This is based on memory so people can correct any mistakes I make.  Carbon and fiberglass were earliest (late 80s or early 90s?).  At the time we used speed glue and 38 mm balls and most top players then used all wood -- and would also tell you that these composites were unnecessary and somewhat uncontrollable, especially if you consider that blades like the Sardius were the most famous early examples of a carbon blade.  That advice was probably correct for those conditions (and even with 40+ balls, a Sardius is pretty tough to use).  It is amazing how many players at that time used Clippers or blades very much like it.  Early carbon blades felt a bit like playing with a piece of glass.  Stiff, hard, but big sweet spot.  Really hard to use in short game, especially with a 38 ball. Fiberglass was always a bit strange, at least I never much liked it.  Then came polyaramide composites, espcially Vectran, which Btfly calls Arylate, and Kevlar.  The main property of those is to absorb high frequency vibrations and also add a little extra sweet spot.  They behave rather similarly in blades.  By themselves they are not very fast.  Early examples included the Butterfly Keyshot and the Butterfly Moonbeam.  (The Moonbeam was a quite fast blade because the central wood core was very thick).  Stiga and other companies marketed similar stuff but I can't remember what they were called. 

Butterfly had a big advance when they introduced blades with an arylate-carbon weave (ALC).  Those blades were not glassy like pure carbon, but still have nice sweet spot.  They may be the most popular blades in the world among top players even now.  They include the Viscaria, TBS, TB-ALC, Maze, Iolite, and a host of other versions of basically the same thing that Butterfly introduces with different names from time to time.  Somehow I think those blades emerged around 1998 or thereabouts.  Someone else will know for sure.  They put this composite into all sorts of wood combinations, make some differences in handle shape, and of course put different players' names on the blades depending on who they are working with.  A good bet is next year they will introduce a new example of the same thing with someone else's name on it.  Stiga followed suit with something they called the Carbo-Kev, probably around the same time Btfly came out with ALC, or maybe a little later.  Around 2007 or so Btfly introduced their Zylon blades (If I recall correctly, Photino may have been the first one); and shortly after they introduced various ZLC and then super ZLC.  ZLC and sZLC differ in the density of the zylon in the weave.  Bear in mind that all of these composite materials are woven from threads, like cloth, so you can have many variations in the weave pattern.  Zylon makes blades a little harder and faster than Arylate.  Still, people who like one can transition pretty easily to the other.

In that regard, Stiga has experimented with different variations of carbon weaves that they say improve on earlier versions.  Textreme is an example.  Butterfly got into that game earlier with their unidirectional carbon weaves, to which they gave a fancy name that I have forgotten.  (Edit added.  They call it Tamca).  One example was a blade they introduced for Kreanga but which was had a coating on the surface that made it illegal by ITTF rules (then and now, it completely obscured the wood grain) and they had to discontinue it almost immediately.  That was an amazing screw up.  Those blades are worth a lot to collectors now.

All of these composite materials are synthesized and then pulled intro threads by one set of companies; the threads are then purchased and then woven into various sorts of sheets by other companies; and sheets of composite weaves are purchased by blade factories to make blades (along with woods, glues, etc.).

I honestly don't know who were the earliest top pros to adopt composite blades.  I would be just guessing if I mentioned Primorac and possibly Gatien.  Timo Boll was the first player I know to really promote what was at the time the new Butterfly ALC products, early on with a Viscaria and then with blades that have his own name.

Small anecdote:

A few years ago, I met one home builder/player who experimented with composite blades from the early seventies. This was a surprise to me as I think of carbon as something that came into its own in the eighties. He was a chemical engineer in the industry. He told me that one of his British League teammate (well known English international WRC top 50) really loved it and used  it for a while in the 1970-80's. But when asked to build more, he could not be bothered as his working life took priority.

He showed me his blade/bat which was built in those days. I remember it feeling quite heavy.

i think Nittaku also had a couple Carbon blades

if i dig around, i can find a catalog.......

i think initially, the Iolite was more desirable/collectible than the Viscaria

:)

A  guy was selling  a viscaria barely used  at very cheap price because nobody wanted until ZJK  came  ,thats the power of marketing

CHEERS! 

Here's a link of a clear closeup of that custom blade-  

I think the first Composite blade that has been sold commercially was the Original Tamca 5000 model which has been released in the late 1970ies. Later Allure, Gergely, Klampar, Oberon and Scorna have been released which all had no font on the blades head like the Original Tamca 5000. 

That is correct.

I was wondering about that.  Does anyone know what Gatien used when he won his WTTC?

the one thing about that is it doesn't really play asmmetrically since the blade will still vibrate as a single unit.

jonyer1980 wrote: When I began playing TT no one liked Viscaria/Moonbeam but also Primorac Carbon. At that time, Zoran was WR2 and he was playing with his one signature blade at that time. Netheless to say, Viscaria wasn't popular at all, no one wanted not even collected it.

This is true.  Indeed at that time the Iolite was a lot more popular than Viscaria.  Nevertheless, the Viscaria was then and continues to be a great blade.  If not for ZJK they would have discontinued it.  Of course it would have more or less lived on in the form of the TBS and TB-ALC blades. 

      Negative.  He used this —   https://youtu.be/J3n90Noe5TQ?si=aFJjkBy3l5-06LvS&t=52" rel="nofollow - http://youtu.be/J3n90Noe5TQ?si=aFJjkBy3l5-06LvS&t=52

ejmaster wrote: bluebucket wrote: Yasaka have never claimed the 93 wttc, they would have if he wasn't using the Stiga   sorry you are right. i was wrong. i was thinking about another video i have gatien playing with an extra.   the 93 wttc he wins with the AE (in fact i have that blade AE grey light handle and red lens) and then played with the extra.