OOAK Table Tennis Forum

That's what I thought... so I ran the same poll on the mytt forum who have only a small percenatge of pip/combination players, and after a week the results were:

Flared 21 [40.38%]
Straight 31 [59.62%]

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I used to be flared, then I got another blade - Enigma - which was anatomical. Having had a few blades, I've come to the conclusion the handle is only one part of the blade and sometimes flared suits the rest of the blade and sometimes straight. I don't think it's as simple as saying either straight or flared - there are other things to consider. My current blade has a straight handle but I also like my andro which is flared.

Regarding the twiddling, someone I know who used to play and twiddle preferred flared because he found it easier to know where / what position the blade was in because the flare acted as a guide in his hand at any given time.

Yet another example of how double inverted players ruin everything!

Hang on a moment: if inverted players prefer ST but the manufacturers are making more FL, then surely that means manufacturers are more interested in catering to the needs of pip/combination players.

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So sad that it should come to this" Sung by the dolphins in The hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy

I was under the impression that strait handles were easier to twiddle, therefore combination players would want to use them more then flared. Now I am not sure

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What is easier for some, is trickier for others I think overall, handle types come down to personal preference, I know I like using a ST handle best, but I'm not going to go to everyone at my club and say they should use ST too because it is the best

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Main: Butterfly Timo Boll Spirit ST | FH: Andro Hexer HD 2.1mm | BH: Donic Bluefire MAX

I can get a better consistent angle on my FH grip with FL. FL does make it difficult or I should say slower to go a BH grip. I've always used FL's but I can see where ST would be an advantage if you are someone that changes grip from FH to BH like I do except playing at a level where you need that little extra efficiency to make the switch in fast time. Or obviously if you are a twiddler.

I'm always surprised by these polls since in the would I live flared handles are use by at least 80% of players

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Donic defplay senso
Haifu whale soft (grips-euro)
Nittaku pimplemini 1.0mm

My thoughts exactly...and it's got to make you wonder why....

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FL is more widely used by general players, but the balance goes more towards ST with enthusiasts (the kind of people who join a TT forum )

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Main: Butterfly Timo Boll Spirit ST | FH: Andro Hexer HD 2.1mm | BH: Donic Bluefire MAX

That still begs the question why???

Also
1. Is FL more popular because many blades are only made in FL, or
2. Since FL is more popular, many blades are only made in FL[/quote]

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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

Haha, yes, I guess the exact reason is very difficult to pin point.

I have a suspicion that many players just don't care, and as it seems many blades are made only in FL, that is what they end up using. Although I have no idea of the reason why so many blades are only made on FL So it could almost be a self perpetuating trend of manufacturers making FL blades because they think they are more popular, and people buying FL blades because it's all that is available.

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Main: Butterfly Timo Boll Spirit ST | FH: Andro Hexer HD 2.1mm | BH: Donic Bluefire MAX

Well haggisv, are you selling 50% of your blades as ST? considering half your customers are pips guys if you aren't then who is?! The vast majority of blades actually made must be FL since half the blades you can't even get in ST. So for every guy that votes ST he must have 3 FL handles in the cupboard?:)

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Donic defplay senso
Haifu whale soft (grips-euro)
Nittaku pimplemini 1.0mm

Well I play pips and all my Gergely's are FL. I don't even know if it comes in a ST

I have no trouble twiddling off serve with grip tape on my FL blades. I find its overall a more positive grip, but if a ST came into my possession and really suited me to play with in all aspects, I wouldn't knock it back.

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The preference now is 50-50 with at least 52 respondents. I think if TT manufacturer would offer ST handle, it would still be sold 1:1 with FL handle.

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I guess why flared is more popular in table tennis stores is because its the "normal" shape of the shakehand handle. This was carried through time. Try to buy a pre-made bat and most likely, it is flared thus a trend was set.

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Enjoy the game. It is a never ending learning experience once you play and keep the ball on that 45 sq ft of space or should I say half of that space.

Don't think I'm allowed to comment here....I guess you could call the jpen handle somewhat conic?????

But whenever I do anything SH (hardbat mostly), I don't care. I've heard the old conics were good for big hands, of which I definitely have, so I would like to try one. If only they still made them.

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