Should i upgrade my ancient Butterfly Gergely Tamca 5000

[Kayvein]

Hello all.
Sorry if this question got asked before.
I'm a beginner has been playing for around 2-3 years casually.

started playing when i got my dad's unused blade which is gergely tamca 5000.

However after a while using it, i read online that gergely is no longer suitable for modern table tennis play, is it true though?
Should i upgrade to a better & newer version of blade, and if its possible can you recommend a model?
My current FH rubber is Donic Bluestorm Z1 & BH Nittaku Factive

Thanks!

 

[TackyForehand]

You mean downgrade. That is one of the fastest blades on the market, perfect for the new ball. No need to change unless it no longer suits your game

 

[Lazer]

"i read online that gergely is no longer suitable for modern table tennis play"

A bunch of rubbish. Don't believe everything You read. If You like it, play it.
Some people say the same thing about Mark V, also bullshit...

Cheers
L-zr

 

[Topspinslinger]

no throw it away. better yet, ship it to me so i can burn it😂😉

 

[IB66]

Keep the blade, whether you use it or not, in years to come it could be a collectors item. If it has a black butterfly logo on the end of the handle its value has increased straight away!!!

 

[Gtsnake]

If you're a beginner maybe you should get a slower blade until you can control it. Then move back into it.

 

[NextLevel]

My USATT 2200+ teammate at the NA Teams played with a Gergely. He had an off the bounce countertopspin style. I also remember a 2200+ off the table looper playing with it back in 2017 or so. it doesn't feel good to all styles but if a Primorac Carbon is still playable, a Gergely definitely is, it comes down to personal preference.

 

[NextLevel]

"i read online that gergely is no longer suitable for modern table tennis play"

A bunch of rubbish. Don't believe everything You read. If You like it, play it.
Some people say the same thing about Mark V, also bullshit...

Cheers
L-zr

Mark V, I don't know about that, it suits certain styles but no professional offensive player is going to be using it as is for sure.

 

[UpSideDownCarl]

The actual question is, do you want to use it, or do you want to save it. I believe Butterfly stopped making that blade years ago. If that is the case, it is actually worth more than the original price. It is a collectors item. If it does have the black tag butterfly logo, then it may be worth notably more than you might have thought. (black tag photo from a Gergely blade shown below).

Still, the question is: would you want to sell it for a notable profit (search online and see what people are willing to pay for a Gergely blade and/or a black tag Gergely blade) and buy something else.....or would you want to just use it and enjoy it.

As NextLevel said, it won't work for everybody. But it certainly is not that the blade is out of date. As the Poly Ball is bigger and harder to spin, what manufacturers and players seem to say is that you want a faster blade than in the celluloid ball era. What people feel is suitable to use has become faster. If there is a problem with a Gergely blade for a particular player it would be:
a) the blade is too fast for the player.... (therefore, not that it is outdated)
b) the player does not have the technique for the kind of touch that would cause you to generate massive spin with the kind of wood on the top ply.....If you are a flat hitter and don't make spin contact, something else may be better. If you know how to make tangential contact and use that Cypress top ply to grab and spin the hell out of the ball, it should be an amazing blade.

So, it comes down to personal preference and what you want. Not whether the blade is not up to date.

Black Tag from the base of the handle of a Gergely blade:

 

[UpSideDownCarl]

Mark V, I don't know about that, it suits certain styles but no professional offensive player is going to be using it as is for sure.

I think, perhaps, what Lazer meant is, often on these forums, people will say that Mark V is x.z.y....(choose your derogative terms) and it would not be suitable for play for anyone. And for some, who are starting and learning, or who just like extra control, it still can be a fine choice and if someone is using it and likes it, there isn't really a reason to make that person feel like there there is something wrong with them for liking an Old School rubber.

 

[Lazer]

Mark V, I don't know about that, it suits certain styles but no professional offensive player is going to be using it as is for sure.

Very few of us are professionals…
No professional is using a modern entry rubber either…

But it wouldn’t surprise me if you were wrong here…


Cheers
L-zr

 

[NextLevel]

I think, perhaps, what Lazer meant is, often on these forums, people will say that Mark V is x.z.y....(choose your derogative terms) and it would not be suitable for play for anyone. And for some, who are starting and learning, or who just like extra control, it still can be a fine choice and if someone is using it and likes it, there isn't really a reason to make that person feel like there there is something wrong with them for liking an Old School rubber.

I have played good players who give me trouble using rubbers like Mark V and Flextra. And of course. Short pips, which are not extremely spinny nor necessarily fast. are used by all kinds of high level players. So I know players with certain styles can use them. But if your style is based on high level looping, Mark V is not the rubber for you. It just isn't tensioner enough for extremely powerful spin strokes.

