Understanding the mechanics

[bones]

Hi all,

I'm looking to maybe get a new blade in the sales and wanted to know what various characteristics on a blade actually mean.

Speed and control I get, but how does stiffness and hardness affect a blade.
What sort of player does a flexible blade benefit.
What sort of player would look for a harder blade rather than a soft one.

I particularly like to play close to the table and attack whenever possible although I am also quite comfortable being drawn into a pushing rally or blocking when necessary.

I use Rakza 7 on both sides and have no interest in pimples out.
So what should I be looking at in terms of a blade.
I currently use a TSP Black balsa 5.0.

Thanks for your opinions.

 

[Haito]

There is a long theoretic talk, and I would wage that someone will explain that in detail. But TL;DR

More flexible blades feel better when looping.
Stiffer feel better when hitting (especially when hitting with pimples).

The top material affects vibration a lot. With harder woods like ebony, rosewood (or even koto which is not as hard as previous mentions) you will feel vibrations much better. With softer stuff like limba the feeling is less crisp, I would call it a bit muted. The harder and stiffer the blade the more direct the blade will feel and the ball feel bounce off the blade much quicker. The softer and more flexible the blade, the more time ball can spend on the blade, and it will be easier to spin the ball harder.

 

[igorponger]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Centipede's_Dilemma

THE plentitude of knowledge will give you grievance a lot