chinese/euro blades

[priior]

so 2 guys at the club bought 2 new blades.

one of them bought an LKT ayous/hinoki, and the other one bought an andro christian suss off blade.

both of these blades are supposed to be 5 ply ayous hinoki blades.. yet the LKT has absolutely no feel.. whereas the C-Suss vibrates like a seismometer...

what makes this difference? the thickness of the plies? or there is such a thing as different grade wood?

[pingpongrob]

Blade construction is a technical and complicated procedure - A bit like a root canal.

The shape, glue and different grades of timber affect the way a blade plays and feels.

For instance if a solid PVA Glue is used, the blade can feel stiff, if A Tacky PVA glue is used, more feeling is introduced.

The width at the throat plays a huge difference, as well as the overall thickness. Another trick some of the manufacturers use is not gluing the handle on all the way, this give the blade a bit more flexibity down below, thus making it slower & more feeling.

Btw which blade did you like the most.

[priior]

the christian suss OFF was way _way_ better (to me) than the LKT ayous hinoki... i like blades that feel...

im not sure i like it as much as my supercore cell off... hard to say.. he had 2.0 and 1.8 impulse speeds on it.. and it felt much slower than my setup...

[ckhugo]

I actually had a hit with the suss while I was down at Robs and I actually didnt feel it vibrates that much,,, it had a rather pronounced hinoki feel of "bite" and "throw" - by this I mean when contacting the ball, the ball was swallow in and then bounced out.

I think the main reason for the difference in feel would be the thickness of the top layer, and typically the Chinese blade dont have a thick top hinoki layer, which the thinner layer actually makes it feel firmer.

Also, Andro is known for using less glue when putting their blade together, so more feel, while Chinese blade are typically harder in constructions.

hope this helps.

[pokerpete]

hey rob, i know u like your andro blade, but what do u think of the new supercore line, any of them worth the switch? last i heard u said a champion blade was lookin pretty good

[ckhugo]

Hi Poker,

Just a suggestion, the original Super Core is a better blade than the new Super core cell, I dont know why, but I htink its to do with how they hollowed out the handle in "cell" form,, which,,, felt not as good as the original.

I think Rob will probably agree with me on that,,, but,,,, the Cell do look good since I got 1 too

[RebornTTEvnglist]

I had a brief hit with Rob's  blade at the tourney (he took it back too fast actually LOL), but boy was it fast. Those tensor rubbers feel like you just touch the ball and it sends it flying. I think it would take me a lot of practice to get used to it. The H King and some slower chinese rubbers is about as fast as I can afford to go, hehe! (And even then Rob reckoned it was too fast for me, but what the heck I am warming to it). No progress without risk!

[priior]

thanks guys for all the glue info! had no idea u can play with the glue to give a racket more or less feel!

[sunflex]

acoustic/violin are made with hide glue that gives a very unique feeling.

[pingpongrob]

Hi Poker,

Just a suggestion, the original Super Core is a better blade than the new Super core cell, I dont know why, but I think its to do with how they hollowed out the handle in "cell" form,, which,,, felt not as good as the original.

I think Rob will probably agree with me on that,,, but,,,, the Cell do look good since I got 1 too

I only partially agree - As Some of the Supercore cell blades feel nice with an increased feeling about them. I tried the Supercore Cell OFF+ the other day, and at first it felt strange, but every time I pick it up, it feels better and better, dont think it will ever match the feeling of the CF Carbo Aramid though.

[ckhugo]

Hi Sunflex,

Ya, there are lots glue out there that ppl play around with,,, say the Stiga has sued the carbon spray glue,, while Nittaku use those hide glue while Andro use those minimal gluing technique...

I think the gluing technique is one of those proprietary techniques that each manufacturer keeps to themselves,,

Also, different glue and technique also effects the weight,,,

Rob - I still think the original supercore is better, Cell has a bit more vibration,,,, think its the actually cell hole they cut that produces that...