Palatinus OSP Expert ALL+ Review

Gustau wrote: Apologies for the typo in the previous post... I meant recommend. The question still stands, though; this is my first customized blade and I have no experience of blade sealing, whether it is necessary, what are the pros and cons, should I use polyurethane varnish or a TT specialized product (or hairspray!), etc.

this is what I like to use lightly....

http://www.homedepot.com/buy/minwax-1-qt-satin-fast-drying-polyurethane-63010.html#.UOR0gXfheKs

So, very quick review. Expert all+ with head size M, anatomic handle. Sealed (only the blade, not the handle) with satin polyurethane varnish. Just played for a bit against my dad and sister (occasional players), so no serious test yet, but my impressions are:

Do you mean an oil based sealant (like linseed oil or wooden counter top varnish) or are there oil based polyurethane varnishes?

HowToPlayChineseLoop wrote: I have the same feel with theolo. Expert is good for looping, the loop is not fast but safe. Good for hard rubber, block is good, but you must push a little force, if not, the ball will go to the net because of the flex, the blade absorb power and the ball falls to the net. Expert is not good for old man, is good for young man. Old man is normally lazy, and prefer V+. Young man is stronger, hit harder, expert transfers power to spin. :)

  

zzz wrote: Ball throw is imho relatively high. I appreciate it a little higher than the Virtuoso, Blocks, counterattacks and shots worked for such a bouncy blade very well. But it was not as precise as the stiffer Virtuoso. Topspin is the top discipline of the Expert. The balls has more spin and a higher trajectory than with the Virtuoso. Swinging harder the catapult effect is noticeable. Expert is clearly faster than a classic All + (my reference: Stiga AE). The speed is almost identical imho with the Virtuoso. Conclusion: Loopers who wants a springy offensive blade with great feeling and sharp contact touch will like the Expert.

How does Expert compare to Stiga OC?

VladiTT wrote: I was using much faster blade ,now i switch to Expert wanna learn some shots and give 3-4 months credibility to this blade do you think goin from off to ALL+ is a good idea?

My Tenergys are now flyin to Canada,
I put a rubbers which smells like a Mark V,have almost same sponge like Mark V,and plays like Mark V(with increased spin and speed)
but somehow their name is Nianmor

Hi, Theolo, i seem to remember reading that you dehydrated your table tennis bat... how do you do it? Do you just put them in the sun (which might be bad on account of UV damage), or do you have any other method?

I guess you could say I always "dehydrate" them... no water for my blades!

Some have wondered how the OSP Expert compares to Stiga Offensive Classic (OC). Valid question as they are both thin looping blades.

Blue Bucket has answered: "Similar, the OC is softer and the Expert has a stronger kick. The Expert is more powerful and better overall but they are in the same category."

I used Stiga OC with TG3 Neo, 40-degree sponge to achieve 75% win ratio in one league and 85% in another league last year. I play penhold and loop close to table, mid and far.  I also have an OSP penhold with TG3, 40-degree sponge. Why don't I use the OSP in league play?

Because I have noticed time and time again how when looping against heavy, fast topspin at mid to far distance, I am able to hit more powerful loops with the Stiga OC. With the Expert, the flex is there, but the tensile strength is less than the OC, thus the loop has less power, less kick. Against the same opponent (who has very powerful topspin shots), with the Expert I find myself going for medium-strength control loops. There is a limit to the power I can loop because the recovery strength of the flex inherent in the blade isn't strong enough to reward a more powerful stroke. This is Allround play, folks: control loops. And the Expert can do these consistently and accurately. This can be satisfying in itself.

However, as soon as I have the OC in my hands I can reloop vs the same heavy topspin with more power. I can get tremendous kicking loops that the opponent simply cannot return as well if at all. With the OC I can win looping rallies by making more powerful loops than the opponent can handle. This is Offensive play. Cannot be done in the same way with the Expert. With the Stiga OC I feel (and often demonstrate) that no matter how powerful the incoming topspin shot, I can not only handle it (I am not restricted to control loops), I can reloop it with even greater power.

I have come to have a great deal of respect for the capabilities of the OC. Thin and flexible, yes. But the recovery from the flex is very powerful and I can really launch into re-looping rallies. (By the way, TG3 is the only rubber I have found that I feel so confident in looping vs heavy, powerful looping.)

I have tried other rubbers with the Expert and have had the same result. Good for controlled looping, not so good when re-looping vs powerful topspin.

