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Handcrafted Blades by Ross Leidy

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    Posted: 12/21/2011 at 9:20am
Hi folks,
I thought I'd start this general thread to provide a place for me to drop a few blade photos now and again.   While there's a similar thread running on OOAK, I think each can evolve independently, driven by whatever questions and comments happen to be posted.
 
To start things off, I just completed a blade for mmerkel, and I thought that his choice for the handle wood turned out so nicely that I asked him if I could post a few photos.    The blade composition is white obeche - anigre - kiri - anigre - white obeche.  The handle is masur birch and chakte viga.  Check it out.
 
 
 
 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote van_doorn Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12/21/2011 at 9:48am
Wauw, looks amazing :O
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote TheRobot99 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12/21/2011 at 10:26am
Why would anyone play with that blade?  It's too pretty to cover up with rubber....LOL
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote mmerkel Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12/21/2011 at 10:37am
Ross, it was a pleasure to work with you on this blade.
The communication was exemplary and your input and explanations helped me make the right choices.
I know that I will call on you again in the future and I can HIGHLY recommend you to anyone that is looking for a custom blade that also has the WOW factor.
My biggest regret is that I can't properly play with the blade until after the winter break.
I will post a review once I had a chance to give it a good go.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Ross Leidy Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12/21/2011 at 10:56am
Originally posted by mmerkel mmerkel wrote:

Ross, it was a pleasure to work with you on this blade.
The communication was exemplary and your input and explanations helped me make the right choices.
I know that I will call on you again in the future and I can HIGHLY recommend you to anyone that is looking for a custom blade that also has the WOW factor.
My biggest regret is that I can't properly play with the blade until after the winter break.
I will post a review once I had a chance to give it a good go.
Mike, thanks, I appreciate it.  I hope that you like the blade as much in person as in the photos.  I look forward to hearing your review once you get a chance to try it out.  Best of luck!
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote rookies Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12/21/2011 at 11:24am
How much does this blade cost?

Edited by rookies - 12/21/2011 at 11:24am
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Ross Leidy Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12/21/2011 at 11:26am
Originally posted by rookies rookies wrote:

How much does this blade cost?
Please contact me offline (PM or email) for pricing.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Carryboy Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12/21/2011 at 11:35am
LUV the handle!! Quite stunning actually.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote JimT Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12/21/2011 at 11:42am
Mike, how did you decide on the composition? This one is not Sotto Voce version, as far as I understand (SV uses balsa core, right, Ross?)
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote mmerkel Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12/21/2011 at 11:50am
JimT,
the composition came out of the email exchanges about likes, dislikes, must haves, etc.
I don't know the exact criteria right at this moment, but it was a combination of balance, weight, feel, stiffness and my "no balsa" clause; all together with a target speed range of ~All+.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote speedy Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12/21/2011 at 12:12pm
Ross made me a blade right before the Nationals.  I used it at the Nationals, and it was an awesome experience.  I will definitely get a few more with different combinations.

Ross is very professional and take his work seriously.  We went through a series of email, and he always stayed on top of them, and answered them promptly and accurately.

@Ross:  Do you still have the pictures of my blade?  please post them, I'd like to share with everyone.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Ross Leidy Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12/21/2011 at 12:27pm
Originally posted by mmerkel mmerkel wrote:

JimT,
the composition came out of the email exchanges about likes, dislikes, must haves, etc.
I don't know the exact criteria right at this moment, but it was a combination of balance, weight, feel, stiffness and my "no balsa" clause; all together with a target speed range of ~All+.
I don't have my notes/emails available right now, but I do recall that control and balance were at the top of the list.  The soft obeche outers are extra thick (0.9mm), so the blade should have tons of dwell.  The handle pieces were hollowed slightly to drop their weight by about 6g to give the blade a neutral balance and a final weight just under 80g.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Ross Leidy Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12/21/2011 at 12:32pm
Originally posted by speedy speedy wrote:

Ross made me a blade right before the Nationals.  I used it at the Nationals, and it was an awesome experience.  I will definitely get a few more with different combinations.

Ross is very professional and take his work seriously.  We went through a series of email, and he always stayed on top of them, and answered them promptly and accurately.

