So far, my "classic" or "approaching classic" list is:

 

 

So far, my "interesting" list is:

 

(I have not included the Hurricane King, new or old, due to the fact that I strongly dislike flared handles; as far as I know they don't make the HK with a straight handle.  I have also not included the Michael Maze, as I previously owned one. It was nice!)

 

Please list anything you think I might have overlooked. Comments about the blades' attributes are encouraged.

 

Thanks in advance!

 

 

 

Find me one and I'll give you a big wet kiss!

 

Or... find me one and I promise NOT to give you a big wet kiss!

 

Seriously... Where?!

 

Thanks! I'll have to contact him soon. Hopefully he'll be able to hold on to it for a while until my "spare cash" becomes available.

 

Also, YOU include some old Stigas!  That's what I want, other people's suggestions... So, specifically which Stigas? Thanks!

 

 

THIS IS MISLEADING HAVE YOU ACTUALLY CHECKED TO SEE IF THIS DISCONTINUED BLADE IS STILL AVAILABLE FROM THIS STTORE . IT CLEARLU SAYS PRODUCTS MARKED WITH THIS CHINESE LETTERING IS NOT AVAILABLE .....SEE BELOW FOR YOURSELF.

 

 

 

butterfly: tbs.

 

stiga: any old one, allround, off and clipper.

 

donic: waldner senso carbon.

 

dhs: HK.

 

nittaku: Acoustic.

 

 

 

 

All shkhnds must be An./ST. Handles.

 

Btfly: Korbel, Amultart, TB ZLF, TB ZLC, Photino, JM, TBS, MMaze, KLHSp, Viscaria...Jpens: 1979 Senkoh 1, KTS Red, Cypress S 10mm, Cypress Special Custom...

 

Yasaka: MLSC, MLEO, GESC, MLESC..

 

Stiga: Clipper Wood, Clipper Wood OLD, 1982 AR.

 

Donic: WSC, WSUltraC...

 

Nittaku: Acoustic, Violin, Tenaly Acoustic, Telion..

 

Tibhar: H-3-9 & a not-too-light Sammie Alpha.

 

Kokutaku: Super Cho & variants 9mm/10mm & up, Cho Super Cho & variants 10mm & up...

 

& others...

 

Slightly off topic:

 

Does anyone know who might be selling the Petr Korbel with a straight handle?

 

Also, how does the old Korbel compare to the Korbel SK7 and the Korbel Speed?

 

Find me one with a straight handle and be my friend forever.

 

No dice with ttrubberman, although he did say that the straight handle HK655 hasn't been released yet, which seems to imply that one will be released eventually.

 

And for the record, I'm happy with my current blade. This really isn't about EJ-ing. But, that doesn't mean I'm not slightly curious about other stuff. I'm thinking of any new blades I purchase as more like "collector's items", which is why I wanted to pick up a few that have ostensibly stood the test of time (and maybe a couple that just seem weird, like the Noveliar... 7 plies hinoki and two plies carbon... freakish).

My all time winners from slower to faster (your mileage may vary):

violin, samsonov alpha, acoustic, photino, dotec waldner hinoki, speed 90, Amultart

photino is my final choice because it can do it all :)

 

 

if you never tried an acoustic you are missing something. I highly recomend you try (borrow) one (88 to 90 grams because if too light = boring) and put thin rubbers (I'd say 1.8mm bh and 2.0 fh) to better appreciate the wonderful characteristics of the wood. I prefer photino because it's faster and still soft and controllable but acoustic is right there!

 

Tibhar H-1-9 has HORRIBLE TERRIBLE UNACCEPTABLE vibrations when you hit a bit away the sweet spot.

Speed 90 is more forgiving in that regard.

I'd get any Speed 90 between 85 and 90 grams out there.

 

 

Thanks for the info--quite helpful. I cannot abide any FL handle so I'm glad to hear ST is nice, if I indeed end up purchasing one. Thanks again.

Relax buddy... It's sheer personal preference. I can't stand the way the flare rubs against my palm when I hold a paddle. I find FH to BH transitions much easier and much more comfortable with a ST handle.

Now that I am a bit better I prefer FL again because it really gives me the confidence that the blade won't leave my hand on a strong bh loop. Since my serves are better I do not rub my wrist anymore and have no more reason to go with ST.