I have examined the Expert and OC side by side. The ayous core of the OC is thicker than the Expert. The top ply of the OC is thinner than it's second ply whereas the top and second plies of the Expert are of identical thickness. The second plies of both blades are of same/similar thickness. The Stiga OC is slightly thicker overall than the OSP Expert.

I would love it if OSP Palatinus would make a blade following the construction (limba or koto or nut top layer, spruce second layer, ayous core) of so many wonderful looping blades in the OFF- category, such as all the Stiga hardwood series, YEO, DHS Hurricane Hao etc etc.  I feel their black limba would work well with spruce underneath. And they simple have to get past their habit of making the top two layers being of identical thickness. This is infinitely easier, of course, than making a top layer of thickness say half that of the second layer. Is it beyond their technical capabilities? If not, why not fine tune those plywoods more? To tell you the truth I think that it might be accurate to say that OSP Palatinus make a simpler, old-style blade very, very well, but have not achieved the degree of fine tuning that even the humble OC has achieved as far as plywood design. And their penhold handles are...well, basic. Straight handle. What's that about? A penhold handle need to be slightly tapered, both in length and in thickness from the end of the handle to where it meets the blade. Why? So it doesn't slip, given the relaxed almost non-grip of the penhold grip. The straight handle looks like it's just borrowed from the shakehand model. Come on!

If OSP make a proper penhold looping blade with a finely tuned plywood consisting of black limba, spruce, ayous, spruce, black limba (or selected koto for top ply), with a real penhold handle, I will be first in line to buy it. Anyone else? A show of hands please!

Wow, Laszlo. Thanks for all the information! Especially the news that you do indeed make a Koto, Spruce blade!!!

Don't get me wrong, I like the penhold expert. And I trimmed the head size from the excessive (my mistake) 163mm to match the Offensive Classic. 150 x 161. Which is identical to the specs given for the shakehand Expert. The flex, or recovery from flex is less powerful in the Expert, I feel, in comparison to the OC, because of the thickness of the centre core, which in the OC is thicker, and the OC is slightly thicker overall. I agree that they are a different class of blade. The Expert is Allround Plus and plays extremely well with this style. It just annoyed me to hear people say oh, well it's more powerful than the OC when, in my experience, it is clearly not. In its proper allround class the Expert is wonderful. And I love playing with it. I agree with you certainly that the Expert falls short of the demands of penhold play. My mistake certainly for demanding one!!!

Finewood: the top ply of stiga OC is thin, but finewood? Recycled oddments?? I don't think so. I have had many OCs and Allround Classics and have had the experience of the top layer chipping and have for "fun" peeled back the top layer and repaired it. It is thin veneer, not some kind of glued oddments sliced thin. I mean you can see the grain. Surely you agree.

Finally, Laszlo, I notice that the V'King is not offered in penhold style!!! I would have thought it would be a perfect plywood with which to make a penhold blade! Do you agree?

Again, thanks for your informative comments. And I look forward someday, when I can afford it, of ordering another blade which is suitable for aggressive penhold looping play from OSP Palatinus!

after reading so many great reviews about this blade, I could not resist and finally ordered my expert all+.

this thing is so beautiful... can't compare it yo any of my blades. almost felt guilty gluing rubbers on that nice wood surface.
my blade weighs 85.8grams. I have many wood blades but currently I play with andro tempertech all+ which i like but it's also almost too light. 70 grams. i also have several old blades like the butterfly surbek euopean champion which is incredible blade but sadly very small grip.

I only had 1 test session with the osp. I glued a new tenergy 05fx as forehand rubber and a nittaku hammond pro beta backhand rubber.

it could be because the rubbers were new but it felt really superfast. the thing what really disappointed me more is that comparing with any of my blades, the ball trajectory was very low. I didn't really put the balls in the net but felt I had no margin for error. Balls tended to go too long in topspin rallies. almost feels like the dwell time is low. this is strange to me as the expert would be incredible controlled and have lots of dwell. could the reason be the 05fx? i am thinking of gluing a harder rubber onto it like h3neo.

second thing i noticed is the spin sensitivity. While with the andro, I can block hyperfast topspins very easy (not my strongest point) with the same nittaku rubber, the osp really needed my full concentration.

any tips for me guys?

JoeB wrote: You need to give the blade some time to break in a bit and you have to find the right rubber combination for you. I helped a friend at my club get one and he loves it and plays much better with this blade. I helped him pick rubbers that fit his game and he is very happy with it.   It is a great blade...work with it and you will be rewarded.  Joe

hi

its not that it needs a very hard rubber for instance?