 

[NextLevel]

Very few of us are professionals…
No professional is using a modern entry rubber either…

But it wouldn’t surprise me if you were wrong here…


Cheers
L-zr

I have seen players I respect use Mark V. But the style was not modern offensive I put their balls more in the net than I do off the table.

 

[Kayvein]

The actual question is, do you want to use it, or do you want to save it. I believe Butterfly stopped making that blade years ago. If that is the case, it is actually worth more than the original price. It is a collectors item. If it does have the black tag butterfly logo, then it may be worth notably more than you might have thought. (black tag photo from a Gergely blade shown below).

Still, the question is: would you want to sell it for a notable profit (search online and see what people are willing to pay for a Gergely blade and/or a black tag Gergely blade) and buy something else.....or would you want to just use it and enjoy it.

As NextLevel said, it won't work for everybody. But it certainly is not that the blade is out of date. As the Poly Ball is bigger and harder to spin, what manufacturers and players seem to say is that you want a faster blade than in the celluloid ball era. What people feel is suitable to use has become faster. If there is a problem with a Gergely blade for a particular player it would be:
a) the blade is too fast for the player.... (therefore, not that it is outdated)
b) the player does not have the technique for the kind of touch that would cause you to generate massive spin with the kind of wood on the top ply.....If you are a flat hitter and don't make spin contact, something else may be better. If you know how to make tangential contact and use that Cypress top ply to grab and spin the hell out of the ball, it should be an amazing blade.

So, it comes down to personal preference and what you want. Not whether the blade is not up to date.

Black Tag from the base of the handle of a Gergely blade:

View attachment 28090

wow, didnt expect getting this much positive feedback. Great to hear that it's still a good blade.
I have no problems whatsoever with the blade, it still feels great for me.
It's just i want to know from the experts if it's still a good blade or not to focus on learning pingpong with.
and yes mine has the black label below (got scratched tho)
thank you so much for all the feedbacks,

 

[IB66]

wow, didnt expect getting this much positive feedback. Great to hear that it's still a good blade.
I have no problems whatsoever with the blade, it still feels great for me.
It's just i want to know from the experts if it's still a good blade or not to focus on learning pingpong with.
and yes mine has the black label below (got scratched tho)
thank you so much for all the feedbacks,

Nice blade to have!!!

 

[Lowday20298]

Keep it, it's a hella fast blade and the black tag bty blades are worth MONEY, in a few years it'll be really expensive. Equipment don't get outdated, if you like your equipment there's no reason to change, unless it gets banned from the ittf. And lucky us all, blades don't get banned.

If you want to save it and maintain it in good condition then yes, but there's no point if you don't care about selling. There's no outdated equipment, maybe in the top level, but Xu Xin played until 2020 with a 5ply all wood, nothing gets outdated. The "meta" nowadays is carbon blades with tacky or hybrids.

 

[Lowday20298]

wow, didnt expect getting this much positive feedback. Great to hear that it's still a good blade.
I have no problems whatsoever with the blade, it still feels great for me.
It's just i want to know from the experts if it's still a good blade or not to focus on learning pingpong with.
and yes mine has the black label below (got scratched tho)
thank you so much for all the feedbacks,

Oh don't get the wrong idea, it's one of the worst possible blades to learn with, it's waaay too fast and responsive for a beginner to develop feeling and confidence.😂

Soft 5ply all wood blades are perfect for beginners, stiga al/off classic or yasaka sweden extra are perfect for beginners. Then from there you upgrade. I stuck with intensity nct. Don't like carbon and this is nice and fart but also controlled.

 

[riemsesy]

Oh don't get the wrong idea, it's one of the worst possible blades to learn with, it's waaay too fast and responsive for a beginner to develop feeling and confidence.😂

Soft 5ply all wood blades are perfect for beginners, stiga al/off classic or yasaka sweden extra are perfect for beginners. Then from there you upgrade. I stuck with intensity nct. Don't like carbon and this is nice and fart but also controlled.

to stay on the bty side: Primorac or Petr Korbel (not the carbon versions )

 

[Lowday20298]

to stay on the bty side: Primorac or Petr Korbel (not the carbon versions )

Both are nice, the Korbel is quite a bit faster, the Pimorac is slow. I believe the Primorac is slower than all classic, or at least similar. The Korbel is a good upgrade.

Here's some reviews:
Korbel: https://revspin.net/blade/butterfly-petr-korbel.html
Primorac: https://revspin.net/blade/butterfly-primorac.html