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Handcrafted Blades by Ross Leidy

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Tassie52 View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Tassie52 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12/10/2014 at 1:37am
It's agony waiting, but one of the positives of Ross having an extensive waiting list is that it gives me time to think and plan.  By the time Ross was ready for me, I already had a number of designs.  I shortlisted four quite different ideas and then Ross and I discussed which one we wanted to undertake.

Original idea for Weave:


One of the other possibilities:

 


Once we had settled on the general design, we refined it in various ways.  One significant part was trying to determine which timber would be used.  The shape (shown here as Barna-knife - Barna for the blade shape and knife for the handle) had already been worked on for Lily, so it was refinement rather than starting from scratch.

Here is the final Powerpoint slide I sent to Ross.  Compare it with the final product and you'll see how Ross turns dreams into reality, and then some. 


The finished product:


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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote aeoliah Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 01/04/2015 at 10:21pm
Hi Ross what is the fastest blade that you have made so far ? Please inform me what is the composition and weight.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote liulin04 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 01/04/2015 at 10:46pm
holy cow, Ross has outdone himself yet again! Simply marvelous!!!
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Ross Leidy Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 01/05/2015 at 2:44pm
Originally posted by aeoliah aeoliah wrote:

Hi Ross what is the fastest blade that you have made so far ? Please inform me what is the composition and weight.
 
That's difficult to say since many of the blades that I build are one-offs and I don't get to try them.  However, of the ones that I've used, I'm going to say that Effortless is the fastest.  It's a 3-ply that's meant to capture the softness and speed of a 1-ply and the stability of a multi-ply.  It's WRC-Kiri-WRC, about 9mm, and mid-to-upper 90's.
 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Ross Leidy Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 01/05/2015 at 2:45pm
Originally posted by liulin04 liulin04 wrote:

holy cow, Ross has outdone himself yet again! Simply marvelous!!!
Thanks!
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote aeoliah Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 01/06/2015 at 9:16am
I was trying to avoid thick bladeOuch.
Perhaps I will follow your suggestion to have a thicker Kiri on Rapscallion. maybe I can have something around 7mm.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Argothman Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 01/06/2015 at 1:08pm
Hey Ross, do you make and sell handles alone that can be attached to an existing blade? I love my blade, but these handles are exquisite, and I'd love to have one on my main racquet.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Ross Leidy Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 01/06/2015 at 3:37pm
Originally posted by Argothman Argothman wrote:

Hey Ross, do you make and sell handles alone that can be attached to an existing blade? I love my blade, but these handles are exquisite, and I'd love to have one on my main racquet.
 
Unfortunately, no I don't.  There are a couple reasons:  The sealing/finishing happens after the grips are attached to the blade and I've completed the final smoothing.  Retro-fitting a set of pre-finished grips to a blade is difficult to do without removing some of the finish.  Also, the majority of the time (and therefore, cost) involved in building the blade due to the labor associated with the handle.  The price I would need to charge for the grips alone would be more than folks would be willing to pay.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote jrscatman Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 01/06/2015 at 3:49pm
Hi Ross,
Is there a reason you don't use Kiri as core? I thought Butteryfly uses this a core for their blades?
Thanks
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Ross Leidy Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 01/06/2015 at 3:59pm
Originally posted by jrscatman jrscatman wrote:

Hi Ross,
Is there a reason you don't use Kiri as core? I thought Butteryfly uses this a core for their blades?
Thanks
 
I use mostly kiri for the core of my blades.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote jrscatman Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 01/06/2015 at 4:11pm
Originally posted by Ross Leidy Ross Leidy wrote:

Originally posted by jrscatman jrscatman wrote:

Hi Ross,
Is there a reason you don't use Kiri as core? I thought Butteryfly uses this a core for their blades?
Thanks
 
I use mostly kiri for the core of my blades.
oh, I looked at your website and under core - Kiri was not listed. 
That's why I asked. 
Thanks
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Ross Leidy Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 01/06/2015 at 4:28pm
Originally posted by jrscatman jrscatman wrote:

