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Handcrafted Blades by Ross Leidy
https://ooakforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=43&t=14514		 Page 1 of 18
Author:  Ross Leidy [ 21 Dec 2010, 13:46 ]
Post subject:  Handcrafted Blades by Ross Leidy
I started the Make your own blade thread to provide a detailed "how-to" for constructing your own blade. Well, after a good part of a year, the thread had kind of morphed into a running gallery of the most recent creations. A couple people made the suggestion that I create a gallery of blades, which I thought was a great idea. So, I put together a gallery of blades, which I'll update periodically, and update this post to show one of the most recent blades.

I hope you enjoy the gallery!

Ross

Image
Fiddleback figured mahogany with bubinga handle
Author:  Oskar [ 21 Dec 2010, 14:05 ]
Post subject:  Re: Handcrafted Blades by Ross Leidy
As always, great blades! I'm seriously thinking that when I get enough money to upgrade, I'll give you a hoy and see what happens. I'm sure I'll PM you real soon. At this stage, early 2011.

And good on you for getting that gallery up and running.
Author:  Ross Leidy [ 22 Dec 2010, 11:10 ]
Post subject:  Re: Handcrafted Blades by Ross Leidy
Oskar wrote:
As always, great blades! I'm seriously thinking that when I get enough money to upgrade, I'll give you a hoy and see what happens. I'm sure I'll PM you real soon. At this stage, early 2011.

And good on you for getting that gallery up and running.


Hey Oskar - thanks! Feel free to PM me anytime and let me know what you might be looking for next year. It will get my wheels turning. :)
Author:  haggisv [ 22 Dec 2010, 11:15 ]
Post subject:  Re: Handcrafted Blades by Ross Leidy
A great gallery Ross Leidy! Please continue to post your latest works of art here as well. ;)
Author:  decoy [ 22 Dec 2010, 11:44 ]
Post subject:  Re: Handcrafted Blades by Ross Leidy
nice.... how about a few pistol grip blades and perhaps your version of this http://www.ttnewgrip.com/
ofcourse i wish you could make these for me.. but unfortunately i havent any money to pay you with.. this is just a suggestion, which u may or may not follow through with. but it would be nice to see what you coul contruct with you skill..

good work so far
Author:  Tassie52 [ 22 Dec 2010, 12:35 ]
Post subject:  Re: Handcrafted Blades by Ross Leidy
Ross, your craftsmanship is truly beautiful. The gallery is stunning - as others have suggested, it's art as much as sport.

I'd like to know more about the handle on your Wenge, Padauk and cork blade. What does the cork contribute to the handle? Given it is much lighter than the Padauk, what happens to the balance of the blade? Why insert the cork under the fingers rather than anywhere else? Is this design dependent upon what timber is used for the blade itself?
Author:  Ross Leidy [ 22 Dec 2010, 13:26 ]
Post subject:  Re: Handcrafted Blades by Ross Leidy
Tassie52 wrote:
Ross, your craftsmanship is truly beautiful. The gallery is stunning - as others have suggested, it's art as much as sport.

I'd like to know more about the handle on your Wenge, Padauk and cork blade. What does the cork contribute to the handle? Given it is much lighter than the Padauk, what happens to the balance of the blade? Why insert the cork under the fingers rather than anywhere else? Is this design dependent upon what timber is used for the blade itself?


Thanks for the gallery comments - I appreciate it. The blade you mention is one that started-off to be a standard pistol grip blade, but due to a router mishap, the handle was partially mangled (see more photos in this post). I tried to make the best of the situation by insetting some cork in the damaged area. Since the handle was to be cored to begin with, any change in balance over the original intended configuration was negligible. While the cork does provide a more tactile feel to the handle, I think I'd still prefer not to have to do it again. (unless it was intentionally. :) )
Author:  Ross Leidy [ 22 Dec 2010, 13:39 ]
Post subject:  Re: Handcrafted Blades by Ross Leidy
haggisv wrote:
A great gallery Ross Leidy! Please continue to post your latest works of art here as well. ;)

Thanks! I appreciate the welcome I've received on this forum and the encouragement to share progress photos. There will be more to come. :)
Author:  Ross Leidy [ 22 Dec 2010, 14:04 ]
Post subject:  Re: Handcrafted Blades by Ross Leidy
decoy wrote:
nice.... how about a few pistol grip blades and perhaps your version of this http://www.ttnewgrip.com/
ofcourse i wish you could make these for me.. but unfortunately i havent any money to pay you with.. this is just a suggestion, which u may or may not follow through with. but it would be nice to see what you coul contruct with you skill..

good work so far


Thanks for the link - I'll check it out.
Author:  Debater [ 23 Dec 2010, 06:39 ]
Post subject:  Re: Handcrafted Blades by Ross Leidy
As has been commented already - very beautiful blades. Almost too nice to cover with table tennis rubbers!

