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Fulanodetal View Drop Down
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    Posted: 05/05/2014 at 12:40pm
So, in light of a nasty rumor that Viscaria is to be discontinued, I wanted to ask which blades out there feels the closest to Viscaria? I mean, so close that if I were to do a blind test I could not tell one from the other.

I'm only aware that the Timo Boll Spirit has the same composition, but according to a review, it's a little faster and stiffer than the Viscaria. Other than the TBS, I'm not aware of another possible replacement.

(If you know it, could you provide the composition.)

Thanks.
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liulin04 View Drop Down
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where did you hear the discontinuation of the viscaria rumor from?
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Fulanodetal View Drop Down
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Here, in this forum! So I don't know how much I can trust that rumor, however, if it is true, it would be nice to know  possible alternatives. So I'm treating it as possibly true.
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Perhaps ZJK ALC would be your closest bet as the blade is modeled after the Viscaria after all.
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there were a couple of chinese company clones, no?

sword blue feather and yin he (???)

or, are you talking specifically bty?

:)
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Fulanodetal View Drop Down
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Doesn't need to be Bty in particular. I only care that it plays as close to Viscaria as possible.
Thanks liulin04!
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Originally posted by liulin04 liulin04 wrote:

Perhaps ZJK ALC would be your closest bet as the blade is modeled after the Viscaria after all.

How/why is the JK ALC any more modeled after the Viscaria than TBS and TB ALC?
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liulin04 View Drop Down
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Originally posted by bschap bschap wrote:

Originally posted by liulin04 liulin04 wrote:

Perhaps ZJK ALC would be your closest bet as the blade is modeled after the Viscaria after all.

How/why is the JK ALC any more modeled after the Viscaria than TBS and TB ALC?


Well, Zhang Jike doesn't play with a TBS because TBS is softer (tested from my Viscaria, TBS, and TB ALC).  So for marketing purposes, Butterfly wants to rebrand the Viscaria to ZJK ALC to increase their revenue.  Viscaria and TBS only sell for $108, while their rebrand sell for $130+.  Also, ZJK ALC has a slightly enlarged handle than the TBS and TB ALC.  ZJK plays with a Viscaria, so obviously Butterfly wants to design another blade carrying ZJK's name so people can automatically associate the ZJK ALC to the Viscaria.
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Originally posted by Fulanodetal Fulanodetal wrote:

Here, in this forum! So I don't know how much I can trust that rumor, however, if it is true, it would be nice to know  possible alternatives. So I'm treating it as possibly true.


Rumor has been floating around since at least 2010 but it is still being made.

There is no obvious blade that is identical by blindfold test, actually if you get another Viscaria it woun't be identical to the one you have most likely.  I have four, and one is just much much better than the others.  The two that are pretty identical are the ones I like least (but they are still good blades).  Pretty much any Butterfly ALC blade is a possible alternative if you get a good one (even different samples of the same model vary), and if you give it a few weeks, and you would just need to try a few to figure out which one you like best.  I think the ZJK ALC will be a good choice once the price comes down a bit because I like the handle, but that is just me. 

Edit, all the clones I have seen and played with sucked.  Doesn't mean they all do.
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Fulanodetal View Drop Down
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"Rumor has been floating around since at least 2010 but it is still being made."

Thanks Baal for your input! I have no way of confirming or dis confirming the rumor. What you say about you own four Viscarias is interesting, but nonetheless, any info on blades that perform like the Viscaria is welcomed. Sounds like the ZJK ALC is a good alternative according to the feedback.

I hope they keep producing the Viscaria blade. Being such a popular blade it makes very little sense that it would be discontinued, but it is a pretty old line.  (1997?) That's three years short of 20 years!!

All I was hoping is to know good alternatives just in case it does get discontinued.

Thank you all!!
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Points: 3062 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote frogger Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 05/05/2014 at 5:09pm

Why would BTY discontinue such an incredibly popular blade? On the other hand BTY sometimes defies logic and discontinues extremely good blades. "If IT Ain't Broke...Fix It Till It Is"!
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The Yinhe T-8 is a 5+2 ALC blade.  Not Koto & Balsa like Viscaria though but Juniper with similar weight around 90g.  Under $30 new on ebay.  Cheap enough so it won't break the bank if you want to see if it plays like Viscaria.

I have the T-7 which is a 3+2 ALC blade so it's slightly slower with a bit more control than the T-8.  Got it for $24 new off ebay. 
 
Why don't you try them both and let us know how they compare to the Viscaria?  Big smile 
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Originally posted by Fulanodetal Fulanodetal wrote:

I have no way of confirming or dis confirming the rumor.

Go onto Butterfly USA website and get in line to buy one.  Simple.  They get them in periodically which suggests they are still being made. 

It is bizarre that they might consider discontinuing one of their best blades, but then again, I have no solid information that they have actually considered.  The new ZJK blades suggest it is on their mind, but ZJK doesn't use them, which may be defeating their fiendish scheme.
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Points: 3264 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote smackman Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 05/05/2014 at 9:38pm
yes strange to me as well, but for nearly 2 years Viscaria, spirit and Maze not available from Japanese Butterfly suppliers (and not in their catalogs) so why is that?

so where do they come from?
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Viscaria has just reappeared on French BTY catalog, so I very much doubt it will be discontinued. And if it is there are plenty on the second hand market...

Having said that you can never be sure with BTY...
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Points: 93 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote bonovox76 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 05/06/2014 at 5:12am
i have had a facebook conversation 1 hour ago with the official italian bty distributor and he told me that viscaria will be in the next bty catalogue for 2014 at the retail price of 129,90 euros
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