Sanwei 54 ALC - what wood is this?

[Ultravisitor]

I ordered a new blade from Sanwei. Its 54 ALC. It's supposed to be an new version of 75 inner, with koto top ply. Got it in the weight I wanted, so thats nice. But I doubt that this is koto. I had a 75 inner before and it had koto fishscales. This looks more like Ayous or light limba to me. Makes also more sense, because it's a composition thats not available from Sanwei with 75 handle.

Can some of you woodgurus take a look?

 

[Bran]

I can't find any reference to a Sanwei 54 ALC but your picture does look like limba.

@Andrea Jiang is the Sanwei representative on the forum, she may be able to confirm model and composition.

 

[Egon]

The end grain of koto veneer has a unique pattern that is hard to confuse with anything else. In the photo is Viscaria with koto on the surface. Compare with your blade.

 

[Ultravisitor]

Jeah it's not koto then. Ill give it go anyway, I got it for a little more than 30 euros and craftsmanship is always nice with these newer sanwei handles

 

[h3llary]

looks like limba

 

[foreright]

It could be Koto - I certainly have some that looks similar. I think I can see some of the tell-tale "holes" / pores in that shot of the end of the handle. The "fish scaling" is when it's cut a particular way (quartersawn I'd guess) so it's not always there.

 

[Ultravisitor]

It could be Koto - I certainly have some that looks similar. I think I can see some of the tell-tale "holes" / pores in that shot of the end of the handle. The "fish scaling" is when it's cut a particular way (quartersawn I'd guess) so it's not always there.

Jeah I'm pretty sure its not that, I compared it to other blades I have. I think its either Limba or Ayous

 

[Scarfed Garchomp]

Definitely limba, I've never seen koto to have that kind of grain pattern

 

[Egon]

Jeah I'm pretty sure its not that, I compared it to other blades I have. I think its either Limba or Ayous

Ayus has a distinct yellow color. It would be easier to identify the wood if you shared a photo of the entire blade.

 

[Ultravisitor]

Ayus has a distinct yellow color. It would be easier to identify the wood if you shared a photo of the entire blade.

Heres the full blade, but color is hard to tell through camera lens and lighting.

 

[Egon]

Heres the full blade, but color is hard to tell through camera lens and lighting.

This is limba

 

[h3llary]

Ayus has a distinct yellow color. It would be easier to identify the wood if you shared a photo of the entire blade.

I think it all depends, franziska zlc top layer is limba and it's pretty yellow

 

[Ultravisitor]

I think it all depends, franziska zlc top layer is limba and it's pretty yellow

Jeah most of the Limba blades I own look more yellow/brown. I guess the finish the manufacturer put ob alters the colours greatly. The structure/grain of the blade looks like Limba, the colour is lighter and brighter though

 

[Ultravisitor]

I will test the Blade tomorrow and post my opinions here after I tried it.

 

[foreright]

Yeah I wonder if there's something that the Chinese call "Koto" that is actually something else - I have some "Koto" that was bought from a Chinese seller that looks very similar to that. It's not as hard as the fish scale stuff I have that I know for definite is Koto.

 

[Egon]

I think it all depends, franziska zlc top layer is limba and it's pretty yellow

The original limba is much lighter. Here the Butterfly processed the surface. We repaired such a blade and I had to try very hard to match the colors with the original.

 

[mightymouse]

It is Limba.

My limba blades' surface are different from each other: some are light color, some are yellowish color and some are darker in color. They are all Butterfly blades (which has good QC). So I guess, limba being an organic material, can vary from one to the other.

 

[Ultravisitor]

So tonight I tried it. I glued Goldarc 8 47 on both sides and brought with me the blades I play right now, which are Tibhar Samsonov Force Pro Black Edition and Sanwei Fextra 7 both with Fastarc g1/c1.

The Sanwei 54 ALC is very fast. I know Goldarc is bouncier than G1. But this blade feels noticeably faster than the 7plys. It also played faster than yinhe pro 05 and fang bo 2bx. But its been some time since I played those.
What I can say is that the 54 ALC feels very woody; the vibrations feel very similar to the fextra 7. Yinhe pro 05 had a more pronounced carbon feel.

So this blade is a keeper for me, it has great feeling behaves similar to 7ply but is faster. I love the handle. Maybe next season I will play this.

 

[h3llary]

So tonight I tried it. I glued Goldarc 8 47 on both sides and brought with me the blades I play right now, which are Tibhar Samsonov Force Pro Black Edition and Sanwei Fextra 7 both with Fastarc g1/c1.

The Sanwei 54 ALC is very fast. I know Goldarc is bouncier than G1. But this blade feels noticeably faster than the 7plys. It also played faster than yinhe pro 05 and fang bo 2bx. But its been some time since I played those.
What I can say is that the 54 ALC feels very woody; the vibrations feel very similar to the fextra 7. Yinhe pro 05 had a more pronounced carbon feel.

So this blade is a keeper for me, it has great feeling behaves similar to 7ply but is faster. I love the handle. Maybe next season I will play this.

Do you think the handle on 54 alc is thick?
Does it have a hard feel upon the impact with the ball, like other sanwei blades? I expect a softer feeling from limba wood

I'm really curious what are the differences between this 54 alc and vita alc

 

[Ultravisitor]

Do you think the handle on 54 alc is thick?
Does it have a hard feel upon the impact with the ball, like other sanwei blades? I expect a softer feeling from limba wood

I'm really curious what are the differences between this 54 alc and vita alc

Bouncing a ball without rubbers it feels very similar to a 92g fextra. It's thinner with 6mm. I'd say its handle is on the beefier side. Its exactly the same as v5 pro or 75inner.