OOAK Table Tennis Forum

Ok, I have not had a hit with the blade yet, but I thought I would start off by posting some initial impressions about the blade.

Look and feel:
The blade looks gorgeous, put simply, the wood is so perfectly sanded and finished, the plies run in such perfect symmetry. I looked at it very closely from all sides to try and find a flaw in the workmanship but I could not. And it is very lightly sanded near the handle on both sides, I sand my blades a little bit more but to be honest I don't want to sand the BBC, I feel like I would be ruining perfection. The wood has perfect grains well, a very nice smell too.

Weight:
It says the weight of the blade is 92 grams but it didn't feel that heavy and I would have assumed it was a lighter blade had i not already known the weight. Like most Cpen blades it does seem a tiny bit head heavy but that is something to be expected.

Blade thickness:
I have not measured the blade but its the thinnest blade that I have used so far. Up until now the thinnest was the Galaxy M6 and this is a little bit thinner than that. Not a bad thing at all, in my opinion thinner blades, unless they have excessive vibration are fine by all means. And I actually prefer them

Handle:
The handle of the blade is a little bit different to most Cpen handles that I am familiar with. For one, it is the thinnest handle that I have ever played with, even thinner than the M6 but only marginally so. And since the M6 handle is my favourite, this one seems almost tailor-made. Now the real difference in the handle is not just the thinness but in the way it tapers off towards the blade. Most Cpen handles taper off, and then stop tapering and there is a 1 or 2mm rise or ridge right at the end where the handle finishes. The BBC handle tapaers until it is flush with the blade surface. I am not sure if I am making myself clear i might have to post pictures to explain it better. But again, I have had to sand that portion on all my blades because it always felt like an irritant.

Head size:

The head size is fairly standard, but maybe a fraction larger than the average head size. This might account for the head-heaviness, but like I said it is not a noteworthy thing.

Blade bounce:

The blade is fast! Without rubbers the balls bounced off it with some force and quite a distance. And what is more it has two speeds, or so it seems. When I just bounced the balls passively, they didn't go all that high, and when I used even a little bit of force, they would shoot off. This suggests to me that it will have a lot of speed when you hit or loop aggressively and will allow you to play the short pushing game as well, if you are able to exercise a softer touch.

Rubbers i intend to try with the blade:

Butterfly Sriver in 2mm
IQUL in 2.2mm
729 755 in 1 mm (or so it seems to me, could be a bit thicker sponge)
Xiom Zeta Asian max
Coppa Gold max
(maybe) Yasaka Original short pips

My main focus will be on the inverted rubbers since that is my usual game style.

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1-ply Hinoki Club
Violin/Acoustic Clan
Recreational/Club Player
Local Press Club (Journalists) Champion

The speed of a Rhino and the power of a Gazelle!!!!
http://xtrariter.blogspot.com

Hi, Ranger-man. When I read this, it made me curious as to what the blade is made of, and I was about to ask that question when I saw that it had already been answered by nathanso in the main BladesbyCharlie thread, so I'm reposting his response here in case other people are curious, and now they can find all the info in one place.

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I. Re-Impact Tachi Plus 2019; FH: Nittaku FastArc G-1 1.4mm; BH: Saviga 77 Monster OX
II. Re-Impact Turbo; FH: Spinlord Sandwind 1.5mm; BH: DMS Kamikaze OX
III. Re-Impact Smart; FH: TSP Spinpips RED 2.1mm; BH: Dr. Neubauer Gangster OX
IV. Sauer & Troger Firestarter; FH: Spinlord Waran 1.8mm; BH: Giant Dragon Snowflake OX

I'd start with your softer rubbers first as the Double Diamond is a very hard blade. It works great with my 42.5* PME.

Yes, I believe I will start with softer rubbers. My first will probably be the 40 degree IQUL. But I do see that the blade does have some flex as well, like my Yoshida Kaii, which is a reasonably hard blade but has some flex and I found it loops great and has a great short game and spinny serves. It's only the wooden planks that I find I have trouble playing with, or maybe I should say, I can play with them, but I feel no pleasure.

