Viscaria versus Zhang Jike blade

This was discussed a few months back, but I thought it was worth a new thread.

Both blades were equipped with T05 on both sides.  This particular Viscaria weighed 90 g, and the ZJK weighed 85 g.  I bought the ZJK because I liked the shape of the handle better, it is fatter and rounder and I definitely prefer it.  Upon visual inspection, I think the fit and finish of the Viscaria is better, mainly with little things, such as how flush the wood is to the plastic things in the handle.  The wings of the Viscaria come a little lower, and that affects the way you feel things when you play. 

In play, this particular ZJK felt surprisingly different from this or any other Viscaria I have used (a bunch in my day), probably because of its weight -- the ZJK is distinctly crisper, easier to manipulate close to the table, not as good a feel when you are spinning from away from the table.  The ZJK is stiffer I think.  I could feel a flex in the Viscaria that I hadn't really paid attention to before.  I noticed it because it was missing when I picked up the ZJK and hit the same shots.  All in all the ZJK was bouncier and definitely faster, especially given that it was lighter.  SO much so that I could notice it even as I bounced a ball on the blade.  Perhaps as a result, the ZJK also felt quite uncontrollable to me, especially with short game.  Neither blade has much in the way of higher frequency vibrations, which is what I expect for an ALC blade.  But the Viscaria seems to "gobble the ball up" more than the ZJK.  Put another way, whatever it is that we think we are feeling when we say a blade has more dwell time, the Viscaria has more of that.  The ZJK was much more like the Stradivarius I had purchased not too long ago. 

I am not sure what all is behind my preference, but to be honest, I really didn't like the ZJK very much and was very surprised at how different it felt compared to my expectation.  I was expecting basically a Viscaria with a fatter handle, but the ZJK is actually not that.  I can see why ZJK himself still plays with a Viscaria instead of the blade named after him.  I am going to sell my ZJK blade (and also my Stradivarius) for a good price if anyone is interested.

My suspicion is that this ZJK blade is built in a different factory than the Viscaria, and the woods and glues are not treated the same way.  That is the only way I can explain why the blades look so similar and play somewhat differently.  Now, don't get me wrong, they are in the same general class of blades, and I could certainly get used to the ZJK, but not in an hour or two.  It would take longer, probably several days or more.  Give me almost any TBS instead of my Viscaria and I will completely accommodate it in about an hour.   


Edited by Baal - 06/01/2012 at 6:23pm

My two current Viscarias are only a couple of years old, but age of the wood and glue could still be a factor.

Somewhere else I read that some of these new Bttfly blades are actually built for them by Sunflex.  I wonder if that is part of the reason they look similar and feel different?

Maybe not ! http://sunflex_sport.com

my take is that the new ZJK blade is 65% Viscaria and 35%Iolite...

Handle size/shape can alter how a blade "feels".

A smaller handle is not necessarily a detriment as sometimes assumed to be the case. Human hands often grip thinner things better.

Yan An played ZJK and finally settled for Viscaria. That should say something?

Baal wrote: For a long time I loved the Viscaria -- 8+ years now -- but I thought the handle was a little too small.  So I tried to find ways around it, other similar blades with different handles (ZJK was one) but never liked them as much.  Now I think I have finally realized that I like the handle too.

Tourna-grip was my answer, very clean solution.