OOAK Table Tennis Forum

Hobbes, I can make one with the same shape and similar handle. The wood can be Hock-style 3/16" thick traditional Birch wood, or one in 5-ply which I don't have in production yet but it is Maple 5 ply 1/4" thick. I don't have single plies yet but I will start shopping for the wood.

Agooding2, send me a picture of your favorite blade and I will let you know if I can make a similar shape and size. (Probably yes).

Mdjenders, what type of Hock do you have? (thickness and # of plies) ?

Alberto

www.valortabletennis.com

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Valor Champion (Hardbat)
FH/BH: Valor Premier OX
Valor Kuruxu (Regular TT)
FH: Valor Premier - Sponge
BH: Globe 979 LP OX
http://www.valortabletennis.com

Can you tell us a little about what sets hardbats apart from other style of blades? I know they come in quite a variety as well, but there must be some distinct differences?

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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

Professional hardbats are really museum pieces. Even the new ones I make are reproductions of the blades in use before the sponge-rubber era. The wood is more like the wood used by modern professionals. Mega manufacturers of blades put out cheap immitations of what the pros play with. This is not the case here. These blades are made to last ie. the Hocks that have been around for decades.

I have a BTY Joo Se Hyuk blade sold over the counter, and I have one that he plays with. They are totatlly different. The only thing that is the same is the plastic label in the handle. Even the wood plys are different.

Professional hardbats are all the same. You can buy from me the same blade used to win the 2007 US National Hardbat Championship. Try getting the same blade used by Wang Liqin to win the World Championship. It is not going to happen.

Hardbats are alittle bit larger than modern blades. They have (mine) very large sweet spots, and the control is excellent. I also use one in "sponge-play." I like to play a chopping game. In the forhand I use Sriver 1.7mm to chop and attack. The large sweet spot does wonderful things when I loop-drive a ball.

I will be in the Cary Tournament in North Carolina in March. I hope I can see you there and show you some of my products. (Haggisv, I realize you are on the other side of the planet, but try to make the tournament aniway.)

Cheers,

Alberto
www.valortabletennis.com

_________________
Valor Champion (Hardbat)
FH/BH: Valor Premier OX
Valor Kuruxu (Regular TT)
FH: Valor Premier - Sponge
BH: Globe 979 LP OX
http://www.valortabletennis.com

Out of curiosity, are you able to get thick sheets of cork (somewhere around 6mm thick or more) to use in the actual blade? I can't help but wonder what a two ply blade with a ~4mm backbone of some stiff, springy wood and a 6mm thick top layer of cork would be like...

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Jpen: Galaxy 982 juniper 8mm- Darker Provine Tension-50 2.2 or Tibhar Torpedo Soft 2.2
Shake OFF: Galaxy T8 ST- FH: Darker PT-50 2.2, BH: Juic Varites 1.5
Shake DEF: modified Joo- FH: Reactor Corbor 2.2, BH: Globe 979 1.5

Cork would make the bat extremely fast. Have you checked to see if it legal? I know in baseball is not.

_________________
Valor Champion (Hardbat)
FH/BH: Valor Premier OX
Valor Kuruxu (Regular TT)
FH: Valor Premier - Sponge
BH: Globe 979 LP OX
http://www.valortabletennis.com

Well... it's wood so I can't see any reason why it wouldn't be legal. Do you think a two-ply like that would work since I'm only using the front side of the blade for hitting? I'd like to try something that would be so soft, but so fast. It'd probably a mid-distance looper's dream.

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Jpen: Galaxy 982 juniper 8mm- Darker Provine Tension-50 2.2 or Tibhar Torpedo Soft 2.2
Shake OFF: Galaxy T8 ST- FH: Darker PT-50 2.2, BH: Juic Varites 1.5
Shake DEF: modified Joo- FH: Reactor Corbor 2.2, BH: Globe 979 1.5

Yes cork should be perfectly legal... 729 uses cork in a few of their blades, like the bomb and the blue thunder...

_________________
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 also play hardbat in some tournaments: my club organizes one and I also went last year to France for an official tournament.
It is really nice to play hardbat and also quite strange as I don't play as I do with my own blade.

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Blade : Tibhar COS3
Forehand: Moon Pro 2.0
Backhand: Neubauer Desperado Ox
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http://www.diabolosyl.net (my own site)
http://www.tennis-de-table.com (biggest forum in France)

Diabolosyl, There is a very nice tournament in USA in Cary, North Carolina on March 14-16. to fly there you can fly into Raleigh-Durham airport (RDU) which is not far from the tournament hotel. There is a hardbat tournament Friday evening, and a big round-robin event on Saturday and Sunday. In all it is a marathon of tabletennis.
A link to the tournament:
http://www.stayatcourtyard.com/carycuptabletennis/

Cheers,
Alberto
www.valortabletennis.com

_________________
Valor Champion (Hardbat)
FH/BH: Valor Premier OX
Valor Kuruxu (Regular TT)
FH: Valor Premier - Sponge
BH: Globe 979 LP OX
http://www.valortabletennis.com

For all you hardbat fans, and for all interested in an excellent modern alround blade, please checkout the Valor Lucky "5"

Alberto

www.valortabletennis.com

_________________
Valor Champion (Hardbat)
FH/BH: Valor Premier OX
Valor Kuruxu (Regular TT)
FH: Valor Premier - Sponge
BH: Globe 979 LP OX
http://www.valortabletennis.com

alberto, my hardbat is a five ply Hock, but the blade is very very old, and the wood is starting to crack and splinter, so it probably plays much slower than when it was new. It is pretty thin, but I dont know an exact measurement for that. I want something that is very slow for chopping, probably a three ply. I can attack fine with slow blades, so that is not an issue for me, and I do like the classic Hock shape.

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blade BTY Photino ST/Palio HengDa #1 ST, fh Palio Macro ERA 42deg MAX, bh Palio CK531A OX

TT Armory, N. America Palio distributor. Macro ERA Tensor, Biotech rubbers, and more.

mdjenders, look at the base of the Hock handle and let me know what it says.

Cheers, Alberto

_________________
Valor Champion (Hardbat)
FH/BH: Valor Premier OX
Valor Kuruxu (Regular TT)
FH: Valor Premier - Sponge
BH: Globe 979 LP OX
http://www.valortabletennis.com

it says "HOCK". That is all.

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blade BTY Photino ST/Palio HengDa #1 ST, fh Palio Macro ERA 42deg MAX, bh Palio CK531A OX

TT Armory, N. America Palio distributor. Macro ERA Tensor, Biotech rubbers, and more.

I have a 5 ply, the Valor Lucky "5" which is probably identical to yours. If you want something slower then the Big Stick, the Shark, the Stingray, or the American Chopper will do. These last four are similar to the Hock three plies. The difference is in the size.
Check them out for specifics at www.valortabletennis.com or PM me.

_________________
Valor Champion (Hardbat)
FH/BH: Valor Premier OX
Valor Kuruxu (Regular TT)
FH: Valor Premier - Sponge
BH: Globe 979 LP OX
http://www.valortabletennis.com

For all you hardbat professionals and sport fans, I now ship to many European countries. Check my website if you are interested in equipment purchases. If you do not see your country listed send me an email and I will see if it can be added.

Alberto Prieto
www.valortabletennis.com

_________________
Valor Champion (Hardbat)
FH/BH: Valor Premier OX
Valor Kuruxu (Regular TT)
FH: Valor Premier - Sponge
BH: Globe 979 LP OX
http://www.valortabletennis.com