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Weight of blade
- Thread starter Flight-Johan
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yes.
But when I was EQ a bit, I changed Donic to Palio AK47, so it weighted only 167 grams, so extra 5g and 40 USD less
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Last I looked at this issue a lot of higher level players and top level pros used blades that were somewhere between 88-92 grams, some like even heavier like up to 95 grams.
The thing about this issue is that, because you are dealing with wood, heavier versions of the same volume of wood almost always feel more solid and give you better ball feel. So, theoretically, the heavier a blade the better it will feel compared to blades of the same make. The limiting factor on that information is that, after a certain amount of weight, the weight will start slowing your swing and your reset speeds. The heavier blade will still feel better but there are diminishing returns at a certain point where the weight has slowed the swing more than is acceptable to the kind of strokes done in TT.
This also means, someone who is stronger, more physically fit, can wield a heavier weapon than someone who is not in as good physical condition or who is smaller.
But the operative directive being, the heavier blade you can wield without losing bat speed on your stroke, the better off you are in terms of feel and power from your blade.
So, for someone like Der_Ecthe who has enough mass on him to break a fork lift and bowl over a building in a single hip check, he likes his blades somewhere around 120 grams. But for mere mortals, 85-90 grams is reasonable and if you are in better physical condition there is likely no good reason you couldn't use a blade that weighed between 90-95 grams.
I don't know that any adult I know needs a blade lighter than 85 grams unless they have an injury like Tennis Elbow and then all bets are off.
I think we better watch out about this thread though. This topic could cause Der_Ecthe to blow a few gaskets and rant like a mad-man about subjects like beast mods and the goon squad.
Say, is that Yang Ha-Eun over there? Gotta Go!
Carl, you nailed it with this answer. Most of my favorite blades (all wood 5 & 7 ply) range from 88gm to 92gm being the heaviest and my main blade. Just for kicks this morning, I glued up an ENERGY WOOD WRB that I had laying around which was 76gm blade weight with H3 and EL-S. I've been thinking that I'd probably benefit from a lighter setup allowing me to accelerate my swing quicker and faster recovery rate, more control, etc. Although it felt nice and light in my hand swinging it around at home, it was a COMPLETE DISASTER when I got to the club and played a few matches with a good friend. Balls were going long, my blocks were sending high balls on a silver platter for him to smash, and counterlooping felt horrible. The only thing "better" that I noticed with this lighter blade was my serves. I felt I was able to execute spinnier serves with more control, but not by much. As soon as I switched back to my current setup 92gm Clipper Wood, same rubbers, although it was significantly heavier, 90% of my shots landed where i wanted, my blocks were more stable, and counterlooping was a "breeze" again. It was like I had an invincible sword with magical powers. I wasn't "struggling" anymore like with the ENERGY WRB blade which was technically slower supposedly allowing more control. I won't even consider a blade less than 87gm at most and now actually prefer at least 90gm blades. A year ago I thought 92gm was way too heavy and only good for pros or high level players until I actually tried a 90gm blade.
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Spin and more spin.
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Spin and more spin.
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In truth, the most important part of the quote above is:
"....and counterlooping felt horrible."
The rest, you would probably adjust over time and was probably caused by how used to a blade that is significantly heavier you are and so you were adding significantly more force to shots than was needed.
If you had fully adjusted to the lighter blade, which could take 3-4 hours or 2-3 weeks depending on the person, you would adjust the force you use in shots to the lighter blade. And then if you played with that lighter blade for several months and tried the heavier blade, it would feel weird for a while as you tried to switch back.
So, someone with a lighter blade, trying a heavier blade will have a similar feeling in reverse: they can't apply enough force into their strokes. But if they used the heavier blade for a few months, then switching back to a significantly lighter blade would cause the same effect you felt.
But the lighter blade just not feeling good, that is an important feature. And if the heavier blade works, I would stick with that.
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Many interesting thoughts. But one more question. Do you know if the pros always use the heaviest setup and blade as possible? or does some use setups a little more light. Like is it common for pros to use a 86-87 gram blade. I've heard the japanese often play with lighter blades and setup, is that true?
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Spin and more spin.
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Spin and more spin.
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I do think it is safe to say that there is always variation of preference. And a blade that weighs 86-87 grams is still going to be solid enough and it also depends on the kind of blade the person uses.
So, even though I made a simple statement that a lot of pros like blades in the slightly heavier category, it really does depend person by person. And you also have to understand that a player who trains 5-6 days a week for several hours each day will be able to handle more weight without losing racket speed than a player who plays 3-4 days a week for shorter amounts of time.
So, some of why many top players can handle a slightly heavier setup is the amount of training they are accustomed to. But it would be interesting to see the total setup weight of all the top pros.
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