Ross Leidy, some of your handles look varnished, others not. Where you have a balsa core in a handle, how / do you treat the balsa in the handle to prevent it absorbing a players sweat from their hand and going soft as a result?
Author:  Ross Leidy [ 23 Dec 2010, 08:25 ]
Post subject:  Re: Handcrafted Blades by Ross Leidy
Debater wrote:
As has been commented already - very beautiful blades. Almost too nice to cover with table tennis rubbers!

Ross Leidy, some of your handles look varnished, others not. Where you have a balsa core in a handle, how / do you treat the balsa in the handle to prevent it absorbing a players sweat from their hand and going soft as a result?


Thanks for the kind words. Some of the photos in the gallery were taken before sealing the blade, most taken after. I also seal the handle. I use a hand-rubbed poly that penetrates the wood and provides protection without adding that plastic feel that can result from finishes that sit on the surface. And, since I apply a veneer edge to the blade to protect the inner plies (think wood edge tape), the balsa is protected from the player's sweat.
Author:  Debater [ 24 Dec 2010, 03:45 ]
Post subject:  Re: Handcrafted Blades by Ross Leidy
Thank you for the info.
Author:  theOldDuffer [ 25 Dec 2010, 03:14 ]
Post subject:  Re: Handcrafted Blades by Ross Leidy
Ross,
Your blades are not just another pretty face(s).:) Since using the blade you made for me and changing nothing else I have gone from 1628 to 1751, not bad for an over seventy-one year old duffer with a wonkly left leg. Only fifty points to go to hit my goal. Hope I am able to stay on track. Couldn't have done it without you and the Wave U-S-B. I know my increase is small change to most people, but it is a very big deal to me.
Thomas
Author:  Oskar [ 25 Dec 2010, 07:42 ]
Post subject:  Re: Handcrafted Blades by Ross Leidy
That's great, OldDuffer. Any improvement, especially when you can see it quite clearly, is something to celebrate.

A question, I'm embarking on a journey with a couple of Ross' blades too and I was wondering if you had any thoughts on suitable rubbers?

I don't think it'll be a big issue because of the variety of rubbers out there today. I just need that Goldilock's rubber, you know, not too hard and not too soft; not too thin and not too thick. :hug:
Author:  theOldDuffer [ 25 Dec 2010, 12:53 ]
Post subject:  Re: Handcrafted Blades by Ross Leidy
Oskar wrote:
That's great, OldDuffer. Any improvement, especially when you can see it quite clearly, is something to celebrate.

A question, I'm embarking on a journey with a couple of Ross' blades too and I was wondering if you had any thoughts on suitable rubbers?

I don't think it'll be a big issue because of the variety of rubbers out there today. I just need that Goldilock's rubber, you know, not too hard and not too soft; not too thin and not too thick. :hug:


I can heartily recommend Giant Dragon's New Soft Top Energy 1.9 on my U-S-B blade. I know it works well on that, both in close and away from the table 3-6 metres. I am an old school control looper when I do loop, that ain't none too often and even on the slow blade it did very well on smashes. When twiddling or playing a Seemiller style block on the backhand, the control was very good, quite intuitive.

I have some of the same Black Inverted in Max Thickness on order. Will see how that works for me. If you are looking for an inexpensive direct alternative to Tenergy this is not it, but it is super at what it does. You can read the reviews already on the web site. I have tried Tenergy 05 in 1.9 and Hexer on the Wave U-S-B, both of these worked well, but they were over kill for me and I sell the Giant Dragon so it was the win win for me. My prior forehand rubber was 868 Kokutaku 2.0 from Steve Winnard at Custom Table Tennis. co.uk in a special version he had made. I can more easily control the Giant Dragon inverted.

I am sure that you will be able to appreciate the beauty, quality and playability of the blades that Ross produces. I might be a tad prejudiced on that part.:)
tOD
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