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Mazunov for a beginner???

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JRW911 View Drop Down
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    Posted: 11/17/2021 at 2:33pm
Long story short, I bought a Butterfly Mazunov in 1996 because I decided to join a local table tennis club and had no idea what to buy.  I went to the club a handful of times but for some reason stopped playing after a few months.  The Mazunov went in it's case and into the closet where it went dormant for the last 25 years.  Now, I'm itching to give TT another shot.  Should I buy some new rubber and glue to refresh this old beast or would I be better off cutting my losses and getting something different?

Also, not sure it matters, but I'm a decently high level tennis player and am used to swinging a 27 inch long, 365 gram racket around for hours at a time, so I'm not sure if the "heavy" weight of the Mazunov (mine weighs 111 grams without rubber) will be a negative factor for me.
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jfolsen View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote jfolsen Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 11/17/2021 at 3:04pm
Nothing wrong with a Mazunov if you can handle the weight. It's all wood, stiff and kind of fast, but not worse than something like a Clipper. I would just replace the rubbers and not think twice.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote JRW911 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 11/17/2021 at 3:39pm
I appreciate the feedback, jfolsen!  It's funny you mentioned the Stiga Clipper because that's one that I had my eye on as a replacement.

What rubber would you recommend?  Since my Mazunov is on the heavy side, is there a rubber on the lighter side that would offer spin and control over power?
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote jfolsen Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 11/17/2021 at 6:20pm
I'm not that experienced with light rubber, will let others chime in.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote bozbrisvegas Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 11/17/2021 at 8:53pm
It's hard to suggest rubber if nobody knows your style.  If you are looking for the lightest rubbers they will have a specific way to play with them.  

Instead of asking which rubbers suit your blade maybe explain how you remember playing and plan to play...

You don't use your wrist in tennis.  Or if you do it's not like in table tennis.  

All I can say is a blade over 90g is too heavy.  Around 85g is a good solid and stable blade.  Around 70g is a whippy stroke but starts to lose some of the solid stable feeling.  Lower than 70g is awesome wrist movement in service and stroke recoil but tends have no momentum the human hand is evolved to experience.  

If you don't know anything about rubbers buy something in the middle range.  A $50 european tensor rubber should be an average guess....


Edited by bozbrisvegas - 11/17/2021 at 9:00pm
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bh: tensor MAX
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JRW911 View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote JRW911 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 11/18/2021 at 4:21am
Thanks, bozbrisvegas.  I'm sure the wrist action in tennis is different than in table tennis, but with most modern tennis strokes A LOT of wrist movement is required.  Long gone are the days of wooden tennis rackets and stiff, locked wrist strokes.
As far as my playing style, I'm an aggressive baseliner in tennis that likes to hit big topspin shots off both sides to run my opponent around.  I'd assume that the same aggressive mentality would carry over to table tennis and I'd develop a similar style.  So, whatever the table tennis equivalent to an "aggressive baseliner" is 🤷🏽‍♂️.
I asked about a light, lower powered, yet spinny, sponge to both help decrease the weight of the Mazunov and to add more control as I'm sure it'll help me develop better technique than starting out with a hand cannon.  That being said, I know next to nothing about table tennis equipment, so I could be way off base here!
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote bozbrisvegas Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 11/18/2021 at 5:11am
If you are in the beginner type of category, you don't want much else than not too spinny and not too fast and not to the opposite.  Generally the european topsheets are lighter and the sponges are lighter too.  Not Japanese and not Chinese generally.  

Hence.  off the top of my head andro or donic should be fine... (sure there are other companies)  

go to either of those companies websites, see if you can filter my hardness.  Because that generally will be how heavy the rubber is... and then filter by price... because a higher price makes no difference to a beginner getting the ball on the table.

I am returning to sport after 10 year lay off and have gone to DHS hurricane 3-50 because they are roughly $30 AU a sheet, spinnier than most rubbers I have played with and very light!  But I would not recommend them for a beginner because of the high spin potential (which means you have to read spin just as well as inpart it).