@Ross:  Do you still have the pictures of my blade?  please post them, I'd like to share with everyone.
Hi Speedy,
It was a privilege to have a blade evaluated under battle conditions.  :)  I look forward to seeing what avenue we go down next.
 
Here are few photos of your blade:






Edited by Ross Leidy - 12/21/2011 at 10:28pm
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Ross Leidy Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12/21/2011 at 12:40pm
Originally posted by JimT JimT wrote:

Mike, how did you decide on the composition? This one is not Sotto Voce version, as far as I understand (SV uses balsa core, right, Ross?)
You are quite right - the Sotto Voce would have been too fast and too stiff to meet the requirements, not to mention its balsa core (and Mike specifically requested a no-balsa blade).
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote speedy Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12/22/2011 at 10:06am
All... look at that handle and those plies... it's a very SEXY blade and very good control blade.  This is an OFF- to OFF blade.  Highly Recommended Clap

Ross:  Thank you for your hard work.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote cool_natja Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12/22/2011 at 10:23am
Originally posted by speedy speedy wrote:

All... look at that handle and those plies... it's a very SEXY blade and very good control blade.  This is an OFF- to OFF blade.  Highly Recommended Clap

Ross:  Thank you for your hard work.


+1
A state of the art ! Too dear to play with ...

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Carryboy Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12/22/2011 at 10:37am
That is crazy!!!!!!!!
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote AcudaDave Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12/22/2011 at 10:56am
I sent Ross an email yesterday after finding out about his website and I gotta say his blades look beautiful.  I think his blades are definitely a lot more expensive than your typical blade, but they look like a work of art and I definitely want to get one. 
Can you put the person's name in the handle Ross?  Also can you make combo blades for people that play with long pips or short pips on 1 side?
Thanks,
Dave
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote JimT Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12/22/2011 at 11:29am
Originally posted by AcudaDave AcudaDave wrote:

Can you put the person's name in the handle Ross?  Also can you make combo blades for people that play with long pips or short pips on 1 side?
Thanks,
Dave


I would advise you against putting your name on it unless you are 111% sure you are keeping the blade (which you haven't even seen yet!). Better to put the blade's name on it - just come up with something impressive.

As for combination blades - that is a very interesting question. I talked to Charlie Smith from BBC about that and he says that basically it is a very risky thing since it is really hard to make a combination blade which doesn't get gradually warped in a year or two - because of the diff in the expansion/contraction rates on the different sides of the blade when absorbing moisture or drying out.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote AlexB Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12/22/2011 at 11:49am
This is nice looking blade.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Ross Leidy Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12/22/2011 at 12:24pm
Originally posted by AcudaDave AcudaDave wrote:

I sent Ross an email yesterday after finding out about his website and I gotta say his blades look beautiful.  I think his blades are definitely a lot more expensive than your typical blade, but they look like a work of art and I definitely want to get one. 
Can you put the person's name in the handle Ross?  Also can you make combo blades for people that play with long pips or short pips on 1 side?
Thanks,
Dave
Thanks, Dave.  Right now, I don't have a way to brand or mark the blades, let alone personalizing them.  I've investigated a few options, but haven't found anything that I was 100% happy with and could afford.  :)  So for now, my mark is no mark at all.
 
I have made some combo blades.  I've not heard any reports of them warping, but as JimT indicates, it could be a long-term possibility.  For that matter, it could happen to symmetric blades as well due to unequal stresses within the wood.  That's the nature of natural materials. 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote mhnh007 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12/22/2011 at 12:57pm
Originally posted by JimT JimT wrote:

Originally posted by AcudaDave AcudaDave wrote:

Can you put the person's name in the handle Ross?  Also can you make combo blades for people that play with long pips or short pips on 1 side?
Thanks,
Dave


I would advise you against putting your name on it unless you are 111% sure you are keeping the blade (which you haven't even seen yet!). Better to put the blade's name on it - just come up with something impressive.
Are you kidding? Who would not want to have the initial of a guy, who I predict, will break 2200 rating soon? Smile
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Ross Leidy Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12/22/2011 at 2:17pm
Originally posted by fatt fatt wrote:

This is beautiful work. What is the composition of Speedy's blade?
 
