Mystery of single ply hinoki

tiehwen wrote: My Nittaku Cho Tokusen Excellent A (btw, nice/sweet name!) wif Friendship 729 Higher 2.2 is 107g, so if u add another 1.8 or 2.0 whatevr rbr on BH for RPB play, the total wt. would still be acceptable. But u have to trim/shave/sand a chunk of the cork sheet off the BH which I've bn reluctant to do. Just not the way to mess around with a gem like this. Also that Kokutaku 10 wif Bryce hard totalled around 116g, again it'll still be acceptable/manageable if I were to slap on a sheet of 1.8/2.0 Rbr on BH. I figure it's kinda awkward to play rpb wif jpen as the grip/handle seems to hinder the play, I could be wrong since I've nvr tried b4.

Cole_Ely,
Playing with a blade over 90 grams creates arm pain for me (afterwards), but changing it to 80 grams or less, there is no arm pain, so I have to be careful about the weight.
Everest81,
This could be a good advertisement for Nittaku !

One last thing about j pen cost. Hinoki/POC is a very expensive wood.This why high end j pens are more expensive but may not play better.You are paying for the scale of the wood.There are many scales of POC/hinoki.there is curly grain,straight grain,clear,clear vertical,new growth ,old growth and all these have a rating as well A,AA,AAA.The clear vertical old growth being the most expensive.then that is broken down to grains per inch and how straight the grains are over the board.This is what sets the price for your j pen blades.and on top of that you need to sort through all those by hand to choose the board right for you.go to
www.nwtimber.com click on the online shopping then go to musical billets and look at the port orford cedar musical billets they have in stock and then you will have an idea of what i am talking about

20 grams would be noticeable but did it effect your play? also what rubbers were you using on each blade?also CPL is a larger blade in comparison to excellent A

ryno wrote: The only way a single plate hinoki blade will break is if it is dried out for too long or you smash it into the table or wall.Hinoki is prized for it's strength to weight ratio and resistance to the elements.The problem is manufacturers are trying to make a 10mm thick blade weigh the same as a 6 mm thick blade.

The very second time I used my new Cho tokusen, I had a real full swing during a rally, unfortunately the racket slipped out of my hand and landed 20 feet away, bam on the wooden floor. I was horrified, but relieved to see no damage on the blade at all.

sydoz wrote: No. I would never do things like that. This is what happened. I  purchased  a Koku Cho Tokusen without asking for anything. When the blade arrived, I found the grains are not straight like some of your blades, so I sent her an email to offer to buy another one provided it is around 80g with good staight grains. She replied  that they don't keep any stock and  would order from the supplier when an order is received. May be she had misunstood my intention and got into a defensive mode.

Pejantan, I would appreciate it if you can give the address and or phone number. I am considering the aramid carbon, but I am not sure yet. Thanks.
Ryno,
Do you mean to say that lighter blade is less strong ?
Sydoz,
That is strange. Anyhow I am asking for the lightest weight of Haruvatart from iruiru, and we will see what would be the reply.

The only way a single plate hinoki blade will break is if it is dried out for too long or you smash it into the table or wall.Hinoki is prized for it's strength to weight ratio and resistance to the elements.The problem is manufacturers are trying to make a 10mm thick blade weigh the same as a 6 mm thick blade.

aeoliah: finally i found Xiom Distro in jogjakarta......mau gw tanyain gak?
what are you looking for? :D

Recently I purchased a Galaxy 982  Jpen single ply juniper ( Canadian hinoki equivalent). It has all the characteristics of a good single ply hinoki blade in both look and play. It is 8mm and very fast. The only problem is that it is 102 g in weight.

Did you ever asked for pictures and then did not buy without reason? If someone asks for pictures several times without buying, then naturally the seller will stop sending pictures.
What I do is I ask if she has the weight I want. If it is available, then (only then) I will ask for the picture, and if the grain is ok (normally it is ok) then I confirm the order. So far I have bought more than 6 blades.

At least we can ask for the pictures and weight before we buy from the net 

stephen chung wrote: I have quite a few single ply hinoki blades myself. It seems that it is almost impossible to get the blade that you are looking for by just looking at the wood grain and the coloration. The only way that you can find out is to play with it.

Agreed, trying is the best way to find out whether a blade is good or not. Unfortunately we cannot do this, the seller will only let us hold and look at it. I wish there is other way to find out.

Tiehwen, good quality single ply penhold is also rare in my country, there is no single ply Xiom at my local retailers. So we end up buying from the internet.

I have quite a few single ply hinoki blades myself. It seems that it is almost impossible to get the blade that you are looking for by just looking at the wood grain and the coloration. The only way that you can find out is to play with it.

A tree exposed to much wind has also stronger grains.
The soil quality is also very important.