FASTEST BLADE CHALLENGE!!

whatever blade you think is fastest, try Schlager Carbon-im sure it is faster

Hopefully , someone well-versed in korean language can help with this
*from tak9.com's comments on akrasia
google translate isnt any help here ;<

TAK9.com COMMENT #1 wrote: 가장 빠른 블레이드라는 호기심에 구매해서 어제 하루 즐탁 했네요 우선 가장 빠르다라는 표현이 어마무시하게 빠르게 생각을 했는데 그 정도는 아닌듯 하고요 ㅎㅎ 제가 프리모락카본, 라딕스 익스프레스등 제법 빠른 블레이드들을 써 왔었는데 이것들과 비교했을떄 라익보다는 확실히 빠르고요 프리모락보다는 조금더 빠른느낌입니다. 아크라시아 fl 84g 인데 러버무게 합쳐 179.6g 나오네요 베리 굳! 러버를 전면 mxp, 후면 p5를 사용하는데 전면은 제데로 임팩트를 갖췄을때 정말 어마무시한 볼이 자주 나오고요 후면은 모든게 무난함보다 좀더 좋은 느낌입니다. 그리고 반대로 러버를 전,후면을 바꿔서 사용을 해보았는데요 전면 p5, 후면 mxp 이게 정말 좋더군요 전면 드라이브 곡선 좋고요 스피드 또한 아주 만족스럽습니다. 결정적으로 후면 mxp인데요 정말 무시무시한 볼이 들어갑니다 딱딱할거라 생각했는데 상,하회전에 대한 드라이브가 정말 뾱소리나면서 회전도 아주 맹렬합니다. 스매쉬는 말할것도 없구요. 그리고 백핸드 블록 및 숕트에서 정말 의외로 안정적입니다. 보유하고 계신분들 백핸드에 mxp 함 써보시길 권해봅니다. 혹 에어록m 사용해 보신분 있으시면 정보 공유 부탁드립니다. 시타하면서 아크라시아에 에어록m이 아주 잘맞을것 같은느낌이 있네요

TAK9.com COMMENT #2 wrote: 82g 으로 주문했습니다. 테니스 앨보로 인해 강타보다는 연타 위주로 플레이를 하려다 보니 기존라켓보다 센 공발을 라켓의 힘으로 매우고자 선택했습니다. 사용하던 러버를 떼서 아크라시아에 붙여보니 기존 라켓보다 무게는 분명 몇g줄었는데 무게감이 더 느껴졌습니다. 아마 나의 추측에 무게중심이 헤드쪽에 많이 쏠려있지 않을까 생각합니다. 전면에 적색 블리츠 후면에 흑색 도닉 아쿠다 S1 이고 저는 주로 양핸드 드라이브를 구사하는데, 드라이브궤적이 맘에 드네요. 제가 처음 사용해본 셰이크 블레이드인 슐라거 카본보다 드라이브 궤적이 좀더 곡선적이네요. 약간 곡선적인 드라이브 궤적을 좋아하는 저로서는 만족입니다. 요즘은 엘보로 인해 백핸드는 드라이브보다 쇼트위주로 플레이를 합니다. 스매싱이나 그냥 포핸드롱을 칠때 가끔 나는 "뼝" 하는 소리가 XIOM의 V1쿼드의 이미지도 뇌리에 스쳐 지나가네요. 손에 맞는 감각도 약간은 V1 쿼드의 딱딱한 감각이 있는듯 하네요. 하지만 그럼에도 드라이브와 쇼트가 상당히 안정적이네요. 드라이브의 느낌은 끌리는듯한 느낌은 아니고 공이 샤프로 찍은 작은 점이 아닌 굵은 매직으로 찍은 굵은 점에 척 붙었다가 나가는 그런 느낌이네요. 단지 수비때 상대방의 공격을 목적에 맞지 않게 얼결에 댄 공들이 라켓면에 정면으로 맞으면 여지 없이 멀리 날아가네요.

