Old timer confused with rubber choice!

hehe  I can see that there are a few addictions around ;)

Technically there are three in the house... the other one I was thinking of slapping some cheap rubber on is a very old one with hard (no sponge) pimple rubber (1/3 of which is missing)  No idea of the origin of that one, and the other one which I played with recently (butterfly premade, which is very so so) I think may have been left behind by my Brother in law.

So I guess I already have the start of a (very ordinary) collection ;)

Tony.

GMTA?? :D

Tony.

The blade looks great!!
Good work in bringing it back to life-I hope it rewards your efforts.

One coat of sealant ought to be enough...

112?!?.....

I want to beef up my forearm ;)

Looking at the weight of blades these days it is heavy (I guess it was 30 years ago)  It would have originally had hard pimple rubber, no sponge.

I was thinking maybe I should get a new blade as well, and maybe use this one for training (thought being, if I develop speed (of movement) with a heavy bat I should be quicker if I move to a lighter bat), but I haven't even started playing yet, and I'm already turning into an EJ! ;)  one blade I had looked at (cheap end of the spectrum, those butterfly blades are over $120AU) was the LKT Black Coffee......

Anyway I think to avoid starting an EJ habit I should just get some rubber and try it out.  If I can play regularly and start to improve I'll re-evaluate :)

The order was about to be submitted, and I had 729 focus III snipe in 2.1mm (all that was available) and 729 cream trancend in 1.5mm (was going to put the cream on the other crappy blade I have).  But got a PM for a source of cheap rubber more suitable for the crappyness of the other blade, so may still get both the 729 rubbers, and perhaps try one of each on different sides to see what I think of them.   The cream in 1.5mm should be good for my development, the 2.1mm snipe should be good for my enjoyment ;)

edit: perhaps the idea of training with a heavier bat has some merit ;) http://www.aliexpress.com/store/product/Metal-Alloy-500g-Table-Tennis-Training-Blade-Training-Racket-Ping-Pong-Bat-Skills-Tool/1019735_32375081509.html

Tony.


Edited by wintermute - 04/05/2016 at 8:49am

read the rubber cover "You'd better not smell the rubber" 

Ok So the blade now has rubber :)  I put the 1.5mm 729 Cream with Transcend sponge on it.  I put the focus III snipe on the other cheap blade so I can see the difference.

I think that the cream was definitely a good choice for training purposes! I haven't had a hit on a table but did some hitting against the wall to get a feel for it and it definitely requires some effort!! It is quite a "dead" rubber.

A ball dropped from about 10cm onto the blade bounces two times (completely stopping dead on the third fall onto the bat.  The focus three snipe in comparison bounces 5 times at least (with a few micro bounces at the end).

At between 198 and 199g it is I guess in the super heavy weight division ;)






I need to get a scalpel or some other really sharp blade for trimming.. bit of an ordinary job (which was done with a sharp pocket knife).

Tony.

Thanks Shaun, I didn't even think to look for scalpels when I got my rubber...  I suspect if I start playing regularly a new blade will be on the cards, so if I do decide to get one, I'll get a scalpel too!

Tony.

Thought I'd post an update as I finally had a decent hit with the vintage blade :)   I tried both bats on the weekend outside at Olympic park but there was too much wind so wasn't great.

Yesterday a colleague and I went to Darling Harbour to play on the outside concrete tables.

I quite like the 729 Cream with transcend sponge.  One thing that surprised me was the amount of side spin I was getting on my forehand topspin shots.   At first I thought it may have been an odd table bounce due to the concrete but it was pretty consistent.  It's odd because I've never noticed it before, and didn't realize I was doing anything to be putting side spin on.

Hopefully will get to have a hit at least once a week, there, and once I get the garage in better shape, a table at home (the wife is keen to get a table so there shouldn't be a problem with finding someone to have a hit with!)

The focus III snipe was also good for the brief time I tried it.  The outside tables at olympic park are steel and perhaps a bit uneven on the bounce, there seems to be a wind tunnel effect between the buildings where they are located as well....

Oh and after talking with my dad, there is some doubt as to whether this is the "Szabados blade"  It may in fact be one he had custom made by a cabinet maker.   Either way I'm pretty happy with it at the moment :)

Tony.

I just realised that the concrete tables are quite rough so I guess pretty grippy. That would probably explain the sideways kick on my topspin shots :)

A club (not TT club) I'm a member of does have some tables, and I believe a weekly TT night.  I'll have to look into that.   If the tables are available for play all the time it would be great! 

I was lucky yesterday it was completely still most of the time we were playing :)

A table in the garage would be good too.  It would force me to work on close to the table play as it isn't really a big enough space.