OOAK Table Tennis Forum

The weight of blades is a topic of discussion that shows up pretty much every week. In one thread someone (I forgot who, sorry!) Someone mentioned briefly reducing the weight of a blade in an oven. Never tried that before and I'm always looking for new experiments so I gave that a try. The victim was a butterfly Matsushita powerdefence which is a great blade but this particular blade weighed 101 gram which is very heavy for a blade.

I put the blade in the oven with some baking paper underneath, and set the timer to 3 minutes. I didn't know what to expect but all seemed to go well, no smoke coming from the oven. The result was surprisingly good, already down to 97 gram. I repeated the process a few times and the weight is now down to a whopping 91gram which is almost 10% less!

I will try with a few more blades later on and see if I can this blade under 90 gram. If you want to try this yourself: do not put the blade in the oven for too long, 3 minute sessions work well. Too long and the glue may melt and the wood will start showing burn marks. Also take some time (few minutes) between sessions as you don't want the oven to get too hot. And of course be careful if there's glue residue on the blade.

Update: I got the Matsushita down to 90gram, weight doesn't seem to go down any further. Next victim is defplay which started at 84gram.

Update 2: defplay down to 76 after 3 minutes but the plastic lens on the handle started to melt already, a problem the Matsushita did not have

Update 3: defplay doesn't change in weight anymore, 76 gram is the lowest I can get it. The wood on the defplay changes color rapidly in the oven.

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Competition bats:
Win-tec power def Tibhar 5Q sound Power Update 1.8 * Spinlord Agenda ox
TSP Balsa 3.5 Tibhar Genius+Optimium sound 1.8 * Grass D-tecs ox

Put to rest:
Galaxy T10 Bluefire M2 2.0 Palio Ck531a ox
Victas Koji Matsushita Tibhar Genius+Optimium sound MAX * Spinlord Dornenglanz ox
Donic Defplay Senso Tibhar Aurus Sound Black max * Grass D-tecs ox

Check out my quest for my new blade here: http://ooakforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=58&t=23241
Current standings:
Butterfly Matshushita powerdefence * Joola Chen Weixing * Nittaku KVU * Nittaku Shake defense* Tibhar stratus power defense * Victas Koji Matsushita * Yasaka Sweeper * Win-Tec power defence

Elvis,

Perhaps usefull if you could mention the oven temperature.
Maybe you could even experiment with different temperatures?

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All men can see these tactics whereby I conquer, but what none can see is the strategy out of which victory is evolved.
sun tzu

Well I set the oven to 220 but it never reaches that temperature because it's only 3 minutes at a time. My oven doesn't give an exact temperature but I guess it gets to around 150 (celcius that is)

_________________
Competition bats:
Win-tec power def Tibhar 5Q sound Power Update 1.8 * Spinlord Agenda ox
TSP Balsa 3.5 Tibhar Genius+Optimium sound 1.8 * Grass D-tecs ox

Put to rest:
Galaxy T10 Bluefire M2 2.0 Palio Ck531a ox
Victas Koji Matsushita Tibhar Genius+Optimium sound MAX * Spinlord Dornenglanz ox
Donic Defplay Senso Tibhar Aurus Sound Black max * Grass D-tecs ox

Check out my quest for my new blade here: http://ooakforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=58&t=23241
Current standings:
Butterfly Matshushita powerdefence * Joola Chen Weixing * Nittaku KVU * Nittaku Shake defense* Tibhar stratus power defense * Victas Koji Matsushita * Yasaka Sweeper * Win-Tec power defence

I didn't realize this until I compared with my other Matsushita blade but it turned much much darker. Looks natural though, evenly changed color. Next victim is the yinhe schild, mainly because it doesn't have a plastic lens in the handle. Starts out at 80 gram.