TAK9.com COMMENT #3 wrote: xiom 폴리공 st 그립 82gr 앞면:라잔트,뒷면:p3 조합으로 5세트 6게임 정도를 했는데요, 반발력이 강하다고 오버 미스 걱정할 필요는 없는것 같고 탄도가 낮고 빠르다는 느낌입니다.게임중에 스매시는 거의 안하고 양핸드 드라이브를 주로 구사하는데 남자에 비해 파워가 상대적으로 부족한 여자 선수가 사용한다면 훌륭한 무기가 될것같군요.특히 상대의 드라이브를 블록할때 낮고 빠르게 반구가 되어 평소보다 박자가 빠른 느낌입니다. 백드라이브 후에 연속 드라이브를 하지않고 쇼트로 좌우로 빠르게 찌르는 플레이가 매력있네요.어깨 부상으로 가벼운 라켓을 선택했는데 공이 날린다는 느낌은 전혀 없고 체중을 실어 드라이브할때 만족감이 큽니다. 윙 모양 때문에 그립을 좀 깁게 잡게되고 헐겁게 잡는 분은 그립이 좀 가늘게 느껴질 수 있겠네요. 아리랑 만큼 경쾌하고 참 멋진 블레이드라 생각됩니다. 너무 잘나가면 어쩌나 하는 걱정은 기우라 여겨집니다. 스매싱 안하고 드라이브를 주무기로 하는 선수에게도 경기하는데 지장 없다고 봅니다.(탁구닷컴 사장님하고는 다른 생각이어서 죄송하네요...) 체중이 좀 덜나가서 파워가 부족하지만 그래도 올라운드 플레이를 선호하시는 분들,파워를 싣기위해 큰 스윙을 하다가 밸런스가 무너져 다음 공에 대처가 안되어 고생하시는 분들 그리고 호쾌한 한방을 꿈꾸지만 컨트롤을 걱정하시는 분들에게는 좋은 선택이 되리라 생각합니다. 폴리볼에서 스피드와 회전량, 원하는 곳에 송구하는 능력, 타구시 손에 느껴지는 감각 모두 수준급의 훌륭한 저렴하고 좋은 블레이드를 만드셨네요.

Any reviews on akrasia and how it compares to existing nexy blades ?
ie: kanaph

LACK OF SELF CONTROL!!!

Nexy,

Are you designing and testing Akrasia to be the fastest blade for the 40+ plastic ball? 

If yes, do you also expect it to be the fastest blade for the 40mm celluloid ball?

v/r,
JRSDallas

fatt wrote: I was wondering how is the Akrasia project doing now.

It is going very smooth.
But as always, AKRASIA is taking more time than other brands, because NEXY needs to gather lots of test results before finallizing the design.
Right now, it's almost done with many tests.
Just wait a few more weeks, and I will show the final blade here.

Edited by Nexy - 02/05/2015 at 1:06am

I am designing three blades, now.
Chedech is about to be released in a few days, and two others are "AKRASIA" and "ZEALOT".

ZEALOT is fast wooden blade, developed from "KIM JUNG HOON".
AKRASIA is the one I started to design with the aim to make the fastest blade in the world.

Here you can see the picture of those two blades.

Nexy wrote: jrscatman wrote: Very interesting articles.  Could you describe to us how a blade is actually designed and built. Is it mostly a trial and error method? When I first started to design a blade, I studied many other blades and researched what is common and what is unique. And I mixed them with the functional features of each blade. Still the result I could get after analyzing all the data was not much helpful, because what I got was not what I expected. But now, I have been designing almost 8 years, and I have a very sharp feeling about blade design, and what I presume in the beginning does not differ much in the final sample. So, it became easier than before. Any way, I use "traial and error" method, too. But it is done by many testers, including me, because I can not be suer what I intended was to be generally acceptable in the market. So, it's a part of blade design. But it does not fall on the beginning part. I think this is very unique process. I know several other blade designers, and they just try many different compositions and select what they like, and they do some more minute adjustment. But I start with thinking and imagining what I want, and I traject that into the sample.

yogi_bear wrote: Mr. Moon, it has carbon layers I'm sure

Yes, I think it is becoming generally required layer for most players in poly ball age.

