life? I sure hope my Darker Speed 90 doesn't. I wanna play with it until I go to my grave.

 

[Tony's Table Tennis]

Tony,

is it just w968 that has a shelf-life or is this true for all modern composite blade?

In my locality, I have seen veteran players from the speed glue / 38mm era still using the same Cypress G-max / Senkoh 30 years later down the line. Does blade have a limited useful life? I sure hope my Darker Speed 90 doesn't. I wanna play with it until I go to my grave.

professionals change all blades regularly.
amateur players keep blades forever
so it is really different reasoning.

For example, I asked a player, why he doesn't use W968
he said it is a good blade, but its too costly, because his current butterfly blade can last 2 times longer, so finance point of view is super viscaria is better suited for his current financial ability.
similar with a rubber, when the feeling (or grip for rubber) changes, then you know the blades life has ended.

as explained above, that is when too much moisture entered the blade

for the amateur players, they probably can't feel such detail, so they can just continue forever, just like how some can use the same rubber for a year or more.
I hope they don't do the same with car tires

 

[Wakkibatty]

i was hoping for you to surgery it and tell me

If you can source one for me I'm happy to give it a go and see what we find out 🤣🤣 (if we can do a little destructive testing on the thing all the better 😂😂)

Hands-on experimentation is always so much better than looking stuff up online anyway -- so much of stuff published about blades online is either totally wrong or hugely misguided) 😊

...although, given what you've already told me, now that I think about it a bit more, there's a couple of deductions I might be able to make already 🤔

For example Tony, you say that the W968 doesn't last very long, and I also kinda get the feeling from what you're saying that their life is even shorter again if the player also have sweaty hands. Is all the above correct?

Also, How long exactly is 'not very long' -- are we talking three months? six months? What's the average life of one these things in the hands of a pro?

Finally, something I hear a lot about the W968 is they have a very soft playing feel, they don't vibrate much, and the handle seems to be denser on the W968 than on the cheaper regular Ma Long version... Is all the above also correct?

 

[igorponger]

NO CAMERAS, PLEASE.

A Russian rubber technologist was once taken to a China rubber plant on intention to view production particulars of table tennis rubbers. Prior to entering the making shop, he was given a warning note in most friendly manner
-- No cameras, please.

Yes, rubber making process is always closed for public view, and actual rubber formula is always protected by a patent law.

I do suspect that China manufacturers feeling strongly against foreign guests for not liking ITTF to discover a clear evidence of many Chinese factories still boosting on rubbers in sheer defiance of ITTF rubber regulations.

____________(_
Be erudite of everything

 

[Gozo Zyreruna]

professionals change all blades regularly.
amateur players keep blades forever
so it is really different reasoning.

For example, I asked a player, why he doesn't use W968
he said it is a good blade, but its too costly, because his current butterfly blade can last 2 times longer, so finance point of view is super viscaria is better suited for his current financial ability.
similar with a rubber, when the feeling (or grip for rubber) changes, then you know the blades life has ended.

as explained above, that is when too much moisture entered the blade

for the amateur players, they probably can't feel such detail, so they can just continue forever, just like how some can use the same rubber for a year or more.
I hope they don't do the same with car tires

Tony, you have not answer the most pertinent question, that is to say, this blade useful life issue, is it perculiar only to modern composite blade? Does it also hold true for one ply?

 

[Tony's Table Tennis]

Tony, you have not answer the most pertinent question, that is to say, this blade useful life issue, is it perculiar only to modern composite blade? Does it also hold true for one ply?

I thought my answer was simple enough
let me make it really baby proof now

, is it perculiar only to modern composite blade

No

Does it also hold true for one ply?

maybe yes

changing blades regularly has been going on for many decades
there isn't much data I have on one ply, as that is 30+ years ago and no one uses 1 ply today, other than OB players.

so I hope this information helps what ever you trying to explore

 

[Tony's Table Tennis]

NO CAMERAS, PLEASE.

A Russian rubber technologist was once taken to a China rubber plant on intention to view production particulars of table tennis rubbers. Prior to entering the making shop, he was given a warning note in most friendly manner
-- No cameras, please.

Yes, rubber making process is always closed for public view, and actual rubber formula is always protected by a patent law.

I do suspect that China manufacturers feeling strongly against foreign guests for not liking ITTF to discover a clear evidence of many Chinese factories still boosting on rubbers in sheer defiance of ITTF rubber regulations.

____________(_
Be erudite of everything

99.9999% of the worlds plant all forbids cameras, include that of Russian manufactures too.

this isn't social media, it is real business with trade secrets igor
just think about it.

 

[Tony's Table Tennis]

For example Tony, you say that the W968 doesn't last very long, and I also kinda get the feeling from what you're saying that their life is even shorter again if the player also have sweaty hands. Is all the above correct?

I would believe sweaty hands does shorten the period

Also, How long exactly is 'not very long' -- are we talking three months? six months? What's the average life of one these things in the hands of a pro?

W968 I have heard about 2 months
the others maybe double the life span

Finally, something I hear a lot about the W968 is they have a very soft playing feel, they don't vibrate much, and the handle seems to be denser on the W968 than on the cheaper regular Ma Long version... Is all the above also correct?

Can't really give a correct answer on this, as players can all request different specs blades, even if the model is the same.
I don't have too many players near me that uses W968

 

[Gozo Zyreruna]

I would believe sweaty hands does shorten the period

W968 I have heard about 2 months
the others maybe double the life span

Can't really give a correct answer on this, as players can all request different specs blades, even if the model is the same.
I don't have too many players near me that uses W968

What you say in bold @Tony's Table Tennis, if it is true, then there should be a lot of used / pro-pre-owned W968 lying around and plenty of it on the used market for OB / collectors to acquire at marvelous and wonderful price. But this is not the case at least to my limited knowledge. Hence I run into a conundrum.

 

[Tony's Table Tennis]

What you say in bold @Tony's Table Tennis, if it is true, then there should be a lot of used / pro-pre-owned W968 lying around and plenty of it on the used market for OB / collectors to acquire at marvelous and wonderful price. But this is not the case at least to my limited knowledge. Hence I run into a conundrum.

do you see much pro equipment out there besides the ones I am donating away from Pros?

 

[SlowPower]

@Wakkibatty

just so you know, W968 lifespan is pretty low.
great blade, but this is where butterfly blades are some what superior as it last double to 3 times the life span.

Thats because Butterfly blades are factory sealed ;-)

 

[Gozo Zyreruna]

do you see much pro equipment out there besides the ones I am donating away from Pros?

which is so strange for me. Pro used equipment are of no second hand value... even Gozo's used Tenergies can be sold for scrap value. And Gozo is just a OB player.

 

[Tony's Table Tennis]

which is so strange for me. Pro used equipment are of no second hand value... even Gozo's used Tenergies can be sold for scrap value. And Gozo is just a OB player.

Pros do not have the time to go about selling used equipment
most of the time, the coaches are the one that donates them away

 

[Zwill]

Pros do not have the time to go about selling used equipment
most of the time, the coaches are the one that donates them away

The top top pros for sure don't give a shit, but WR 50-200 for sure will sell the equipment they receive to anyone willing to pay. Not just used, they will sell new.