_________________
Competition bats:
Win-tec power def Tibhar 5Q sound Power Update 1.8 * Spinlord Agenda ox
TSP Balsa 3.5 Tibhar Genius+Optimium sound 1.8 * Grass D-tecs ox

Put to rest:
Galaxy T10 Bluefire M2 2.0 Palio Ck531a ox
Victas Koji Matsushita Tibhar Genius+Optimium sound MAX * Spinlord Dornenglanz ox
Donic Defplay Senso Tibhar Aurus Sound Black max * Grass D-tecs ox

Check out my quest for my new blade here: http://ooakforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=58&t=23241
Current standings:
Butterfly Matshushita powerdefence * Joola Chen Weixing * Nittaku KVU * Nittaku Shake defense* Tibhar stratus power defense * Victas Koji Matsushita * Yasaka Sweeper * Win-Tec power defence

Schild down to 77, but showing some burn marks around the edges. Enough testing for today. Your mileage may vary it does seem to work on all blades. Probably best to try this on a blade that has not been sealed. I sealed the defplay handle before and after the oven treatment it looks like it has been in a warzone.

_________________
Competition bats:
Win-tec power def Tibhar 5Q sound Power Update 1.8 * Spinlord Agenda ox
TSP Balsa 3.5 Tibhar Genius+Optimium sound 1.8 * Grass D-tecs ox

Put to rest:
Galaxy T10 Bluefire M2 2.0 Palio Ck531a ox
Victas Koji Matsushita Tibhar Genius+Optimium sound MAX * Spinlord Dornenglanz ox
Donic Defplay Senso Tibhar Aurus Sound Black max * Grass D-tecs ox

Check out my quest for my new blade here: http://ooakforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=58&t=23241
Current standings:
Butterfly Matshushita powerdefence * Joola Chen Weixing * Nittaku KVU * Nittaku Shake defense* Tibhar stratus power defense * Victas Koji Matsushita * Yasaka Sweeper * Win-Tec power defence

One more: custom ttpiet balsa blade to see how balsa reacts in the oven. Started out at 82 gram. 79 after 3 minutes. 76 after 6 minutes. To prevent burn marks keeping the temperature to 160 maximum seems to work well.

Btw, the defplay recovered from the warzone after light sanding and polishing with toothpaste.

_________________
Competition bats:
Win-tec power def Tibhar 5Q sound Power Update 1.8 * Spinlord Agenda ox
TSP Balsa 3.5 Tibhar Genius+Optimium sound 1.8 * Grass D-tecs ox

Put to rest:
Galaxy T10 Bluefire M2 2.0 Palio Ck531a ox
Victas Koji Matsushita Tibhar Genius+Optimium sound MAX * Spinlord Dornenglanz ox
Donic Defplay Senso Tibhar Aurus Sound Black max * Grass D-tecs ox

Check out my quest for my new blade here: http://ooakforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=58&t=23241
Current standings:
Butterfly Matshushita powerdefence * Joola Chen Weixing * Nittaku KVU * Nittaku Shake defense* Tibhar stratus power defense * Victas Koji Matsushita * Yasaka Sweeper * Win-Tec power defence

Wow, that's really impressive Elvis56! A highly successful experiment indeed!

Have you tried any of them to see if it affects the performance? The weight itself would no doubt affect the performance somewhat already.

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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

Would be interesting to know if they gain weight over time (i.e. re-absorb moisture that you have temporarily dried out)

_________________
Timo Boll ALC ST
FH Tibhar Evolution MX-P Max
BH Tibhar Evolution FX-S 1.8
185g

The other Matsushita weighs 102 gram, I will put similar rubbers on the blades and compare tonight.

