Question for Blade-Builders

[Der_Echte]

Blade arrived and the Salmons swam back downstream...

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[Nate4s]

Blade arrived and the Salmons swam back downstream...

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1. You got it! I hope you like it and it serves you well.
2. No wonder you asked for such a large handle - you have giant hands!
3. I like how you've posted a picture of the blade in front of the photo I posted on the forum - glad to know there were no catfishing attempts (or USPS replacing it with a completely different blade) and it matches up
4. I hope you enjoyed my quarantine-times special packaging (wrapped acid-free paper and an outer wrapping made out of a brown paper bag - they've started charging $0.05 for those in Oregon now) and handwritten "note".

 

[Der_Echte]

Haha triple 3x haha Nate... my pawz are PUNY.... but they thick. Carl sez I look like bear.

We recorded in HISTORY what you wrote, what you did, and why you did it.

 

[Der_Echte]

I strongly believe there is a charm like no other when you make a pic of something and include the TTD post background related to the pic...

I did that on my Denmark Copenhagen trip and it seems to have an appeal.

 

[Der_Echte]

Played with the blade today. It did what I thought it would do.

The next two I ask for should be similar over-fat handle, similar construction concept, and a regular sized head.

Low and medium impacts were mostly linear and on par with a lower end of OFF class blade does, strong impacts produced a top end of the lower range of OFF. Control monster with FX-S. I never pounded three in a row down the line in fast rally exchange before. You can pound it with FX-S and still land it on this blade.

 

[Nate4s]

Two blades I put together recently - just building a stock-pile of blades until I can get back out there and test them...

Blade 1 (ultra-light):

Composition: Spruce-Spruce-Redwood-Spruce-Spruce
Handle (flared): WRC-AYC-WRC-AYC-WRC (WRC = Western Red Cedar, AYC - Alaskan Yellow Cedar)
Weight: 67 g





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Blade 2 (Inner-Carbon "Maze"):

Composition: Limba-Limba-Carbon/Aramid-WRC-Carbon/Aramid-Limba-Limba
Handle (straight): Walnut-Big Leaf Maple-WRC-Big Leaf Maple-Walnut
Weight: 98 g

 

[UpSideDownCarl]

Two blades I put together recently - just building a stock-pile of blades until I can get back out there and test them...

Blade 1 (ultra-light):

Composition: Spruce-Spruce-Redwood-Spruce-Spruce
Handle (flared): WRC-AYC-WRC-AYC-WRC (WRC = Western Red Cedar, AYC - Alaskan Yellow Cedar)
Weight: 67 g

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Blade 2 (Inner-Carbon "Maze"):

Composition: Limba-Limba-Carbon/Aramid-WRC-Carbon/Aramid-Limba-Limba
Handle (straight): Walnut-Big Leaf Maple-WRC-Big Leaf Maple-Walnut
Weight: 98 g


View attachment 21428
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Art. That is what this is.....The wood plies on this blade look amazing.

 

[UpSideDownCarl]

Finished up this custom blade for Der_Echte:

7-Ply Composition (152mm W x 158mm L x 6.8mm H): Limba-Spruce-Spruce-Redwood-Spruce-Spruce-Limba
Handle (28.5mm W x 110mm L x 26mm H): Walnut-Western Red Cedar-Walnut
Weight: 98 grams (not too shabby considering the monster-sized-handle)

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Blade arrived and the Salmons swam back downstream...

Sent from my SM-N970U using Tapatalk

Nate: for the next one, don't tell Der_ but add another 10 grams to the handle. hehe

 

[Nate4s]

Art. That is what this is.....The wood plies on this blade look amazing.

Thanks for the kind words, UpSideDownCarl!

Nate: for the next one, don't tell Der_ but add another 10 grams to the handle. hehe

I gave Der_ a blade a couple years back with solid Ipe handles - the handles alone weighed around 45 grams...but even that didn't slow him down! I should see how far I can push it next time (i.e., tell him it's 100 grams, but toss in some Ipe, Lignum Vitae, or Ironwood and get that blade up to 140 grams or so...I bet he'd still wield it like it was nothing!).

 

[UpSideDownCarl]

Thanks for the kind words, UpSideDownCarl!



I gave Der_ a blade a couple years back with solid Ipe handles - the handles alone weighed around 45 grams...but even that didn't slow him down! I should see how far I can push it next time (i.e., tell him it's 100 grams, but toss in some Ipe, Lignum Vitae, or Ironwood and get that blade up to 140 grams or so...I bet he'd still wield it like it was nothing!).

As long as the blade face weighs like a normal 88 gram blade, if you add 25-30 grams in the handle, it will play like a dream. And it will not feel heavy even though it is.

Der gave me a blade that was 85 grams and I played with it and it felt fine. He added 35 grams to the handle and it weighed 120 grams and I played with it and it felt Moar Better Butter.