Very interesting articles. 

3. THIRD GENERATION


While focusing on “dual impact,” I tried to scatter that concept on a variety of blades, from fast carbon blade (QABOD) to thin and slower carbon blade (CALIX), to embracing limba surface (SPEAR) and kiso Hinoki (SPARTACUS).

Along the way I discovered the benefits of burnt wooden material.
I tested many kinds of burnt woods, and I applied the burning process to a few of Nexy’s elite second-generation blades, CALIX, CALIX 2, and QABOD.
I also applied the burnt wood technique to Amazon and Spartacus. When a wood layer is burnt, it becomes thinner and lighter, which make the layer slightly different from a raw wooden layer.

After extensive research, I realized how attractive a blade made with burnt wood could be.
But unlike the second-generation blades, I decided not to burn all the plies of the third-generation line.
Instead, I focused more on how I could support the natural raw wooden surface with the burnt wood core, thus creating a light and speedy blade.

For the second-generation, I tried to apply dual impact for varieties of raw wooden to completely burnt blades, starting with the thinnest attacking blade CALIX, to the fast attacking blade QABOD, to the soft Hinoki surface blade SPARTACUS, to thin but hard surface white ash AMAZON and LISSOM.
The second-generation blades covered a wide range of speed and feeling. I extensively experimented until I found what is good and unique.

Three years of testing led to the Nexy’s third-generation, which is different from other two generations in the following three ways:


1. Third generation blades use a raw wooden surface, but the center layers are burnt.


2. Speed, size, and feeling converge!
I did not want to make them very fast, but not slow either.
All the blades are rated approximately Off-, but they are very fast when they are used for looping with “bang impact”.
“Dual Impact” was also converged on a moderate scale.
Touch and an excellent feeling were also noticeable.

Most blades aimed to provide a pleasant, rather than huge feeling and vibration.
They were not too stiff, not too flexy.
Overall, the third-generation blades were a unified group of attacking blades with “moderate dual impact” and “light and pleasant feeling.”
Each with a balanced weight and size.


3. Nexy adopted the new concept “depth” for the third-generation blades.
I studied my development of the second-generation blades, and came up with this concept — It’s not about blade’s thickness, nor is it about the actual depth; It’s about where the impact of the ball is felt inside the blade.

Regarding “depth,” in general, two factors are considered when designing a blade — speed and control.
But Nexy introduced another factor when designing the “second-generation” blades.
I applied “dual impact” and that significantly affected the “spin generating ability.”
That was a very attractive concept.
It intoxicated me, and I continued to focus on it.
But I came to realize that “Dual Impact” also needed to be modulated.

The third-generation blades hover around moderate scale.
But this process opened my eyes for the next level of blade design. That was a concept of “depth.”

At some point I stopped writing continuously about how I develop blades, and I did not say much about Nexy’s third-generation.
However, the third-generation blades are really well thought out and carefully conceptualized down to the smallest detail, such as “dual impact”, weight balance, handle comfort, spin, speed, and even “depth” — where players feel the ball.

I realized that “depth” is the very core factor that characterizes a certain feature of a blade.
For example, I used a thin but hard wooden surface for the KIM JUNG HOON blade, which was released under the Tibhar brand name.
It is supported by a soft, but pointing (converging the blade power on one point) second layer.