_________________
Competition bats:
Win-tec power def Tibhar 5Q sound Power Update 1.8 * Spinlord Agenda ox
TSP Balsa 3.5 Tibhar Genius+Optimium sound 1.8 * Grass D-tecs ox

Put to rest:
Galaxy T10 Bluefire M2 2.0 Palio Ck531a ox
Victas Koji Matsushita Tibhar Genius+Optimium sound MAX * Spinlord Dornenglanz ox
Donic Defplay Senso Tibhar Aurus Sound Black max * Grass D-tecs ox

Check out my quest for my new blade here: http://ooakforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=58&t=23241
Current standings:
Butterfly Matshushita powerdefence * Joola Chen Weixing * Nittaku KVU * Nittaku Shake defense* Tibhar stratus power defense * Victas Koji Matsushita * Yasaka Sweeper * Win-Tec power defence

Great research Elvis! What happens if you leave the rubber on the blade at that temp?

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The MNNB Blog has had some pretty amazing stuff lately. Just click this text to check it out. | My OOAK Interview
Table Tennis Video Links: itTV | laola1.tv | ttbl | fftt | Challenger Series | mnnb-tv

My whole set-up costs less than a sheet of Butterfly Dignics

Donic burn Defplay Senso lol,interesting experiment maybe the feel will be a little harder now?

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Tsp Black Balsa 3.0 Tenergy 05 1.9 388d ox black

I couldn't resist doing some more experiments. The new and improved method: set the oven at 150 degrees and leave the blade in for 10 minutes. No melting lenses, no burn marks, no color changes. Tested on a dhs sirocco all-round (which by the way are the best value for money blades I ever bought at $4 a piece), the weight went down from 85 to 80. The second sirocco went down from 83 to 78 so both 5 gram less. For the second one the oven was at 160 and there was a slight color change so 150 seems to be the magic number.

Latest result: yasaka sweeper from 81 to 76.

_________________
Competition bats:
Win-tec power def Tibhar 5Q sound Power Update 1.8 * Spinlord Agenda ox
TSP Balsa 3.5 Tibhar Genius+Optimium sound 1.8 * Grass D-tecs ox

Put to rest:
Galaxy T10 Bluefire M2 2.0 Palio Ck531a ox
Victas Koji Matsushita Tibhar Genius+Optimium sound MAX * Spinlord Dornenglanz ox
Donic Defplay Senso Tibhar Aurus Sound Black max * Grass D-tecs ox

Check out my quest for my new blade here: http://ooakforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=58&t=23241
Current standings:
Butterfly Matshushita powerdefence * Joola Chen Weixing * Nittaku KVU * Nittaku Shake defense* Tibhar stratus power defense * Victas Koji Matsushita * Yasaka Sweeper * Win-Tec power defence

I got a spectacular 25% reduction in weight on an old sheet of Neptune..... But that was because the sheet caught fire. I think it was touching some iron part in the oven.

_________________
Competition bats:
Win-tec power def Tibhar 5Q sound Power Update 1.8 * Spinlord Agenda ox
TSP Balsa 3.5 Tibhar Genius+Optimium sound 1.8 * Grass D-tecs ox

Put to rest:
Galaxy T10 Bluefire M2 2.0 Palio Ck531a ox
Victas Koji Matsushita Tibhar Genius+Optimium sound MAX * Spinlord Dornenglanz ox
Donic Defplay Senso Tibhar Aurus Sound Black max * Grass D-tecs ox

Check out my quest for my new blade here: http://ooakforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=58&t=23241
Current standings:
Butterfly Matshushita powerdefence * Joola Chen Weixing * Nittaku KVU * Nittaku Shake defense* Tibhar stratus power defense * Victas Koji Matsushita * Yasaka Sweeper * Win-Tec power defence

lol. My oven only goes down to 170. I wonder how low I can get a Stiga Clipper?

_________________



The MNNB Blog has had some pretty amazing stuff lately. Just click this text to check it out. | My OOAK Interview
Table Tennis Video Links: itTV | laola1.tv | ttbl | fftt | Challenger Series | mnnb-tv

My whole set-up costs less than a sheet of Butterfly Dignics

Very interesting ! I knew you could bake rubbers (especially pips out and anti), but never thought to put blades in the oven !
I wonder... do the "cooked" blades feel stiffer ? harder ? Will they gain back their weight after some time ?