Thanks!  The composition is white limba - dyed red koto - black limba - kiri - black limba - dyed red koto - white limba.  Wow, I just now realized there's a lot of color adjectives in those plies!  :)
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote ttplayer92 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12/22/2011 at 2:37pm
wow that seems like a stiff blade?
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Ross Leidy Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12/22/2011 at 3:26pm
Originally posted by fatt fatt wrote:

Reading your posts I was wondering if you had kiri cores (could not read about it on your website) and I got my answer Smile
 
I only recently found a source for kiri, and I still need to update the website.
 
Originally posted by fatt fatt wrote:

I used to play the Mizutani Jun (one of the best offensive looping fast blades ever made) before I banned Butterfly from my tt life; this blade is close to it, the dyed red koto replacing the ZL carbon in the MJ composition (limba-zl carbon-limba-kiri-limba-zl carbon-limba). I might be next in line for a matching pair of those. Could a teak or paduk veneer do the same job than koto in the above blade composition?
 
Only Speedy has played this blade, so he might be able to compare it to the Mizutani Jun.  It does have a handle modeled directly from the ST Mizutani.  Speedy and I hashed out the composition over numerous emails, and in the end the blade didn't have quite the speed he was after.  An adjustment to the koto layer (switching it out for something harder) should bump it up a notch.  I currently do not have padauk veneer, but it is a possibility if it's a requirement.  Contact me offline if you'd like me to add you to the waiting list.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote yogi_bear Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12/22/2011 at 9:53pm
wow a 7 ply blade
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Jolan Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12/22/2011 at 10:27pm
Originally posted by Ross Leidy Ross Leidy wrote:

Originally posted by fatt fatt wrote:

Reading your posts I was wondering if you had kiri cores (could not read about it on your website) and I got my answer Smile
 
I only recently found a source for kiri, and I still need to update the website.
 
Originally posted by fatt fatt wrote:

I used to play the Mizutani Jun (one of the best offensive looping fast blades ever made) before I banned Butterfly from my tt life; this blade is close to it, the dyed red koto replacing the ZL carbon in the MJ composition (limba-zl carbon-limba-kiri-limba-zl carbon-limba). I might be next in line for a matching pair of those. Could a teak or paduk veneer do the same job than koto in the above blade composition?
 
Only Speedy has played this blade, so he might be able to compare it to the Mizutani Jun.  It does have a handle modeled directly from the ST Mizutani.  Speedy and I hashed out the composition over numerous emails, and in the end the blade didn't have quite the speed he was after.  An adjustment to the koto layer (switching it out for something harder) should bump it up a notch.  I currently do not have padauk veneer, but it is a possibility if it's a requirement.  Contact me offline if you'd like me to add you to the waiting list.
 
 
Should IPE do the job as it does for sotto voce ? Is it hard enough to replace Mizutani's Zylon ? At least it's harder than Koto.
Fatt, if you are looking to something as fast as Mizutani with much better feeling and control, no need to go for a 7 ply blade. Sotto voce with Mahogany outer is the way to go. 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote frogger Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12/22/2011 at 10:50pm
Hi Ross, hope you recieved Ultimate P #2 in good condition? I am having a blast with #1 (fantastic blade). It does everything like a dream....thanks a bunch and Merry Christmas!
 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote mmerkel Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12/23/2011 at 5:11am
Originally posted by frogger frogger wrote:

Hi Ross, hope you recieved Ultimate P #2 in good condition? I am having a blast with #1 (fantastic blade). It does everything like a dream....thanks a bunch and Merry Christmas!
 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Ross Leidy Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12/23/2011 at 7:36am
Originally posted by frogger frogger wrote:

Hi Ross, hope you recieved Ultimate P #2 in good condition? I am having a blast with #1 (fantastic blade). It does everything like a dream....thanks a bunch and Merry Christmas!
 
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Hey frogger - yes, the blade arrived in top condition.  Please forgive me if I didn't follow-up with you after it arrived.  I'm glad to hear #1 is working out so well for you.

Mike - here are a few photos of the pair of blades:


 
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