If I did not use a soft second layer, then the blade would not have enough depth to generate good control and spin.
If I increased the surface thickness, then the depth would not rely on the soft second layer, and ball would only be felt on the surface.
That would kill the good functional feature of the KIM JUNG HOON blade. This blade’s biggest feature is to make the ball bounce high.
Even an experienced blocker will be surprised when a ball flies higher than the usual curve, and that was possible by this “depth” arrangement.



For Hinoki surface blades, such as INCA (another Tibhar blade, but designed by me) and ARIRANG, I tried to support the soft Hinoki surface with composite layers and blade surface thickness.
I also carefully considered the depth of the impact. As a result, all the blades were carefully examined with the fourth factor; “depth.”





SUMMARY

Nexy’s first-generation focused on “speed” and “control,” the second-generation added, “spin,” and the third-generation added “depth.”



Here is the list of the third-generation blades:

•PETERPAN: Powerful, but balanced 5-ply blade.

•INCA: Speedy, but light feeling Hinoki carbon blade

•ARIRANG: Powerful carbon blade with aramid carbon layer

•KIM JUNG HOON: Powerful 7-ply blade with a high curve, long trajectory, and moderate dual impact

•OZ (Chinese Penholder only). Powerful attacking blade with a Hinoki surface.

•AKTIUM: Defensive blade with different surface woods on each side

•KANAPH: This is 3.5-generation blade, following the third-generation. It is a thin, but speedy Hinoki carbon blade.

NEXY's blade design history (2)



2. SECOND GENERATION


After completing the first-generation blades, I came up with a new concept that I called, “point and plane.”

Generally, table tennis rubbers and blades are judged by two factors — speed and control, and normally players think those two factors are interrelated. However, in most cases, speedy blades have worse control than slow blades.

Since the ITTF ban on speed gluing, the demand for spin greatly increased. Initially, many table tennis companies focused on how they could equip their rubbers with better speed, but soon realized they needed to focus more on spin. This caused a revolutionary development in rubber production.

As a blade designer, I also considered speed, control, and spin, and I tried to figure out how I could insert a powerful spin generating ability into my Nexy blades. That was the moment I came up with this new concept “point and plane”.



What makes a table tennis ball spin? Many people think that the ball rolls on the rubber when a player hits the ball. Actually, a ball does not roll — it impacts the rubber, twisting the top sheet and sponge. The ball is spun when the rubber tries to recover back to its original form. It’s all about the rubber’s character while returning to its original form.



Therefore, if you have a slow stroke, your rubber needs to respond accordingly to match your slow movement. But if you have fast stroke, your rubber needs to recoil quickly into its original shape.

If your movement is fast, but your rubber’s movement is slower than your swing, then your return will be weak. Regardless, it’s apparent that there is a crucial moment when a ball impacts the rubber, twists it, and is catapulted by the rubber recoiling to its original shape.

I chose to focus on this specific moment. If Nexy could make players experience that moment, then I could claim to have created something different.



I adopted the term “bang impact” in order to explain the explosive contact of a ball on the rubbers. The contact was so powerful that a ball could touch the wooden surface through the rubber.

I tried to design a blade that has a different character between blocking, standard strokes, and bang impact. The blade had to have several distinct functional features.

When a player uses the blade for blocking, it makes the ball fly short and gives the player a more stable defense. But for attacking, if a player makes a bang impact, then the ball is driven with power and speed. This is where I coined the term “dual impact” or “dual speed.”



In order to equip this dual impact to the second-generation blades, I slept many nights on the question, “How can I make dual impact possible on a real blade?” I rechecked all the blade compositions I went through and came to realize that there are two factors to consider. Those are “point” and “plane.”



In order to make the blade absorb the impact of the ball while blocking, I needed to use a “plane,” which means the whole blade acts to receive the power of the ball, embracing it and reducing it into something smaller.

But when I wanted to make a powerful shot in attacking, I needed to make use of the blade’s one spot as a solid point where the ball’s energy was focused and rebounded in the return. I also discovered the importance of designing an ideal width for each composition, which also affected the blade’s final character.



