Borko Interview: Q & A

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Guys, I submitted all of your questions to Borko and he has kindly answered them. Here is the transcript:

**********

How
exactly would he make a customized blade for a guy living on the East Coast? Do
I send him a video of me playing? 
*** After order is placed series of question are
communicated between me and the player about its game style of play and playing
characteristics and then the blade is crafted ***

What type of player would he
recommend a carbon, Arylate/kevlar, Aramid blade to? and why? 

*** I do not use
carbon fibers in the construction of my blades . All of the blades that I make
are  of 100% wood fibers. Having sad this
I realize that carbon, arylate , Kevlar and other materials are used in the
construction of modern blades so I can not comment on them due to my limited
understanding of these materials.  I
understand wood blades only. ***

Can you please improve your handle
design to make it look more attractive and cool? 
*** Thank you for bringing this to my
attention. New Borko & Son blades are made with the new designs using
exotic and rare hard woods . *

What is the general price range? I
realise that it will probably vary since each blade is unique, but what would an average
price tag be? 
***
General price range for the blade is 150.00$ postage included for deliveries
within continental U.S. of A , International orders shipments are in addition
to this as we use United States Postal Service . Rates of the USPS for the
international deliveries are quite reasonable.*

How long does it take to build the
blade itself? do u have any set routines? is it a son and dad thing, with
regards to both of you guys doing the one blade? 
*** All the work is done by myself and
traditions learned in instrument making are very much part of the blade making
process. It takes me approximately 6-8 hrs to craft a blade understanding that
due to the hide glues used in 
production  each veneer of wood
takes 12 hrs to fully cure. With 5, 7 and sometimes 9 ply blades it takes a bit
longer. I make all laminations myself from beginning till end. Son is going to
finish his education so it is for all practical purposes is just me making the
blades  ***

Did you have any idols as a
young boy do u still do?
*** My idols when I was growing and playing in what used to
be known as Yugoslavia just to name a few:  Surbek ,Stipancic,Jonier,Klampar,Alser,Johanson,Li
Fu Yung, Chuang Ce Tung and of course Stellan Bentsson who I see every
day, for we are both in San Diego TT  one
of the biggest club in the USA  with more
than 850 registered members last year.*

Why five plies instead of 1?
*** One ply is blade
is used by the players who like the Power and the feeling for there blade.
Often made of Kiso Hinoki wood which is Japanese cypress that grows in high
mountains of Japan.
Blade made of Kiso Hinoki has specific playing characteristics that are highly  prized by the pen holder players especially
one that like to flat hit the ball. Upon request I make the 1 ply and 5 ply
Hinoki blade for the players that prefer that type of wood. I myself use a
blade that is 5 ply made of Hinoki Wood. Lately type of American wood called Port
Orford Cedar is used as a substitute for Kiso Hinoki. �POC� is characterized by
the  different coloration of dark strikes
and it is a bit softer with the wider grain growth. Kiso Hinoki due to its
growth in the higher elevation is milky white with slight pink coloration tight
grain  both are aromatic but Kiso Hinoki
is characterized by the bountiful  lemony
smell and it is  often preferred  to �POC�.***

Does a balsa center provide
anything more to a blade than stiffness and lightness? Why in most blades the
center ply is much thicker than the outer plies 
*** Yes you are correct.�Core� of the blade
is wide center layer usually made of Balsa, Poplar, Bass and sometimes Kiso
Hinoki , gives blade  its stiffness and
lightness than a thin layer of the first veneers next to it are called
�primary� and finally �secondary� on the top ply (are the ones you see). Direction
of the grain of the wood gives the characteristics and stability to blade***

What is your favorite wood?/ What
type of woods do you use to made the blade? 
***It is hard to say what is my favorite wood.
 Each wood has its own characteristics and
if I have to chose it will be Purple Hart, Movenge, Koto,Kiso Hinoki well I
really like them all and there characteristics. Sometimes I use the Wood you do
not hear about  like Olive Wood for
instance.***

Professional players stand to
benefit most from a customized design and construction.  Does custom
design play a large role for top players? 
***Professional player knows what he needs and they insist
on the things they like. Just like with us ordinary club players everyone is
different. Main difference is that they do not change the equipment often like
we do. Most stick and stay with the equipment that works. They spend more time
to improve the elements of their game after all it is their profession. But
often they need to replace and repair the equipment. So from time to time I
engage in the restoration and the repair of the blades. Last year I had to repair
the old blade for Stefan Feth. He use the old Joola �Legend� blade that is not
made any more. ***

How long is the delivery time? If I
for example were to order one tomorrow, when could I expect to be playing with
it? (live in Europe) .
***Present delivery time is 2-3 weeks. There
are several orders in place and I�m the only one making blades. Most of the
customers know that and are understanding and 
are willing to weight.***

About Nittaku Violin and Acoustic:

Do you make something similar?*** Yes I do ***

Could you give an estimate of the cost of making the Nittaku blades?
***  Every blade that I make is custom made .Most
of them are 150.00$  some little more. If
you like the �Nittaku� blade you should buy the �Nittaku� blade .In the case of
mass produced blades you are matched to a pre-made blade characteristics .In
the case of small private maker blades characteristics are matched to you and
you game. So if you want the blade made to fit your game you will look for a
private maker to craft a blade for you.***