Originally posted by Ross Leidy Ross Leidy wrote:

Originally posted by jrscatman jrscatman wrote:

Hi Ross,
Is there a reason you don't use Kiri as core? I thought Butteryfly uses this a core for their blades?
Thanks
 
I use mostly kiri for the core of my blades.
oh, I looked at your website and under core - Kiri was not listed. 
That's why I asked. 
Thanks
 
My website definitely needs to be updated.  I just wish I had more time!  Smile
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Argothman Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 01/06/2015 at 10:55pm
Originally posted by Ross Leidy Ross Leidy wrote:

Originally posted by Argothman Argothman wrote:

Hey Ross, do you make and sell handles alone that can be attached to an existing blade? I love my blade, but these handles are exquisite, and I'd love to have one on my main racquet.
 
Unfortunately, no I don't.  There are a couple reasons:  The sealing/finishing happens after the grips are attached to the blade and I've completed the final smoothing.  Retro-fitting a set of pre-finished grips to a blade is difficult to do without removing some of the finish.  Also, the majority of the time (and therefore, cost) involved in building the blade due to the labor associated with the handle.  The price I would need to charge for the grips alone would be more than folks would be willing to pay.


Would you ever consider being sent a blade and putting a new handle on it? This is not something I would do now, but if I ever become a successful tournament player I would definitely fork out some money on something personal like this. :)
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Ross Leidy Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 01/07/2015 at 5:00pm
Originally posted by Argothman Argothman wrote:

Would you ever consider being sent a blade and putting a new handle on it? This is not something I would do now, but if I ever become a successful tournament player I would definitely fork out some money on something personal like this. :)
 
I've done this a couple times, but prefer not to do it.  I don't like to take the chance of damaging someone else's blade when removing the old handle.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Argothman Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 01/07/2015 at 7:25pm
Originally posted by Ross Leidy Ross Leidy wrote:

Originally posted by Argothman Argothman wrote:

Would you ever consider being sent a blade and putting a new handle on it? This is not something I would do now, but if I ever become a successful tournament player I would definitely fork out some money on something personal like this. :)
 
I've done this a couple times, but prefer not to do it.  I don't like to take the chance of damaging someone else's blade when removing the old handle.


Fair enough. No sense in messing with things that don't really need to be messed with, after all!
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Ross Leidy Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 05/18/2015 at 10:52am
I don't often get the time to work on a blade for myself, but a couple months back I had chance to build this one.  Since I haven't posted any photos in a while, I thought I'd share this one.  The handle is the vase anatomic style.
 
 
 
 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Tassie52 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 05/19/2015 at 3:34am
Hmmm... Beautiful - as always. Three ply? Kiri core? Douglas fir medial? WRC outer? (I think I've seen somethin similar somewhere.)

Any thoughts on how it plays? Weight! Thickness?

Edited by Tassie52 - 05/19/2015 at 8:45am
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Ross Leidy Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 05/20/2015 at 8:40am
Tassie - Oh, that's right - you did see this one before.  It is indeed the one that I built at the same as I was building your last one.  Yes, WRC outer, Douglas fir medial, Kiri core.   I've not had a lot of playing time with the blade since then - busy life.  But, it is fairly fast - a solid OFF, maybe edging into OFF+.  This is not surprising with its 7mm thickness.  Very flat rebound.  The stiffness is countered with the 1mm thick soft WRC outers, so it can generate some nice spin.  I don't remember the exact weight - I'm guessing mid to upper 80's.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote jrscatman Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 05/20/2015 at 10:21am
Originally posted by Ross Leidy Ross Leidy wrote:

Tassie - Oh, that's right - you did see this one before.  It is indeed the one that I built at the same as I was building your last one.  Yes, WRC outer, Douglas fir medial, Kiri core.   I've not had a lot of playing time with the blade since then - busy life.  But, it is fairly fast - a solid OFF, maybe edging into OFF+.  This is not surprising with its 7mm thickness.  Very flat rebound.  The stiffness is countered with the 1mm thick soft WRC outers, so it can generate some nice spin.  I don't remember the exact weight - I'm guessing mid to upper 80's.
Ross,
With all the blades you build - do you have any standardized tests that you use to test the play ability of the blades? 

