SDC Handmade Blades

[Egon]

I have a Palio TCT Titan Carbon blade. There is indeed a 115 mm wide metal mesh in the center of the blade, 25 mm away from the edge of the handle. That is, this mesh covers the playing part of the blade. I don't have the blade at hand now, but if anyone is interested, I'll post a photo later. But the thickness of this blade is 6.5 mm and it weighs over 90 grams, at the same time, the metal mesh does not cover the entire surface area.
It's actually difficult to compare this to your blade, @belllfador. Ideally, you'd have a titanium mesh on hand and simply weigh it. But I suspect there will be some surprises here too. Judging by your photos, the mesh size in the Gladiator is larger than in the TCT. So, I'd assume your mesh will be lighter.

 

[\_Kairos_/]

Some woods I don't use a lot, so I don't keep them in stock, but if a customer asks for it and I'm able to get it, I will. I will not buy in bulk (unless some good opportunity appears), so it might take some time if I have to order from a specific supplier and I have to gather more stuff to make the order financially effective.

I never experimented much with heat treated wood, not because of the "dangers", but simply because I'm not very curious about it. Heat treated wood has more dimensional stability (which is not even a great problem with Kiri to begin with), and a lower moisture content (which is not specifically a good thing). Sure, it might feel a little different, not saying it doesn't, but it also loses strength in the process and I saw plenty of broken blades with head treated cores. Still, I did not give it a fair chance to be honest...

I plan to do many things! 😅 The problem is having the time to do them...

Thanks a lot for the reply. I'm on your list at around 170; currently you're working on No. 86, according to your website. I guess I will give you a heads up when you're at No. 150.

 

[MarekD]

Are you asking about the fibers in a general way or about the ones I use? Either way, it's not an easy answer because the difference sometimes are just nuances. I work with more than one density of glass, aramid and spectra, but Spectra is a lot lighter than Aramid so for the same density fabric for example, is fairly thicker as well. This means that, even if the fiber is not stiffer, it indirectly adds more stiffness to the blade because it creates more thickness.

Thanks for the clarification. I'm sure you mean the materials you use.
So if I don't need a synthetic material primarily for speed, but just for stiffness, where speed gain is more undesirable, would you recommend the Spectra material?

 

[SDC]

Thanks for clarification and shared info.

I never touch high density balsa, but I have a blade with balsa core and a blade with kiri - both of them are mushy and easy to dent when applying some pressure with a tool. The wood in Gladiator is harder and more yellowish. I don't know the range of properties for the mentioned woods and will trust the experience of @hipnotic. Every wood is growing differently, every part of the tree is a bit different. I am just scared of mushy woods

The easiest way would be to contact the manufacture, I'm sure they would be able to clear any doubts.

 

[SDC]

Thanks for the clarification. I'm sure you mean the materials you use.
So if I don't need a synthetic material primarily for speed, but just for stiffness, where speed gain is more undesirable, would you recommend the Spectra material?

If that's the purpose then "Super Diolen-Carbon" is the one. It provides stiffness increase because it only has vertical carbon, but the speed increase is not proportional because horizontally there's only Diolen. However, in this case it's not only the fiber itself that matters, but also the lamination process. I use a different lamination process to bring out these characteristics.

 

[tzifos]

I second that! I have this material (inner) in one side of my SDC blade. The feeling is awesome!

 

[SDC]

#1278 - Inner AC-I - OFF-/OFF

People have been asking for this for a while now, and it's finally here, my own balancing system. It's pretty simple, it consists of weighted screws of 3, 6 and 9g, which screw directly into the bottom of the handle. I've been trying this on my personal blade for some time and it works just fine, just need to make sure the screw threads properly, but then it stays secure and doesn't rattle. In some cases where the wood on the handle or core is soft, such as this case, I may have to insert a dowel made from something tougher, but other than that it's ready to go. The system will have a cost of 30€, including application, 3 weights, wrench and shipping.

As for the blade itself, it's another iteration on the King Acb composition, but this time I used AC-I instead of regular AC. Compared to the last blade I posted, I was trying to tame the kick, so it has a bit more stiffness, but also a softer touch. The feeling is a bit more predictable, but due to the lamination process it still has a nice kick on the higher gear.

- Koto / Ayous / AC-I / Ayous core
- 84.4g
- 5.7mm
- 159x150mm
- FL (101x25.0-22.8mm)
Balance:
- 0g - 3.4cm (Med)
- 3g - 3.0cm (Low/Med)
- 6g - 2.7cm (Low)
- 9g - 2.3cm (Low)

 

[Tyce]

Wow! That's awesome such a cool blade with that weighted screw system, even if the "basic" blade is already looking great.

 

[SDC]

#1280 - Outer S180 - OFF

And here's another solution for balance adjustment, this time based on Stiga's CWT. I will not supply the weights for this one, I will just fit the receiver onto the blade, so it's a good option if you already own the weights or want to buy them separately. This one will have a cost of 15€.

I have to thank @DukeGaGa for this one, he's the one who gave me the challenge and designed the piece so I could 3D print it. We faced some challenges ,but in the end we got it working, and now I'm able to offer it to other people.

