Sapphire Wood 1 ply JPEN

[Lando]

Hinoki wood would feel bouncier than other woods. How is your sapphire wood? Does it feel bouncy?

Not sanding the edge is crazy hahaha.

They're so expensive and, from what others have said, can break easily.

It feels bouncy when I hit hard, but slow on soft touches. Flat hitting is great as well.
But I am not sure if it's the blade itself or the grip.
I'm thinking of buying another inexpensive blade to compare if it's the grip or the composition of the blade.

I sanded the edges before playing the first time but the actual handle was digging into my hand. I placed gripped tape on the handle (how shakehand does sometimes) and it doesn't do that anymore, thankfully.

I also watched a video of a guy demonstrating Cazuos blade. He sands down where he places his fingers, I may need to try that. I'll see if I can find that video, it's from a Canadian channel

Overall though, I love the blade and jpen grip, I'm going to keep going with jpen

 

[barusu]

I was in Japan last summer and i got my first 1 ply hinoki Yasaka Musashi V for 8800yen (50 €). Very nice quality, and the cork is ultra smooth, so nice to touch. Highly recommended if you travel to japan to buy that!

Which part of the handle hurts you?

 

[Lando]

I was in Japan last summer and i got my first 1 ply hinoki Yasaka Musashi V for 8800yen (50 €). Very nice quality, and the cork is ultra smooth, so nice to touch. Highly recommended if you travel to japan to buy that!

Which part of the handle hurts you?

That's the dream! Would love to visit Japan and South Korea.

The picture shows the edge that digs into my hand when I try to do my weird backhand. The grip tape worked and doesn't bother me anymore.

 

[Lando]

How does it feel and is it off- or off+, etc? Whats the characteristics?

It's definitely fast when you hit hard and slow on soft touches. I imagine it's like a hinoki blades little brother.
Its definitely an off- blade, not hard to control at all. You should give it a try. I'm playing with it rather than my viscaria

 

[Lando]

Hi Lando, do you perhaps have a 1 ply hinoki, that you can use as a comparison to your new sapphire wood jpen?

I can now!

I just finished messing around with the xiom blade, and its not that bad.
It's definitely slower, but not by too much.

The biggest difference I felt was in the feel/feedback I get from the ball. A much better feeling with the cypress on contact.

But I tested it out with a h3 I had, so maybe I'd feel differently if I had put the same cypress rubber (fastarc g1 max).
It even has its own unique sound, like a hollow hinoki-ish sound. No clash/crash sound when you hit harder.

Overall, I like it. It's like a toned down 1 ply hinoki. Great for people that want to try out a decent 1 ply, and it's affordable ($40ish).
It's made in China.

 

[b3N]

Yeah this one is good to give to kids because it's not so fragile like Hinoki, or expensive to replace.
The only thing is I find the unique shape awkward to play backhand with.
It has less feeling and control than Hinoki, less deep contact, and is a bit slower.
Not too bad as a beginner option, but not ideal imo because it is quite fast.
I'd imagine the Yasaka Musashi is a better option if you're training seriously (would need people who used it to confirm).
They do a bundle of this and the Champion Hexa Pro (a beginner rubber similar to Vega intro) on GMarket. So that's probably quite a good combo for the hobby player. Plenty speed.
It needs a 'control' rubber to feel balanced because you just don't get that Hinoki feedback. Good budget option.
Bethel sports and T Mount do a similar one with regular shape.