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1-ply Hinoki Club
Violin/Acoustic Clan
Recreational/Club Player
Local Press Club (Journalists) Champion

The speed of a Rhino and the power of a Gazelle!!!!
http://xtrariter.blogspot.com

Blades with a lot of flex tend to have this property, Tends to be really good for looping, as you get more power as you swing faster.

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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 had a hit with it today, but I want to go through a few more sessions tomorrow before I start to pen down my thoughts. I also kept in mind that the blade was going to be faster than my current setups and even though I expected it to be faster, I was still caught off guard by teh raw power the Double Diamond has.

I played a few rounds with my Nittaku Wolfeed-R JPen which has a Narucross rubber on it just to see how the two compared in speed since the Wolfeed in my opinion is also a beast and packs a real punch.

The Double Diamond was by no means slower than the Wolfeed, maybe even a bit faster. I do believe the Double Diamond has a lot more gears than the Wolfeed however.


Will write a comprehensive review after I have had another session with it.

_________________
1-ply Hinoki Club
Violin/Acoustic Clan
Recreational/Club Player
Local Press Club (Journalists) Champion

The speed of a Rhino and the power of a Gazelle!!!!
http://xtrariter.blogspot.com

Ok, time now to pen some more impressions about the blade. IQUL max in 40 degree sponge. I also tried the 42 degree but I find the softer version works better so I played more with that.

First off, I found the blade to be a bit too top heavy for me with rubbers on both sides. So I simply stripped off the rubber on one end and then I found it was a perfect fit. I was able to use my wrist much more effectively and found that my control also grew after this.

I want to talk about the handle first. I love the handle. It is smooth, yet not slippery, it is so comfortable and no uncomfortable angles or edges biting into my finger. Some people with bigger hands might find it too small, but I am assuming Charlie made it like this because I had specified that I preferred handles on the thinner side.

The same goes for the blade construction. It is thin and I like thin blades and Charlie told me that he made the center ply much thinner than usual to accomodate me. I can't begin to imagine the power this blade would have packed with the usual thickness in the center ply, but more on that later.

The head size is very slightly larger than most of my other blades and I am just thinking that if the head were very slightly smaller than most of my other blades the head heaviness would disappear completely. This would be handy for people that RPb and would need two rubbers. I also believe the very slight head-heaviness is also a contributing factor in the blade's offensive power. Just to reiterate, in case someone gets the wrong impression, the blade's head-heaviness is not a problem, just pointing it out as a matter of detail.

My first impressions is that this blade is rightly labelled OFF++. It is very very fast, especially from close to the table or just a little back from the table where I play most of my shots from. I actually had to step back when I wanted to go all out, lest the ball go long. I would say this blade can go up against carbon blades and not be embarrassed. It can also go up against single plies and still manage to come away with its self-respect intact.

Having said that, the blade has very good control, but and I cannot emphasize this enough, it is not a very forgiving blade. You have to have good blocking technique and the ability to get a consistent short game out of it. My forehand blocks were great, my backhand blocks were fine as well. No issues there. In fact the blade has enough power that some blocks made from a few feet away from the table and from an awkward position also made it over the net, while with most other blades they would have fallen short. The blade actually turned many of my punch blocks into lethal shots that I started to get points on.

The blade is thin, but very stiff, and no vibration at all, none. Yet I never felt that I had not enough ball feel. I think based on my previous experience with some blades, the thinness of the blade was the balancing feature against the stiffness. That is why I never felt like I had a dead plank of wood in my hands. I could brush loop and could feel when I had imparted heavy spin on the ball.

In serving, the more I played with the blade and got used to it, the better I got. And now, I can serve as viciously as I want with it. It has no weakness whatsoever when it comes to serves, something that is really surprising for such a stiff blade. It is is this fact and the control in the short game that makes me think that this blade has many gears, it is up to you to decide which gear you want to use.

