Tibhar Kim Jung Hoon Blade Review

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   Tibhar Kim Jung Hoon (KJH) BladeWeight: 85 grams
Blade Head Size: 150 x 156mmm approx.
Thickness: 6mm
Plies: 7 (all wood)
Speed: Off
Hardness: Medium Stiff
Test Rubbers: Tibhar 5Q VIP + Genius Optimum Plus, DHS Memo 3

I have been waiting for this blade since February. The first time is saw this blade on Nexy's website I feel in love with the looks. When I first held it in my hand, it felt very smooth and its several notches higher in terms of quality finish compared to previous Tibhar Blades. I can say that the construction finish is on the same level with Tibhar H-1-9 and H-3-9 which are more expensive Tibhar Blades. The handle is a bit squarish but is more rounded in the edges compared to the red 
cypress. The handle is very ergonomic and the neck part extending to the bottom wings are already sanded which saves you the time to sand the rough edges.

I haven't had the chance to know the outer plies of the KJH but the inner plies seems to have ayous and maybe burnt kiri?? The KJH is a very balanced blade. When the 5Q VIP and Genius Optimum Plus were glued, I weighed the set up and it only weighed 183 grams approx. It never felt head heavy. I compared it to a friend's Tibhar Triple carbon with Sinus Alpha and 5Q Sound and it was head heavy. The KJH was perfectly balanced in its weight distribution. The handle construction and weight might be one of the factors in making the blade more balanced. 

I would say the speed is off for the KJH and not Off+. It wasn't as fast as other 7 ply all wood blades that I know but it has good speed. It is faster than the Samsonov Force Pro which has limba outer plies. In some instances, the Samsonov Stratus Powerwood felt faster by a few notches on some shots like spin drives and counters. 

In terms of feel, the red cypress felt very stiff upon ball impact compared to the KJH. The KJH blade has a unique feel. I cannot compare its feel to other 7 ply all wood blades because its kinda unique. The first day of testing, the KJH felt kinda weird but after several hours of blocking, drilling and occasional looping the pleasant feeling surfaces and I began to enjoy the very good feedback on my hand. The blade does not have any bad vibrations. Its has very good feel on the hand minus the unwanted vibrations. 

So what is special about the Kim Jung Hoon Blade? Aside from the very good feel, it has good speed which is faster than the regular clipper wood minus the head heaviness. It is a more controlled attacking that the blade excels at. The 5Q VIP is already a fast rubber maybe when i place it on another tibhar blade like stratus powerwood it would be faster but on the KJH I enjoy the control and with a very balanced amount of speed on my shots. With the KJH the power of the shots like counter loops or drives remain constant but not so much far from the tabel like about 3 meters or more since you need to exert some effort. It loops good with both Euro and Chinese rubbers. The loop using the 5Q VIP was already expected as good. When I used the DHS Memo 3 for looping it was even easier and spinny too. The KJH also was a stable blocking blade both in passive and active blocking. All in all, this is an outstanding blade. It has this unique good feel which is comparable to an acoustic but harder and is faster in terms of speed. 