What are
most important factors affecting the power, the speed and the control of a
blade?
***Power
and speed are directly dependent on number of plies and the type of wood used.
�Control� of the blade is different thing for you and me and lets say Samsonov.
But in my opinion �control� is the most important characteristic of the blade.
You can generate the power when you need it but �control� you ether have in the
blade or not. Control is also something we also develop in the game by training
hard and practicing long hrs .I like to say that �Power is Nothing Without
Control�.***     

4.  How to produce synergy between rubber and the blade?
***Often mistake are
made in selection of the rubber for the particular blade to suit the payer and
his needs. There are three variables : 

v                                  
player, 

v                                  
blade 

v                                  
rubber. 

Rubber we chose for the
particular blade needs to compliment the playing characteristics of the blade
and together with the blade fit the players need. Often new and inexperienced
player will chose a fast blade and fast rubber combo let say Bryce/Kreanga
Carbon. After we often wonder what is in control of what, Player of his blade
,or its blade in control of him?***

Is it easy
to make identical blades (in terms of playing characters)? How large the
variation usually?
***To make identical blade is possible and hard and it is
best done at the time blades is ordered. Often request is made buy the
customers for two blades at the time matched to its playing characteristics and
the weight.

Everyone is familiar
with the case of finding the blade that they like, lets say Korbel� 80 grams.
They  go to store arm with the weight
scale go over 30 �Korbel� blades and finally find the one of same weight. When
they put the rubber on to there surprise it plays nothing like the blade they
already have. How is this possible? Same blade ,brand name ,exact weight but
totally different playing characteristics.

The answer is in the
mass production of the blades .Large companies (not the name the names) use
different wood suppliers, different OEM companies to make the blades it self .So
even  that there are standards and
quality control in place they mostly look the same.

Private makers of
blades like instrument makers use the wood supply that is in their shop for
years. I have wood that have sat in my shop for 30 years now. Wood
like that is naturally seasoned and aged and it is very stable. Large companies
and blade manufacturers do not have time to do that. They have to make the
blades for the large market

Have you always
wondered why everyone likes the �old blade�?***

Compared
to making instruments is blade making low tech? or a piece of art? or high
tech?

**Compared
to instrument making , making of the table tennis blade is very similar. Let
say that we have the two identical blades in every aspect. One goes to professional player
who practices 4 hrs per day and plays matches 4 time a week and the other blade
goes to my closet and sits there . Ten years down the line  both blades meet each other again , both get
the same rubber  and they are played side
by side by the same player. What do you think will be the better blade? One
that was played for 10 years  and was �driven�
four hrs. per day or the one that �fell a sleep� in my closet. One that looked
like the �ugly duckling� with bumps , bruises and scars from the battles and
numerous matches and hits on the table or the one �pristine� looking  that �fell a sleep� in my closet. One that
was used by a player for four hrs a day will clearly outperform in every aspect
the one blade that was not used.

But you do not want to
listen to me . After all I do  believe
that �Table Tennis blades go to sleep�.

Borko

***Use of glues in the making of the  table tennis blades ***

Use of natural ( hide glues) compares to modern glues(resin
glues) is one of essential steps in making 
of the fine instruments .This time honored proven tradition  I feel is very important in making of the
table tennis blades. As instrument every table tennis blade vibrate to some
degree . Sometimes we welcome this vibration and sometimes not.

Vibration of the blade after the ball is struck with it is
what we call the �feel�. It is hard to explain what the �feel� is but if you
ever try to make an effective drop shot  and
take all the energy out of the incoming ball with the blade you have depended
on �feel � of the blade to do this. Some blades are better to execute this than
others. Have you played very short pushes and couple of points the �short game�
welcome to the �feel of the blade� .To some players this means a lot and to
some nothing at all but all blades will vibrate. Modern glues will dry by the
chemical reaction and in the process of drying will leave the layer of the glue
on the top of the surface. Glue as such will dampen the vibration of the blade
. So as we look at the 5 ply or 7 or 9  ply blade we are rely playing a mixture of  �glue� and the �wood�. Some glues are better
than others .But naturally made glues will seep in to the substructure of the
wood thus leaving this very thin layer in between the pieces of the wood
improving the �feel� and I believe the 
performance of the blade. Hide glues are harder to work with,there is a
shelf life to worry about, temperature of application is about 140�F this is
very important and its called �open time�. Unused glue had to be kept in
freezer to prevent the growth of microorganism in it.

So all in all hide glues I feel are better for the blades
but they are the pain ���. to use and work with . If you are used to it bund of
two layers of wood  will be just as
strong  as with the modern glues  but the �feel� of the blade will be improved .
This process is time consuming and it takes time to  set and cure. As materials used in
construction  of the blade its age
,moisture everything makes the difference to some degree.

I trust that this explanation will shed some light on the
use of the hide glues. As originally started with the �private labels� and
small makers hide glues are now accepted with the large companies as a superior
way to make a blade when the �feel� of the blade is of concern. 

****Borko Interview: Q & A****

Borko Interview: Q & A