It is very bouncy that is where one needs to be careful in blocks. Yet the bounciness is where it gets it's immense driving power from. Most of my shots hit from close to the table or 3 to 5 feet from the table were fast enough to go past my opponents. I play no more than 6 feet away from the table for the most part so any looping impressions I have will be from that distance. But I would say the blade did not let me down at all, and I had more than enough power from that distance even when I did not go all out.

The blade has a slightly flat loop, but it dips sharply at the end of the loop and then kicks off the table. Suffice to say, I enjoyed looping with it but it becomes even better as a counter-looping blade. I would say that is where it really excels as an offensive weapon. You may have to loop with a slightly closed blade angle if you have been playing with something with the round looping arc, or you will see your loops going long. I was able to make the adjustment quite easily on my forehand. My backhand is still giving me problems but I am getting better and I should have no problem making the adjustment. It will just take longer than my forehand did. I have always preferred a blade with a little bit more flex for this reason, my backhand loops.

The sweet-spot is large. I was able to get power from almost all parts of the blade and it was usually enough to just get blade to the ball to get it back over the net.

Conclusion:

The only thing I might want to change about this blade is to add just a little bit more flex to it. And to try and decrease the weight by about 10 grams. Other than that it is a great offensive weapon, with good control. You will lose no serving advantage with this blade. This is not a blade for half measures. The minute you play even a slightly loose shot, you will pay. if it is a block, you will go long, if it is a drive, you will overshoot, if it is a service return, the blade's flat throw will see you catch the net. It is a blade that will reward you with what you put in. A soft touch, and you have a great short game, unleash your power, and your opponent will be bringing up his blade to block a ball that has long gone past. The blade does make a very loud sound when hit, but you get used to it and I actually enjoyed it. It was like literally blowing my opponent away.

It is no beginners blade. But for the accomplished player who as an allround game based on aggressive attacks from up close and mid-distance it is a very good blade. Would I recommend this blade to someone who wanted the power of a carbon blade but the feel of a wood blade and no nasty carbon ping? Definitely.

_________________
1-ply Hinoki Club
Violin/Acoustic Clan
Recreational/Club Player
Local Press Club (Journalists) Champion

The speed of a Rhino and the power of a Gazelle!!!!
http://xtrariter.blogspot.com

Nice review, Ranger-man. OFF++, huh! I'm just imagining what that makes my thicker cored Double Diamond.. goofy fast?

For the heck of it, try some OX LP on your backhand. I was experimenting with my Double Diamond today and it seems to play very well with Palio CK531A OX as well as Prasidha Long A OX (and not so good with Donic Akkadi L1 0.6). The DD's surfaces are super-hard, and it's obviously very fast, as discussed. But what's interesting is that it still provides surprisingly good control with OX, perhaps by virtue of what I dubbed its catapult effect, and you called its bounciness, which seems to add extra dwell time before lunching the ball. I'm not a chopper by any means, but in drills on my robot this afternoon I was able to chop with the OX LP from 5ft off the table with an 80%+ success rate, and I was also able to intermix topspin OX LP attacks from the same distance with similar success. It's great sounding, too. With the feather-light OX it's now at 143g and still hitting like a pile driver.

The true test will be at the club tomorrow.. will report back.

p.s. Yikes! I've broken my first Long A OX pip on the DD! Maybe it is OFF+++?

Ok, an addition to my review, since I decided to play with my Yoshida Kaii again today just to see how the transition felt and mostly to test how this blade felt in my hands after having played with the BBC DD.

And I am making a kind of retraction here based on my earlier comment.