As for the blade, it's somewhat close to the Wavy in terms of composition, although I was not thinking about it when I built it. This is the first time I've used a 180 g/m2 Spectra fabric, normally I use a 90 g/m2 one which has a much more subtle effect on the blade. This is not a stiff fiber, so the fiber doesn't add stiffness to the blade directly, it does so by creating more distance between the outer layers. So, it's a blade that feels stiff, and very compact in the sense that it almost doesn't have vibrations. Precise is the word I'm looking for...

- Koto / Spectra 180 / Ayous / Kiri core
- 86.7g
- 6.4mm
- 157x150mm
- ST (102x28.5x22.5mm)
- Balance: 3.1cm (Med)

 

[tzifos]

it looks like a neodymium magnet, is it?

 

[SDC]

it looks like a neodymium magnet, is it?

It has to be 😅

 

[MarekD]

How fast is this blade please?
So using a higher weight Spectra synthetic fiber means the blade will be stiffer, but not faster?

 

[SDC]

How fast is this blade please?
So using a higher weight Spectra synthetic fiber means the blade will be stiffer, but not faster?

It's hard to say exactly without actually trying it with rubbers on, but it seems to be a solid off blade, in Viscaria ballpark, with a different feel of course.

It still increases the speed of the blade, but not as much as a plain Carbon fabric of the same density would, for example.

 

[SDC]

#1300 - Outer Spectra - OFF-

Your typical "classic looping blade" with a few twists. The Spectra fiber is in there mostly to enhance the sweetspot and stability, rather than a speed increase. The woody feeling of the blade is retained, but much more tamed, so it doesn't feel like it's going to fall apart when you hit hard. The shape is a slightly over-sized cyberthingy, and I didn't use it for the looks, I wanted to make the blade as head heavy as possible to achieve more power from mid distance. As for the handle, when I first made this shape, I was mostly thinking about the looks, I confess, but after using it it became my favorite handle shape. Originally, the intention was that the longer and less concave side would face the palm of the hand, this creates a bigger angle with the head of the blade, similar to a Tenaly handle. However, I found that using it the other way around was much better for me, because it does the opposite, it really allows you to get your hand in there, and it creates a very secure 90º angle with the head of the blade. This gives me much better control over the wrist, in both FH and BH strokes.

Available FS.

- Limba / Spectra / Limba / Ayous core
- 92.6g
- 5.8mm
- 158x158mm
- Sabre (105x23.8mm)
- Balance: 3.5cm (Med)

 

[SDC]

#1307 - 7ply - ALL+

I wasn't sure where I was going with this blade when I first started making it. I knew I wanted to use Larch, which I hadn't in a long time, and I wanted to make a 7 ply. Larch is "hardish", in the realm of spruce like woods, so I used it for the horizontal layers of the blade, and I used White Fir for the vertical ones as it is much softer. I would say this is a more offensive version of a Goriki, it has a solid touch and does not feel hollow, but it's also much more nimble due to the lower weight, so it's a blade that can be used both defensibly or offensively, depending on the rubbers.

Available FS.

- Fir / Larch / Fir / Larch / Fir / Larch / Fir
- 87.2g
- 5.25mm
- 158x152mm
- ST (100x28.5x23.0mm)
- Balance: 3.6cm (Med/High)

 

[Grumms]

@hipnotic I sent you an email for a project of custom blade. Maybe your overwhelmed with requests, if so, I'll wait for you to check my email. If you missed it, pm me.

 

[SDC]

@hipnotic I sent you an email for a project of custom blade. Maybe your overwhelmed with requests, if so, I'll wait for you to check my email. If you missed it, pm me.

I received it and already gave it a read. However, I have a long list of unanswered emails, so I have to take a day to get to them all. But don't worry, you are not forgotten.

 

[SDC]

#1309 - Asymmetric Inner/Outer - OFF-/OFF

Another asymmetric blade, but with a more offensive pedigree than the ones I've posted lately. On the Fh side we have inner Innegra-Carbon, and a bh side with outer "Blue stuff". Of course that you can change it around if you want and it fits your playstyle, but the goal here was to achieve a crisper Bh and a softer, more dwelly Fh. The thing about asymmetric blades like this, is that when you have an outer side, that bumps up the stiffness when compared to an usual inner blade. In terms of playing that has some consequences, so this one behaves more like an outer blade with a softer side, rather than an inner blade with a faster side.

Available FS.

- Limba / Ayous / I-C / Kiri / Ayous / B-S / Koto
- 86.6g
- 5.9mm
- 157x150mm
- ST (102x22.5x29.3mm)
- Balance: 3.0cm (Med)

 

[Grumms]

I received it and already gave it a read. However, I have a long list of unanswered emails, so I have to take a day to get to them all. But don't worry, you are not forgotten.

Great. I was not sure if it was the right way to start the process. Take your time, I'm not in a hurry at all.

 

[SDC]

#1173 - 7ply - OFF

Not your run of the mill 7 ply blade. In fact, if this somehow resembles the composition of an Acoustic, it's because it was born like that. Then I thought, what if I add two Koto outer layers?... and so I did. I think this could work as a Vis all wood alternative, it's stiff, crisp, yet relatively soft. However, the balance point is quite different, while Vis normally has a low balance for this weight, this one is head heavy, making it more Fh oriented.

Available FS.

- Koto / Limba / Limba / Kiri core
- 90.1g
- 6.6mm
- 157x150mm
- ST (100x28.5x23.0mm)
- Balance: 3.9cm (High)