OOAK Table Tennis Forum

Original title: Butterfly Laphuta

Original post: Has anyone tried this blade? It's a 5-ply two sided Jpen (for twiddling). Iruiru, Table Tennis World, and Dandoy-Sports all carry it but have nothing more on it than the desciption printed on the blade. I want to try it, but I'd like to find out what kind of wood is used, how high/low its throw is, etc. beforehand.

Edit: I just remembered, I also wanted to ask about the Darker J-speed 90 reverse. Has anyone tried it?

Edit #2: I changed the title to more accurately reflect what I'm asking about here. I'm becoming interested in learning to twiddle (mostly in between points since my game is too fast to do it during a rally). I need to find a good blade that will be pretty light. I've decided that I'm probably not going to get the Laphuta, simply because there are many better blades in the price bracket just above it. The two sided Speed 90 looks nice, but I'm worried that it might weigh too much. Violin is a bit too expensive for me, unless you guys think that it would a drastic improvement over anything else I can get.
I'm not too worried about the blade being fast, since I figure just about any Jpen is going to be, at the minimum, decently speedy. Like I said before, I'm mostly concerned about the weight. I'm also looking a some possible rubber setups. I'm definitely going with short pips on one side, probably either Globe 889, Uranus, or something similar with a soft sponge between 1.5 and 2.0mm. For the other side, I was considering 729 Xi Enting on Japanese sponge (2.0). Would this be too heavy? I want something med-fast and pretty spinny.

_________________
Jpen: Galaxy 982 juniper 8mm- Darker Provine Tension-50 2.2 or Tibhar Torpedo Soft 2.2
Shake OFF: Galaxy T8 ST- FH: Darker PT-50 2.2, BH: Juic Varites 1.5
Shake DEF: modified Joo- FH: Reactor Corbor 2.2, BH: Globe 979 1.5

We're getting some Galaxy 989 blades in, which are also 2-sided J-pen blades. This blade should be lighter than the 982 (84g vs 96g for the 982), but also slower of course.

I had never heard of these 2-sided j-pen blades till a few months ago, and we actually have a friend that has been using it for a long time

_________________
OOAK Table Tennis Shop | Re-Impact Blades | Butterfly Table Tennis bats
Setup1: Re-Impact Smart, Viper OX, Victas VS 401 Setup2: Re-Impact Barath, Dtecs OX, TSP Triple Spin Chop 1.0mm Setup3: Re-Impact Dark Knight, Hellfire OX, 999 Turbo
Recent Articles: Butterfly Tenergy Alternatives | Tenergy Rubbers Compared | Re-Impact User Guide

I'm interested in trying the Speed 90 Reverse if it's not too heavy, since I've heard so many good things about normal Speed 90s. Anyone know about it?

That sounds interesting, Alex. Any pics and/or approximate prices?

Edit: I just noticed in your sig that you're using Goldway 968. This was one of the rubbers that I was considering due to its very low weight. How's the speed/spin/control/tackiness/sponge? Is it good for blocking? Pushing?

_________________
Jpen: Galaxy 982 juniper 8mm- Darker Provine Tension-50 2.2 or Tibhar Torpedo Soft 2.2
Shake OFF: Galaxy T8 ST- FH: Darker PT-50 2.2, BH: Juic Varites 1.5
Shake DEF: modified Joo- FH: Reactor Corbor 2.2, BH: Globe 979 1.5

Hobbes,
If you want good blade that is light and reversible J-pen, then I think the best is Violin. It is a very nice blade and very light too, mine is only 72 grams.
If you are talking about Speed 90 in 9 mm, for me it is a bit slow.
After using my Kokutaku (10 mm thick) which is very fast, I am beginning to doubt the speed of 9 mm single ply hinoki.

_________________
Expert II crwi C-Pen
Red Acuda P1

I don't know how thick the Speed 90 Reverse is (it doesn't say Iruiru). I was hoping someone could tell me. Violin... I don't know; I think I'd be better off with a thinner hinoki than this, frankly. They're not slow, but they can't give the same power as a single ply hinoki or something similar for my strokes. There's just too much vibration with a thin blade like that.

Edit: It appears that another option for me is the Kokutaku Laser Carbon Precious Rotary (quite a name ). However, I don't think I'll end up getting it since my previous experiences with carbon have been quite awful. I prefer the feel of single ply blades.

_________________
Jpen: Galaxy 982 juniper 8mm- Darker Provine Tension-50 2.2 or Tibhar Torpedo Soft 2.2
Shake OFF: Galaxy T8 ST- FH: Darker PT-50 2.2, BH: Juic Varites 1.5
Shake DEF: modified Joo- FH: Reactor Corbor 2.2, BH: Globe 979 1.5

If you want to know any information on the blade, it is very easy. Send an e-mail to M/s Suzuki and she will send you a reply within a few days.
For me, the minimum thickness of single ply hinoki is 9 mm. Below that I see some risk. Have you heard that there have been two cases already where the blade (8,5 mm thick) developed a crack by itself ?

_________________
Expert II crwi C-Pen
Red Acuda P1

Retail for the blade is about half of the 982...that should give you some idea... it's a 5 ply though...