The hand is great, but I would recommend just one change. The ridge right where the woods on teh handle taper off into the blade that is missing in the BBC handle, and can be found on pretty much all shakehand or Cpen blades made by other brands has a reason. It gives something for my forefinger to wrap around and gives me some hold on the blade. Yes, I do have to sand the corners down since they pinch the inside of my finger but the ridge on my Yoshida Kaii gave me the much needed stability when I am making the transitions from forehand to front of the body to backhand when at times the blade is just being held between the palm of my hand and the forefinger. That ridge gives me the grip I need to not lose a hold of the blade.

Although it looks much better the way BBC is made.

I am going to have my next hit with the BBC with some grip tape put on to see if that helps and I also believe that will allow me to put another rubber on the blade since it will add some weight to the handle.

And I will have a hit with pips as well to see how that goes.

The final test will be with a Xiom Zeta. I am asking them to bullet proof the walls of the club first.

_________________
1-ply Hinoki Club
Violin/Acoustic Clan
Recreational/Club Player
Local Press Club (Journalists) Champion

The speed of a Rhino and the power of a Gazelle!!!!
http://xtrariter.blogspot.com

The more I play with the blade the better it seems to become. This is a point that just seems to gain and gain in weight.

No control issues now, on the forehand or on the backhand. And serves are becoming super spinny, and super fast when I want them to be. And yet I can easily do double bounce serves as well. I am still convinced it is an Off++ blade but it has an ALL+ gear when needed. And I now have absolutely no issue on my backhand loops either, it was just a matter of adjusting for the fact that the ball goes off the balde so much faster, like a carbon blade.

_________________
1-ply Hinoki Club
Violin/Acoustic Clan
Recreational/Club Player
Local Press Club (Journalists) Champion

The speed of a Rhino and the power of a Gazelle!!!!
http://xtrariter.blogspot.com

Ok another slight update

The blade is thin as I have already said, but amazingly has zero vibration which is a good thing. Yet it has vibration in the handle, which gives it good feel for the ball. I am not sure how Charlie managed this, to make an ultra thin seven ply blade that has no vibration and yet the handle gives you mild sensation when you hit the ball. I believe it has something to do with the glue and the way the plies are stuck together, to give such a thin blade such solidity.

I think the blade will be making it's way back to Charlie sometime this coming week to start it's journey to the next tester.

I am waiting for the arrival of a single ply blade from Kevin at Americanhinoki and am looking forward to giving that a test run now. I will also see how it compares in power and control to the Double Diamond. I am saying that because the DD has show it has both, extreme power, and very good touch over the table.

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1-ply Hinoki Club
Violin/Acoustic Clan
Recreational/Club Player
Local Press Club (Journalists) Champion

The speed of a Rhino and the power of a Gazelle!!!!
http://xtrariter.blogspot.com

Fantastic review and feedback Ranger-man!

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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

hi, Ranger-man, thanks for the review! i need to tell you how much i enjoyed your style and perception.
very well done!!!
charlie

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Charlie Smith, owner
http://www.bladesbycharlie.com
BBC 9-10-9, Palio Blitz, RITC 563 1.5

I know this is a really old thread, but I wanted to kind of revive it because I did two things to the blade to make it suit me more. I had said in my original review that I wished it had been just a bit lighter. And I had also said that I wished that it had that small ridge at the base of the handle which helps in gripping when the finger curls around it. So I did something to make this happen for me. The reason is that while I have a lot of blades, this is still one I have a LOT of fun playing with. I like it because it has the power of carbon blades but more feel and flex and sounds way better.

So stay tuned for that update.

_________________
1-ply Hinoki Club
Violin/Acoustic Clan
Recreational/Club Player
Local Press Club (Journalists) Champion

The speed of a Rhino and the power of a Gazelle!!!!
http://xtrariter.blogspot.com

I saw the pics over on ttd. Looks ok, looking forward to your impressions.

I doubt you've 'ruined' anything, but I wonder what reshaping it has done to the sweet spot? If a cpen has a circle sweet spot and a jpen has an oval, has it just become a smaller circle?

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Chasse Patate