Thanks
PS: As usual amazing 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: 05/23/2015 at 9:34am
Since this is a part-time endeavor for me, most of my spare time goes into just building the blades.  For new compositions that I'm considering adding to my lineup, I'll get the blade into the hands of some more experienced players for evaluation.  I've received a lot of very helpful information that way.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Ross Leidy Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12/10/2015 at 9:39pm
Some fatt eye-candy.





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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Tassie52 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12/11/2015 at 1:15am
Originally posted by fatt fatt wrote:

Wild guess: 9 plies all AWC?
 
the design is so ultimately classy in its simplicity. Very sober!!!
ClapClapClapClapClap  True class!

But some of us need more details, please.  Weight?  Thickness?  Handle?  How do you expect it to play?  When are you going to give it a test run?

Details, fatt, details... please???
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Ross Leidy Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12/11/2015 at 9:02am
Sorry for not being clear.  It's not fatt's blade - I just thought he'd appreciate the edge photos.  The experimental blade is a 9-ply of WRC, about 83g, 5.7mm thick, Orange Agate Vase AN handle.  It's slower than I had expected for all its stiffness, probably on the upper side of ALL+.  Huge sweet spot as you might expect from all those plies.  All those factors make it a great blade for blocking.  The soft/springiness of WRC doesn't really come through with the thin plies as it does on blades with thicker WRC plies.  Overall, it's a very predictable blade, but I miss the liveliness of a blade with a little more flex.   
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote jrscatman Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12/11/2015 at 12:44pm
Very nice - I'm a little acronym challenged (a lot challenged actually)  What is AWC and WRC?
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote Ross Leidy Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12/11/2015 at 12:57pm
Originally posted by jrscatman jrscatman wrote:

Very nice - I'm a little acronym challenged (a lot challenged actually)  What is AWC and WRC?

Arghhh!  Two unclear posts in a row for me!

AWC - Atlantic White Cedar
WRC - Western Red Cedar

and just for good measure:

AYC - Alaskan Yellow Cedar
POC - Port Orford Cedar

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote aeoliah Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12/15/2015 at 3:16am
Not me Big smile. I have already 4 or 5 RL blades, but for Christmas it should be a good looking blade, and due to the fact that I played J-pen, all blades look the same Cry


Edited by aeoliah - 12/15/2015 at 3:17am
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Tassie52 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12/18/2015 at 1:49am
Originally posted by fatt fatt wrote:

I keep browsing from the 1st page all the pearls we've been offered over the years and it's a sort of table tennis garden, animated, very much alive, ultimately challenging. I want one so bad again.
A strange thing has been happening over the last couple of months: people keep stopping me and asking me about Billie Weaver, who I've had for some time now.  After they've finished oohing and aahing over how beautiful she is, I offer them a hit.  More and more they're coming back raving about how well she plays.  I thought I was going to lose her to one of our better juniors who seemed to be eyeing off the exit before he gave her back.

For a five ply, she plays so solidly, definitely in the Off - Off+ range.  A friend tried her today and was consistently hitting everything long and he normally uses a carbon blade.

It seems that Ross Leidy creations just get better with age.

Ross, perhaps we need to find a project for 2016?
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote aeoliah Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12/20/2015 at 10:56pm
Billie Weaver ? I have never read it before. Did Ross make it ? what is the composition ? Thanks.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Tassie52 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12/20/2015 at 11:49pm
Originally posted by aeoliah aeoliah wrote:

Billie Weaver ? I have never read it before. Did Ross make it ? what is the composition ? Thanks.
Sorry - King Billy Pine plus weave in the handle. But thanks for giving me an excuse to post again:




Edited by Tassie52 - 12/20/2015 at 11:51pm
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Ross Leidy Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12/21/2015 at 9:42am
Originally posted by Tassie52 Tassie52 wrote:

Ross, perhaps we need to find a project for 2016?

I can always count on you for a challenge!

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