Having acquired all of the victas matsushita blades now... and seeing there were not many reviews of them out there, and even fewer in english -- I thought I'd give a little opinion on them for people interested in buying any!
First, I'll do a little physical description on what I believe are the important points players often ask about. The blade wood aesthetics are fairly close across all 4 blades and you can look at some pictures online if you’re determined to have a certain appearance. Having said that, all the blades have beautiful finishes on them. The kind where you almost regret having to slap a rubber on! I would say the original VKM has the most ‘basic’ design with less wow-factor to it than the others.
All 4 blades are 165mm x 155mm. I have these 4 blades in straight handles, and as such, my review can only concern those. The flared versions may have differences in size/shape which I’m not familiar with.
Victas Koji Matsushita Defense Blade (KMD):
Thinnest of the 4 blades at 5.0mm / 84g, and with a red/white color design for the handle. Handle – Also the thinnest and most narrow handle, to quite a noticeable degree. It has a flatter feeling and most closely resembles the Koji Matsushita (original) blade. It is also similar to Butterfly’s Innershield ZLF handle, though the KMD is the smallest of them all.
Basic feeling:
Lots of vibration, and quite slow. Being the thinnest of the KM blades, as expected it does have the lowest speed and bounce. It has that characteristic hollow sort of “dunk-dunk” when hitting the ball you find with slow defensive blades. Easy to control, but as one might anticipate, suffers when wanting to attack. Backhand flicks over the table are harder to perform due to the flex and give of the blade. Same with loops (slow loops are done with lots of spin, however) and smashes.
Victas Koji Matsushita Original Blade (KMO):
Slightly thicker than the KMD, coming in at 5.4mm / 87g. Handle – Very similar to the KMD, although again, slightly thicker. This possesses more of what has become the “traditional” handle style for defensive blades. It is close to the butterfly hadraw shield in that the rectangular/flatter design is utilized. The BTY Innershield ZLF has a slightly more rounded handle in comparison to the aforementioned blades (KMO, BTY Hadraw Shield, KMD). Their size differences when in hand, are essentially negligible, apart from the minor shape changes. The KMD will still feel the smallest in comparison.
Basic feeling:
Lots of vibration, a bit stiffer than the KMD. Not overly fast. Good control, but not the best in the defensive blade category. You gain a bit more speed, sacrificing stability when chopping but allowing for more potent offensive options. A very popular blade and used by top defenders, so clearly it gets the job done! But you’ll notice most pros who use this blade are not attack oriented by and large. The KMO and KMD are to be put into the same category. They feel drastically different from the KMOF and Koji Special.
Victas Koji Matsushita Offensive (KMOF):
Thickest of the Koji blades at 6.0mm / 93g.
Handle – Nice and thick, a sturdy grip in the hand. This handle is almost identical to the Koji Matsushita Special blade. These are both heftier than the KMD/KMO blades, and are my much preferred style. In fact, the KMOF and Matsushita Special blade are very close together overall in all categories across the board.
Basic feeling:
A good bit more zip! You can really feel the punch on this one. Having said that, the heavy vibrations still remain. Flex is lessened, which can be felt immediately. It is markedly faster than the KMD/KMO, however it has only moderately less vibrations despite the 6.0mm thickness. I think the extra speed of the blade makes you believe the vibrations are reduced, since the ball bounces off faster, while in reality they’re not all that different. Still, the KMOF is far from a power looper’s dream. It is still lovely to chop with and control in the short game – just not quite as user-friendly as the KMD/ KMO / BTY ZLF. Although, if you’re used to faster blades then it will be an easier transition and you might even find it more controllable as a result. The KMOF can easily and expertly deliver finishing shots from loops to smashes and drives. The vibrations may give a little more feedback than most attackers like, but with a bit of practice I wouldn’t foresee any issues there.
Victas Koji Matsushita Special (KMS):
A hint thicker than the KMO, coming in at 5.6mm / 90 g. The only blade in the Koji line to use carbon layers.
Handle – again, it is almost identical to the KMOF blade. This may seem a bit strange since it is only .2mm thicker than the KMO, so why their handles were designed conspicuously different, I can’t say why. I can only say that they are! The KMS has a bit more rounder shape and overall thickness. You get a nice full feeling in the hand, whereas I thought the KMD had a flimsier, small-handed person in mind.
Basic feeling:
It is purported to be slower than the KMOF… however, I didn’t actually see much of a difference. This may be from physical perception, rather than testable truth, if that makes sense. The reason being, the carbon layers in this blade effectively remove all vibrations. You get a tiny, tiny amount of vibration with an enjoyable level of flex. The KMS does seem to feel a tad softer than the KMOF, however. I wasn’t a particular fan of the real ‘wobbly’ sort of defensive blades, and so this fits my style better. Being more solid in feel and as a result, the best blocker out of the Koji line-up. That is helpful to me, as I’m not always able to move back fast enough to chop!! From my experience, this one probably isn’t the best choice for most who want to go the “defender” route, as they generally seem to prefer the higher vibrations and greater flex. It does grant a tremendous attacking potential, at least on par with the KMOF blade, if not better despite the supposedly slower speed. Again, I attribute this to the solid feel and dampened vibration/flex.
That about does it for the general overview. I’ll do a little attribute comparison below for a quick overview.
Speed: 1. KMOF / KMS 2. Hadraw Shield 3. KMO 4. KMD 5. Innershield ZLF
Control (this I feel is more subjective based on taste, but I’ll give my view – keeping in mind I do better with stiffer/solid equipment overall – I don’t think the slowest blades are always the easiest to control. For those that do, then just look at the speed ratings above and the slowest will be the most controlled):
1. KMS 2. Hadraw Shield 3. Innershield ZLF 4. KMD 5. KMO 6. KMOF
Flex: 1. Innershield ZLF 2. KMD 3. KMO 4. Hadraw Shield 5. KMOF 6. KMS
Vibrations: 1. Innershield ZLF 2. KMD 3. KMO 4. KMOF 5. Hadraw Shield 6. KMS
Hardness: 1. KMOF 2. KMS 3. Hadraw Shield 4. KMO 5. KMD 6. Innershield ZLF
Classical Chopping: 1. Innershield ZLF 2. Hadraw Shield 3. KMD 4. KMO 5. KMS 6. KMOF
Modern Defense: 1. KMS 2. KMOF 3. Hadraw Shield 4. KMO 5. KMD 6. Innershield ZLF
Attacking: 1. KMS 2. KMOF 3. KMO 4. Hadraw Shield 5. KMD 6. Innershield ZLF
Blocking: 1. KMS 2. KMOF 3. Hadraw Shield 4. KMO 5. KMD 6. Innershield ZLF
_________________ SOULSPIN CUSTOM BLADES Fh: Spinny rubber Bh: Not so spinny rubber...
|