Smash_Fan is very fussy about blade weight.....One time Der gave Smash_Fan a blade that weighed 120 grams and most of the weight was in the handle. Smash_Fan was about to buy the blade when Der told him what it weighed and all of a sudden he had second thoughts. But he did not feel that extra weight till Der spilled the beans. ahahahahahahahaha.

And I will tell you, that blade did not feel like it was 120 grams. Der, was that a Quobod?

So if you make a blade that would be 88 grams with a normal handle and give him a 25-30 gram handle, Der will be happy like a kid opening Christmas presents. And if you make that blade about the speed of a standard Clipper, he may never use any other blade ever again.

 

[Nate4s]

I have been trying to build the ideal blade for myself, but since I still can't test any out (due to COVID19), my collection continues to grow...

Composition: Koto - AYC - AYC - WRC - AYC - AYC - Koto. [AYC = Alaskan Yellow Cedar. WRC = Western Red Cedar]

Handle: Walnut - Big Leaf Maple - WRC - Big Leaf Maple - Walnut

Properties: 90 grams, 6.1 mm thick, 150 mm wide, 157 mm long. All layers glued with hide (animal) glue.

 

[Der_Echte]

Carl, I remember vaguely... this was one of our Korean Flushing TTC meetups, I think it was after we had previously met him at NYISC. Smashfan showed up kinda at the tail end of out meetup after he attended a meetup of his own. I think I had him try several blades, maybe the 120g+ Allround Evolution was one of them, maybe we had him try the 106g Yinhe 986...

… but the blade Smashfan loved the most was the Qabod. It is likely I upped handle weight on that one too, but cannot exactly remember, but we ran the light blade - heavy blade - you cannot tell - hustle on him. Dude swallowed the hook and loved the handle heavy blades the best... of course he loves the OFF+ Qabod…. Smashfan didn't get his name by hitting softly. Those handle heavy blades gave him a really improved feel when he impacted the ball real hard like he prefers. It is natural he liked those, even if he wouldn't admit it on camera.

 

[Der_Echte]

...I gave Der_ a blade a couple years back with solid Ipe handles - the handles alone weighed around 45 grams...but even that didn't slow him down! I should see how far I can push it next time...

I think that is the blade that I SO WANTED to NOT give to George. Great feeling ST handle, simply wonderful fulcrum potential for extra whip with using hand and fingers, lovely balance.

That blade just felt so right, but I was obligated to give it to George... even blade master extrordinaire TTD member erm wanted that blade when he held it.

George still has it somewhere and that dude changes his blade more often that you and me change our underwear... which we hope is daily.

If George does not voluntarily get me the blade, the next Air Conditioner repairman is gunna extract it out of his garage and deliver it to me. A/C units break down a lot and it is often upper 100s or low 110s here.

I am sure nate took pics of it and put it to whatever thread way back then... I think it was the Heavy Blade thread of the next thread nate made.

 

[Der_Echte]

I think I just mailed one of Nate's ALL+ blades with the heavy/dense ST handle to Next Level... he should have that in action before the weekend.

 

[Nate4s]

I think I just mailed one of Nate's ALL+ blades with the heavy/dense ST handle to Next Level... he should have that in action before the weekend.

Was that the Koto-Koto-Kiri with Ipe handle? If so, that one has a really light blade face (All+ is a generous rating) to create an insane handle-heavy balance. I hope he likes it...I think my blade making has come a long way from that time period when I built that one!

 

[Der_Echte]

Was that the Koto-Koto-Kiri with Ipe handle? If so, that one has a really light blade face (All+ is a generous rating) to create an insane handle-heavy balance. I hope he likes it...I think my blade making has come a long way from that time period when I built that one!

I didn't take a pic, but it was a light color outer veener both sides with a very dark wood handle.

I think Next Level will be able to park self at table and hit through a lot of balls with that blade.

 

[Nate4s]

2 new blades finished up for a forum member...they're a bit heavier than typical blades because of the oversized handles.

Blade 1:
Composition: Koto - European Larch - Lutz Spruce - Kiri (core) - Lutz Spruce - European Larch - Koto
Handle: Walnut - Big Leaf Maple - Walnut
Properties: 5.85 mm thick, 150 x 157 mm blade-face, 110 mm handle (87 - 88 mm circumference), 95 grams






Blade 2:
Composition: Limba - Lutz Spruce - Poplar - Kiri (core) - Poplar - Lutz Spruce - Limba
Handle: Walnut - Big Leaf Maple - Walnut
Properties: 6.3 mm thick, 150 x 157 mm blade-face, 110 mm handle (88 - 89 mm circumference), 101 grams

 

[Der_Echte]

Some lucky S.o.a.G. getting those two. He had better pay for them...

 

[lasta]

Hi Nate, are those treated kiri cores? something along the lines of varnish soaked? Looks a lot different that the run of the mill stuff.

 

[Der_Echte]

Hmmm... those are certainly heavier than mainstream weight of most blades... I wonder WHO in the TT world would actually prefer blades that heavy?

Nate, Carl, MaTT, Dan... any ideas?