The 968 is quite fast for a chinese rubber, non-tacky, sponge about 38deg... it's not a bad looping rubber.

_________________
OOAK Table Tennis Shop | Re-Impact Blades | Butterfly Table Tennis bats
Setup1: Re-Impact Smart, Viper OX, Victas VS 401 Setup2: Re-Impact Barath, Dtecs OX, TSP Triple Spin Chop 1.0mm Setup3: Re-Impact Dark Knight, Hellfire OX, 999 Turbo
Recent Articles: Butterfly Tenergy Alternatives | Tenergy Rubbers Compared | Re-Impact User Guide

Sent an email off right before I read your post. I have not heard about blades cracking like that, but I'm not very surprised, with how fragile hinoki can be.

Okay, I'm looking around at light tacky rubbers. So far, the best looking one is LKT Torrent. Alex, do you know the weight of a sheet of 729 Xi Enting (the Japanese sponge one)? It looks like a very well rounded rubber, but I have a feeling that it's not very light. Any other ideas for medium-fast, very light, tacky rubbers?

_________________
Jpen: Galaxy 982 juniper 8mm- Darker Provine Tension-50 2.2 or Tibhar Torpedo Soft 2.2
Shake OFF: Galaxy T8 ST- FH: Darker PT-50 2.2, BH: Juic Varites 1.5
Shake DEF: modified Joo- FH: Reactor Corbor 2.2, BH: Globe 979 1.5

I haven't tried a 2 sided penhold twiddling blade, but I would think thinner would be easier to twiddle than thicker. I've heard the Violin isn't very fast.

-- Andrew

I believe that the Nittaku 2 sided jpens are thinner than their single sided counterparts?

_________________
Chasse Patate

Yeah, the two sided Violin is something way too thin, around 6mm I believe.

_________________
Jpen: Galaxy 982 juniper 8mm- Darker Provine Tension-50 2.2 or Tibhar Torpedo Soft 2.2
Shake OFF: Galaxy T8 ST- FH: Darker PT-50 2.2, BH: Juic Varites 1.5
Shake DEF: modified Joo- FH: Reactor Corbor 2.2, BH: Globe 979 1.5

I think you're right, it's not that light.

What about geospin tacky? They are fairly light... just not sure if they're fast enough for you?

_________________
OOAK Table Tennis Shop | Re-Impact Blades | Butterfly Table Tennis bats
Setup1: Re-Impact Smart, Viper OX, Victas VS 401 Setup2: Re-Impact Barath, Dtecs OX, TSP Triple Spin Chop 1.0mm Setup3: Re-Impact Dark Knight, Hellfire OX, 999 Turbo
Recent Articles: Butterfly Tenergy Alternatives | Tenergy Rubbers Compared | Re-Impact User Guide

I think Torrent or something similar (if there is anything similar) would do the job better. Andrew or any other short pip user, do you know how the weights of Galaxy Uranus and Globe 889 compare (with 2.0 sponge for the former and 1.8 for the latter)?

_________________
Jpen: Galaxy 982 juniper 8mm- Darker Provine Tension-50 2.2 or Tibhar Torpedo Soft 2.2
Shake OFF: Galaxy T8 ST- FH: Darker PT-50 2.2, BH: Juic Varites 1.5
Shake DEF: modified Joo- FH: Reactor Corbor 2.2, BH: Globe 979 1.5

Well you did say tacky... and I'm not sure if the Torrent is tacky at all... is it?

_________________
OOAK Table Tennis Shop | Re-Impact Blades | Butterfly Table Tennis bats
Setup1: Re-Impact Smart, Viper OX, Victas VS 401 Setup2: Re-Impact Barath, Dtecs OX, TSP Triple Spin Chop 1.0mm Setup3: Re-Impact Dark Knight, Hellfire OX, 999 Turbo
Recent Articles: Butterfly Tenergy Alternatives | Tenergy Rubbers Compared | Re-Impact User Guide

Well I still haven't received an email back from Ms. Suzuki, but based on information that I found on a Chinese website I think that the blade is an 8.5mm ply (and pretty light). I really am not worried, though since I have my main blade is only an 8mm and juniper is pretty fragile, so I've learned to be very careful with it. I also think that having rubbers on both sides gives it a bit more stability. I'm pretty much decided on the LKT Torrent for the inverted side unless anyone can think of any better option. I'm torn on whether I should go with Uranus or Globe 889 for the short pips side. Which would you say is more powerful for a pretty pure quick attack game?

Edit: Uh, from what I can recall, it's at least half tacky like Higher. I'm mostly looking for tacky rubbers since I'll be serving primarily with the inverted side, but Torrent seems to be the only reasonably light rubber with any tackiness besides Higher, which is still a bit heavier.

_________________
Jpen: Galaxy 982 juniper 8mm- Darker Provine Tension-50 2.2 or Tibhar Torpedo Soft 2.2
Shake OFF: Galaxy T8 ST- FH: Darker PT-50 2.2, BH: Juic Varites 1.5
Shake DEF: modified Joo- FH: Reactor Corbor 2.2, BH: Globe 979 1.5