I am proud to present ...

Hi, new member here. I am 70 years old and have played since I was 15 . I have a Klampar and love it.

Добрый день. А как насчет прэйса Меллиса?

Today I got another Bengtsson blade with the very rare "lens-sticker" from July 1975.

Edited by ggreco - 06/03/2019 at 3:57am

So I just tried my newly arrived Yasaka Silver All Wood, and I had an important realization: the sweet spot on my YEO 7 Power was very big, while the sweet spots of other blades I had been trying weren't as big. This explained why I like the feeling of the YEO 7 Power when I was looping over other blades. It was because my loop has some variability on the ball contact, and the YEO 7 Power's sweet spot was large enough while other blade felt muted when I didn't hit the sweet spot. So now I can finally feel at peace by sticking with the Silver All Wood and focusing on getting the contact location more accurate so I get that reward of wonderful vibration feedback on the loop. The extra control is also a huge plus, as well as the higher throw (to help on backhand underspin loops) and the ability to serve shorter. I suppose there is no need for me to purchase an OSP blade now. :)

lzrby wrote: 1a) How do you tell if a blade is good quality? (Basically, what makes all these old blades better than the modern mass-produced ones?) Well, if you have read my thread, you should have already found some arguments. "All blades were manufactured very carefully with special material and special producing-methods. For example Stiga used old veneers, which had a long time to dry very slowly. They used a natural glue (hide-glue, bone-glue), the handle-parts were glued with very low pressure and nailed with two (some blades with three) nails." But not "all blades" were better than all actual. This would be crazy. Because it is always a question of personal preferences. Most fans of these old Stiga blades love the woody, but nevertheless direct feeling of these old blades.  1b) Do you place more emphasis on the physical workmanship, or the feeling of the ball? For me the feeling is much more important than the craftsmanship. 1c) What do the thickness/weight/age have to do with the veneer quality? What about the feeling is affected by those factors? Thickness alone has nothing to do with veneer quality, but in combination with head size and weight it has. The very best Stiga blades with classic limba-limba-ayous construction had relatively dark limba veneer. Especially the second limba layer was made out of dark and hard veneer, which of course is heavier than light and soft wood. This hard and dark limba veneer was the reason for the more direct feeling, which helped for easy control and ball-placement.  The old Stiga blades of the late 60`s and early 70`s had a big head size of round about 16,3 x 15,4 cm. You will find big variations in thickness, from less than 5 mm up to nearly 6 mm. The thicker the blade, the faster it was. For me 5,5 - 5,6 mm was an ideal thickness for these blades. This thickness combined with the big head and the harder (second) limba results in a weight of more than 90g (95g up to more than 100g). If you find a blade with the same thickness (5,5 - 5,6 mm) and a weight of less than 90g, the only reason an be, that the veneers are softer and lighter. In this case the feeling will not as direct as I (and many other Stiga fans) like. 2a) What does a better quality paddle feel like? (I've never played with an old Stiga blade as I am much younger) That's the wrong question, because each of us feels different and we all have different strategies and wishes. Some players generally prefer a very soft feeling and low speed. Other players prefer fast and hard blades. Therefore you can not say, that ONE kind of blade is the best or good for all of us. 2b) Do good quality blades feel good for all (most) people? For example, will someone who has the current Clipper (and who isn't a complete newbie to the sport) automatically understand why the really old Clipper feels "better" if they try it out? No, definitely not all (see the explanation on the last question). The best Clipper Wood blades (for me) were thinner than the actual versions. Therefore they were not too fast and had a better feeling (for me). But if someone plays with short pips and wants to smash as often as possible, he would prefer the actual version. 2C) Can a paddle have poor workmanship but still feel good? Yes, that's definitely a fact. For example if you use a top glue and high quality veneers and if you glue them with the right pressure, the feeling will be good, no matter how it looks. For example the edges could be sharp or not symmetric. Why should this blade play bad and another blade with rounded and symmetric edges plays good? The craftsmanship has not much to doo with the playing-skills in my eyes. 3a) What are the best feeling and/or best quality paddles produced nowadays? You mentioned Infinity VPS, Emerald VPS, and Rosewood XO for Stiga. What about others (both Stiga and non-Stiga)? Do the brands who don't release newer models (like Avalox) still have the same quality blades as in the past? Sorry, but this question is impossible to answer. In the 60`s there were only a few constructions and more than 90% of the blades had the same construction, while today there are MUCH more constructions, with and without composite layers. What I mentioned is, that Stiga was the absolute best blade producer over a long period, but in the last 20 years they produced a lot of sh.. and only a few good blades (in my eyes). Of course many brands produce good blades. But what is good? Do you prefer the same blades and skills like I do? I don't know. 3b) How can I ensure I'm buying a good quality blade if it's from an online shop like Tabletennis11? I know a lot of sponsored players go and try different blades of the same name and choose the ones that feels best to them (See this link about Wang Liqin's Clipper: https://www.tabletennisdaily.com/forum/showthread.php?12536-Wang-Liqin-Stiga-Clipper). But are there guidelines for weight, thickness, etc for those who don't have that luxury? The question is, if you would be able to play with the same blade. For example if Timo Boll or Ma Long choose one blade out of 100 available blades, this may be the best choice for THEM, but maybe this blade would be the wrong choice for YOU, because they have other skills than you. At least I think so.  3c) What are the best value-for-money blades on the market nowadays? Like I wrote before: This is a question of personal preferences. Normally you can buy cheap chinese blades which are clones of famous Butterfly blades, but they definitely play different. For example the feeling is mostly much harder. For me it is too hard, but for an other one it may be perfect. Nevertheless Stiga Infinity, Donic Waldner Senso Carbon and Yasaka Extra Offensive are really good blades for low value, but I don't know, if they are good for YOU. 4) How many of these blades do you play with, and how many have never had another owner other than you? I am sure that I have tested more than 300 blade over the years, but I did not play with all of my collection blades and none of my collection blades was played only by me, but why should this be important?

Hi Magic_M, thank you so much for posting these pictures and descriptions. I just spent the last hour or two reading through this whole thread and I am in awe.

Maybe you did not notice that, but the NSP is already signed as "sold".

A few days ago I got another version of the Bengtsson Junior.

Edited by Magic_M - 10/15/2016 at 4:44am

Well, "modern" is maybe the wrong description for a blade which is older than 40 years. 

If you are getting older, it is not easy to find a good blade in good condition that is older than you. 

Edited by Magic_M - 06/18/2016 at 7:52am

The last new blade in the moment is an old 

Edited by Magic_M - 04/30/2016 at 2:17am

I think, it`s time for an update, because I got three more blades for my collection.

Edited by Magic_M - 04/03/2016 at 3:07am

Another Stiga blade arrived in my collection:

Edited by Magic_M - 09/25/2015 at 4:01am

Another beautiful Butterfly blade arrived at my home

Edited by Magic_M - 09/14/2015 at 7:35am