Each time I feel an AN handle in my hand it feels so good. I tried a dozen of them in Las Vegas at Butterfly and Paddle Palace booth. I never played with one of those though; even for a day.

 

And don't forget the Tenaly Acoustic .

 

It already made the list yogi.

 

In fact, my desires have started to deviate from "classic" blades and have moved toward more "unique" or "experimental" blades. I've quickly realized that if I were to buy all the blades that were "classic" I'd quickly spend much more than I should.  Plus, on my first list there appeared to be a great deal of redundancy in terms of performance.

 

Anyway, I'm rambling. Point is, Stiga Ebenholz NCT VII is on the list.

 

Not that unique or experimental.  I know I like ST handles; I was thinking "experimental" more like a one ply Hinoki shakehand blade (Darker Speed 90) or "unique" like a blade that uses ebony wood (Ebenholz). The Ebenholz would also be "experimental" for me cuz I've never used a 7-ply before (yeah, yeah... experimental is a relative term).

 

Thanks for the suggestion, but I guess I meant "experimental" in a more conservative way. I've already changed my grip twice (shakehand to c-pen back to shakehand). I'm not looking for those kinds of headaches. I'm looking more for the kinds of headaches that come from spending too much money on blades that I certainly don't need. 

 

I'm still tempted by the good ol' Clipper Wood, though. We'll see. So far my interests are:

 

Stiga Ebenholz VII

Darker Speed 90

Nittaku Acoustic (not experimental, but allegedly quite unique in feel and performance)

Xiom Ignito (not experimental or necessarily unique, but I really dig Xiom and I figured I'd better have at least one composite blade in the arsenal--and I don't dig Butterfly, so no Maze or TBS.)

 

Here I am rambling again...

 

 

I'm scared about the thickness of the Darker blade too, but I guess there's always some risk inherent in experimentation. I'm also concerned about the WRB element of the Ebenholz VII, but I've never actually played with a WRB blade so I might like it. Who knows? I've just heard the majority of people say that they don't like the WRB and that the Chinese national team specially requests the non-WRB version of the OC CR.

 

But, unless Chen Qi has his Ebenholz specially made (which IS possible) then WRB can't be that bad. Probably it's a personal preference thing. I've always had fairly head-heavy blades, so I'm hoping it'll be fine.  

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I'm scared about the thickness of the Darker blade too, but I guess there's always some risk�inherent in experimentation. I'm also concerned about the WRB element of the Ebenholz VII, but I've never actually played with a WRB blade so I might like it. Who knows? I've just heard the majority of people say that they don't like the WRB and that the Chinese national team specially requests the non-WRB version of the OC CR.

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But, unless�Chen Qi�has his Ebenholz specially made (which IS�possible) then WRB can't be that bad.�Probably it's�a personal preference thing. I've always had fairly�head-heavy blades, so I'm hoping it'll be fine. �

 

I fully understand. The way I'm justifying the Speed 90 and Ebenholz is, even if I don't like them they seem like "collectibles" to me. Whether they play well or not, they are certainly novel. Hell, if the Ebenholz VII doesn't play well for me then I can just put it in a shadow box and hang it on the wall, it's that damned pretty.

 

I have great confidence that I will enjoy the Acoustic. I love 5-plies and the Acoustic couldn't come more highly recommended. Plus, I've played with a friend's Violin and I'm assuming the two can't be that dissimilar.

 

The Xiom Ignito I may still scratch from the list... It's just that I dig Xiom and I like the idea of having at least one composite blade on hand--especially one made from Hinoki. But it may be replaced with a Clipper Wood. We'll see.

 

Of course, the list I'm compiling is subject to change many times over the course of the next few weeks, primarily because I don't want to piss away money completely unnecessarily... only partially unnecessarily.

BTW, to reply original topic- Anton, you should consider Stiga OC and BTY Jonyer Hinoki too. They're more than classic.

 

I had the opportunity to play with a hollow handled blade today. I actually quite enjoyed it, as I thought I might. I like somewhat head heavy setups and I love certain types of vibration. As I've said before in a different thread, I want my paddle to feel like a hardbat when I hit the ball. I dig that kind of feedback from the ball. Playing with composite blades, for example, feel like I have a pillow wrapped around the head of my paddle. They seem to have no feel at all, unless smashing.