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fh: Hurricane 38 degrees MAX
bh: tensor MAX
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote JRW911 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 11/18/2021 at 8:49am
Ah, very interesting.  Thanks for the advice!  So, of I'm understanding you correctly, the harder the rubber the heavier it is?  Also, I'm not trying to spend a lot of money on new rubber as I'm both a beginner and not exactly sure if I'm going to stick with it this time either.  I did see Amazon has the Hurricane 3 for about $22 USD.  That's around the max I'm willing to go at this point, but it sucks that it's not recommended for someone at my level.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote jpenmaster Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 11/18/2021 at 1:17pm
I would suggest spending a little more and purchase something like Andro Hexer grip or Xiom Vega Pro in 2.0mm thickness. 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote JRW911 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 11/18/2021 at 3:51pm
Thanks for the suggestions,  jpenmaster, but I really am trying to stay under $50 USD total.  Unless that really isn't realistic then I'll have to reevaluate the costs, but are there no sub $25 rubbers out there suitable for beginners trying to tame the power of an OFF/OFF+ blade that probably shouldn't have been purchased in the first place? 😆
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Zwill Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 11/18/2021 at 4:21pm
I think the Mazunov blade is excellent! Fast but really suitable for all skill levels. For lighter cheaper rubbers I would chose something along the lines of DHS Gold Arc 5.

Alternatively instead of Hurricane 3 you might want to consider Hurricane 3-50 or Hurricane 8-80, they are not so slow and dead as Hurricane 3. They are also easier to use.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Kolev Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 11/18/2021 at 7:01pm
My Mazunov is around 104g and almost all the rubbers I've glued on it felt good, especially the ones with thinner sponge. Very fast blade with excellent balance, a keeper for me. The only blade in my collection  with such a weight
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote JRW911 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 11/19/2021 at 7:30am
If my Mazunov was on the "lighter" side (high 90s to low 100s) then I wouldn't be as concerned with the overall weight, but since mine is 110-111 grams it's making me lean more toward a lighter rubber. 

Also, thanks to everyone that's responded so far!  You guys are a lot of help. 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote JRW911 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 11/19/2021 at 7:32am
Kolev, since you personally own a Mazunov, what lighter rubbers do you recommend that won't break the bank?  Preferably under $25 per side if possible. 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote jpenmaster Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 11/19/2021 at 8:45am
Another  option since your Mazunov is an older black tag you can probably sell it for  more than a new one depending on condition  . Take that money and your $50 for rubbers and get something more suited to your requirements.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote JRW911 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 11/19/2021 at 11:07am
jpenmaster, that has also crossed my mind.  I think my Mazunov actually predates the black tag one as mine never had one nor does it have a serial number.  I know it's not counterfeit though as I purchased it directly from Paddle Palace.  Does anyone know what the going rate is for one of this age?  It's in perfect condition. 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote t64t64t64 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 11/19/2021 at 12:55pm
mazunov is good blade, i also own black tag 92 grams mazunov.
I have played with donic acuda s1 and the combination was perfect. 
http://mytabletennis.net/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=61764&PID=734709򳗵
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote jpenmaster Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 11/19/2021 at 1:14pm
Its  hard for me to declare a value on it but I see a few listed on eBay for around  $250 . That doesn’t mean they actually sell for that price but it’s what they are listed for .  If I had to guess you could get at least $150 since that’s 2x the value of a new one 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote bozbrisvegas Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 11/19/2021 at 2:23pm
Since you seem to buy from paddle palace, I filtered by price and this page has the cheapest choices https://www.paddlepalace.com/Rubber/products/1/

Donic F3 is very light or you could use older styled rubbers like sriver fx which are still good for control for beginners.

You might be able to look them up at other places and possibly cheaper.


Grubba Variant ALL
fh: Hurricane 38 degrees MAX
bh: tensor MAX
Watch me playing TT
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote JRW911 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 11/19/2021 at 6:10pm
Not really stuck on Paddle Palace or any other site.  I've been checking out some places and it looks like megaspin.net has some good prices 👍🏽
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote qpskfec Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 11/19/2021 at 7:34pm
colestt.com

email Cole and tell him what you want and he will recommend inexpensive rubber that suits your needs, probably a good control rubber with less than max sponge to cut down on weight
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