I attempted to combine one layer to serve as a “plane” and another layer to serve as a “point.” That was how I designed LISSOM. And that’s how Nexy’s second-generation began. Here is the list of those blades:



• SPEAR: Deep impact, solid response, and controlled dual impact.

• LISSOM: Maximized dual impact and oriented for continuous looping.

• CALIX: Big dual impact and extremely thin attacking blade (4.9mm)

• CALIX 2: Medium dual impact with moderate power and balanced feeling
           and speed.

• QABOD: Medium dual impact, with a solid feel and good speed.

• AMAZON: Controlled dual impact, using white ash surface wood and a
          balanced shape.

• SPARTACUS: Controlled dual impact, featuring Japanese Hinoki surface.

Before releasing "AKRASIA", I prepared one article how I developed NEXY blade design. It will be divided into three parts (three generations), and after three parts were done, I will tell you what is the main feature of 'AKRASIA' considering the whole contents of the article.
This article will be shared with "NEXY designer's diary" thread, too.

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NEXY’S BLADE DESIGN HISTORY

Nexy’s web domain is very simple and easy to remember.
It’s difficult to find a good four-letter domain name for a brand these days.
I bought and registered the domain back in 2002.
I dreamt of opening a new brand with that name for many years, and finally in 2009, I launched www.Nexy.com.



1. FIRST GENERATION

My original idea for Nexy blades was much different than it is today.
I had been a Tibhar agent since 2007 and a Stiga agent since 2010.
I had the opportunity to study hundreds of good quality blades.
However, when I first began Nexy’s blade line I stopped studying blades and began analyzing my findings.

I focused on creating something very different from the blade line of those two brands.
I wanted Nexy to produce different blades rather than better blades.
If I tried to make better blades, then I would have been studying, upgrading, and copying part of Tibhar and Stiga’s original designs, which is something I was careful not to do!

Nexy’s first-generation had to be different; it had to be unique.
Therefore, I did not copy and improve other company’s blades; I created my own from scratch.

Nexy’s First-Generation (also called “The First Wave”) was born.
I aimed it to be incomparable to other brands.
I organized the blade design into five categories:

1.     5-ply, with Hinoki surface. Fastest ever 5-ply blade – DEXTER

2.     5-ply, with Hinoki surface with good feeling and a heavy touch – COLOR

3.     Hinoki carbon blade with a natural feeling – HANNIBAL

4.     Hinoki arylate carbon blade with a natural feeling – OSCAR

5.     Other blades: Hinoki Japanese penholder blades
       – ISKANDAR and TEMUJIN; Hinoki one-ply shakehand blade – LAUREL; Handmade carbon blade – SAHARA.


I tried to make those blades unique and I often used a Hinoki surface, partly because European brands did not have the top quality Hinoki, which separated Nexy blades from the two other brands.
I carefully studied carbon material. At that time, blade designers categorized carbon layers into either hard or soft carbon.
Hard carbon was Butterfly’s main material, while Stiga used soft carbon.
I tested many different types of carbon and arylate carbon layers.
I adopted a very light, but powerful carbon and arylate carbon layer for Hannibal and Oscar.
They provided a good feeling along with high speed and power.


After several months, Nexy’s first-generation blades were completed.
I was somewhat satisfied, but I felt something big was missing.
The blades were good, but not unique! They weren’t much different from other brands’ blades.
I thought deeply and questioned my intention and purpose for blade designing — And I would soon discover it!

 (will be continued soon)

Edited by Nexy - 12/20/2014 at 4:45am

The fastest blade would be made out of solid titanium and about three inches wide. But it would basically be uncontrollable. And illegal, since racquets have to be at least 85% wood.

If I ever design a fast blade with the purpose of making the ball go away, FAST, I will be different from the industry that uses 3 letters to abbreviate their blade. TBS, ALC, ZLC, ZLF are very common terms in the blade industry.