 

I'm excited about the Ebenholz, more and more.

 

Funny you should ask... They were the very two you mentioned previously. It was quite weird, actually. I often practice at my friend's place cuz he has a really nice TT setup. He also has a bunch of older blades that he purchased years ago during his EJ phase. A few were laying out, one of which was a BTY VSG blade (with the little window and gear inside the handle that can be adjusted for... who know what) and the other was 729 blade, but not a Blue Thunder. It was all black, with a hollow handle, window, and adjustable gear or whatever. Their balance felt fine and their feeling felt fine, but the rubbers on them were dead and they played like garbage because of it.

 

Honestly, I liked the feeling in my hand when using those more than my current setup (Xiom Fuga) or my friend's Korbel. Obviously, our blades play better, but they were missing that vibration in my hand that I felt when playing with the other two.

 

Interesting... then his VSG sucked. I certainly felt significantly more vibration in both of those blades than in mine or his (Fuga and Korbel, respectively). Instead of being turned down, perhaps the volume on his VSG was turned up to 11.  Seriously though, I'm not a great player by any means but I am, after all, connected to my own hand via my PNS.  I know what I felt--he must've been ripped off on that particular VSG blade.

 

I don't doubt that the different companies' hollow handles might have different feeling, though. I'm open to the possibility that I will hate the WRB blades, but I'm thinking I won't based on my preference for head heaviness and increased vibration.

 

If I had the money, that blade would be in the mail already. It's one of the few that I've definitely committed to purchasing when I get my cash. But, alas, I do not know quite when that will be... might be a month or so.

 

So far, for sure:

 

Stiga Ebenholz NCT VII

Nittaku Acoustic

Stiga Clipper Classic

 

I'm so tempted to pick up an HK655 and say screw the flare handle issue, but I know as soon as I do a straight handle HK will come out.

I've heard "rumors" that there's an Acoustic version with a larger handle (Acoustic L-size, or something like that). If that rumor is not true, or if I cannot find one, then the Acoustic is off the list. I've played with a Violin and although it had great feeling, it was the tiniest handle I've ever felt.

 

Of course, "better" is relative, but I know you're a diehard HK enthusiast so I'll let it go...

 

And who's to say I won't get both?

 

Like I said, I'm happy with my current blade. I'm just trying to pick up some noteworthy/interesting blades while I have the money... just to play around with. If I ever get the EJ bug too badly then I'll have a few sweet blades already laying around waiting to be played.

 

 

nevermind.

I love the level of control it gives on a fairly but not too fast blade

Have just upgraded to Tenegy 05 on both sides should be able to test out how this feels in a day or so

 

Thanks for the recommendation, JimT. The "massiveness" of the Speed 90 has ultimately compelled me to remove it from my list--although I have no doubt it's a beautiful blade and I'm certainly still curious about it. I just don't want to spend that much cash on something that bulky (for my taste). Granted, I did say these are going to be "collectibles", but only to a certain exent. I'd like to find them enjoyable to play with, as well. Like I said in an above comment: If I ever get the EJ bug bad enough, I'll have a few really nice blade laying around with which to tinker.

 

I've heard many people mention the Donic Dotec Waldner Hinoki, and I'm tempted by it. Perhaps the peculiar handle is better than a flare, but damn it's ugly.  I may pick one up... I don't know.

 

I'd really like to have a Hinoki style blade on my list but unfortunately the one plies (which apparently have the best and most "pure" Hinoki feeling) are too thick for my taste, and any of the multi-ply Hinoki blades seem to get mixed-to-poor reviews from others. Nittaku has a new OFF-, 3-ply Hinoki blade called the Telion that I'm intrigued by, but no one seems to know anything about it and Nittaku apparently only makes handles useful for members of the Lollipop Guild.

 

I actually prefer neither, at this point. I've only played with the Violin. I enjoyed it, but the handle is absolutely ridiculous. The Acoustic handle is apparently the same. I was going to choose the Acoustic because many people said that it is slightly stiffer and faster than the Violin. But, others said the opposite... so I don't really know. In the end, I just went with the Acoustic kind of spontaneously.

 

But now I don't want either because their handles are insanely small and uncomfortable (as are all Nittaku handles I've encountered so far). There are apparently Acoustic blades with an L-size handle, but they're allegedly $200. Screw that. So, I'm getting neither.