OOAK Table Tennis Forum

I'm a decent table tennis player and my style is primarily chop and loop. I can loop with both forehand and backhand. I had a relative who lived in UK and he gifted me an Eastfield Offensive Pro bat

https://www.experttabletennis.com/eastfield-offensive-review/

It's really a hard bat for me to control, everything bounces off, pushes and chops are very difficult for me. It is fast but I want the control back.

I used to play with a cheap GKI Kung Fu bat(not sure if they are sold outside India) and I've also experimented with Friendship 729 + Sanwei M8 combo. I've also played with Xiom Vega Pro. But after using one of my friends' Yasaka Mark V setup, I'm convinced that Mark V is the best choice for me(I prefer control over speed or spin), I'm told that Rakza 7 is the next level for Mark V users.

So I'm thinking of Rakza 7 for FH and Mark V for BH. Both these rubbers will cost serious money for me, so I'm thinking of using the Eastfield Offensive Pro blade for both these rubbers. Will this blade ruin the rubbers too? Or will this be an ideal setup for me? The blade description from the manufacturer is,

Sanwei M8 should be okay to reuse if u still have it. Just get MarkV on both sides until you can confidently loop and smash. Once you built up enough speed and spin,.you should then try one side Rakza7. Some ppl find Rakza7 soft gives very good touch.and spin. Others and including myself find Rakza7 the best. TT rubbers and blade work in combo. So personally i find hard blade+hard rubbers work well and soft blade+soft rubbers work well.

YMMV.

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__________________________________________________________
Backup C-pen blades:

• TSP Black Balsa 7.0 :
  1. FH/BH-YRakza9/XOmegaVT
  2. FH/BH-TSP Spectol/Yinhe Qing OX
• 729 Bomb C-P : FH/BH-DHS H2 Orig/DHS H3 Orig
• TSP Versal :
  1. FH/BH-XOmegaVA/YJupiter-II
  2. FH/BH-*blank*

Fun blades:

• Yasaka Battle Balsa(ST) : FH/BH- DHS TG2Neo/Gewo HypeXT 47
• Dr. Neubauer
  High Technology
  Cypress-Carbon(ST)
  ***************************** : FH/BH-YRakza7/YRakza7

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My Sanwei M8 has gotten quite old and edges are coming off already as I've collided with the edge of the TT board a few times. So you don't think Eastfield won't work well with Mark V? Why I'm asking is I'm not sure whether Eastfield is soft or hard from the description given by the manufacturer, does ashwood mean it's hard?

There is a lot of "science" and "feel" related to how blades work and how their ratings or properties are determined.

Here is how I categorize different blade types.

1. Hard top-ply, softer inner cores, all wood. <--- medium flex, most all-round play, 2wing loopers.

2. Medium or soft top-ply, soft inner cores, all wood. . <--- extra flex, most loop, somewhat all-round play, more defense/passive.

3. Hard or medium top-ply, mid or hard cores, all wood or composite. <--- max feel ( crisp feeling )

4. Special wood , special composite. <---- min flex, no vibration, min feel , hard hit/loop/max power. Too many variations many varieties, many styles, not easy to judge which blade is suitable.


I found the review of your blade
https://www.experttabletennis.com/eastf ... ve-review/

There is no mention on the inner composition of the blade.

All I can tell is that the Top-ply ashwood is supposed to be hard.

I would say go with MarkV on both sides for now. This blade may be uncontrollable, even though the reviewer says it will be good for 6 months + club player.

Again, I would take any reviews with a pinch of salt. Reviewer is giving advice for a high-level club player developing their game at a district, state or maybe even national level.

Personally, I would "fix" up the M8 or buy a very very very cheap Yinhe N-9 or N-10 or N-11.

If you go for Yinhe, there are pre-mades from Yinhe which work out to be cheaper with rubbers like Earth or Moon or Mercury etc.

Again, I don't know how good you are, if you play at a state-level club or have dedicated coaching from a nationally or international coach, etc. So here be dragons YMMV!

_________________
__________________________________________________________
Backup C-pen blades:

• TSP Black Balsa 7.0 :
  1. FH/BH-YRakza9/XOmegaVT
  2. FH/BH-TSP Spectol/Yinhe Qing OX
• 729 Bomb C-P : FH/BH-DHS H2 Orig/DHS H3 Orig
• TSP Versal :
  1. FH/BH-XOmegaVA/YJupiter-II
  2. FH/BH-*blank*

Fun blades:

• Yasaka Battle Balsa(ST) : FH/BH- DHS TG2Neo/Gewo HypeXT 47
• Dr. Neubauer
  High Technology
  Cypress-Carbon(ST)
  ***************************** : FH/BH-YRakza7/YRakza7

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Get another one... Price is down to $6.50 including shipping! (Or get two.. the price drops to $5.85 each for two or more.)

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/SANWEI- ... 84830.html

If it's control you want, the M8 should be the ticket.

Problem is... Tuesday is the first day of the Year of the Hog, so it might take a little longer than normal to get it..

Iskandar

I have one question, when I push with Yasaka Mark V, i feel very comfortable and I can impart good backspin, but if I play the same stroke with Friendship 729(on a Sanwei M8), the ball shoots up. Is this the difference between chinese rubbers and japanese/euro rubbers? Is Sanwei T-88 similar to Friendship 729 or Yasaka Mark V?

Since I've not played with Mark V, I can't say for certain why your pushes with 729 pop up. 729 would have harder sponge than Mark V, that might be the reason. I don't have that problem, and I play with all sorts of different rubbers (currently have Rakza 7 and 61s Kangaroo, my previous setup was Palio AK47 and Yinhe 9000). T88 should be more like 729 than to Mark V.

Iskandar

729 has lots of rubbers. I dunno which one u tried.

MarkV is very good quality high control rubber.

If u can play with MarkV, 729 OEM might not just work without adjustment. 729 OEM is low throw... meaning... If u push incoming underspin or chop ball the return from your rubber will tend to dip down lower. Same way if u topspin to topspin, the arc will get flatter. So your description is very poor. Did u push a topspin ball??? No-spin ball? Against pips-out player?

Also use MarkV don't bother with 729 rubber.

_________________
__________________________________________________________
Backup C-pen blades:

• TSP Black Balsa 7.0 :
  1. FH/BH-YRakza9/XOmegaVT
  2. FH/BH-TSP Spectol/Yinhe Qing OX
• 729 Bomb C-P : FH/BH-DHS H2 Orig/DHS H3 Orig
• TSP Versal :
  1. FH/BH-XOmegaVA/YJupiter-II
  2. FH/BH-*blank*

Fun blades:

• Yasaka Battle Balsa(ST) : FH/BH- DHS TG2Neo/Gewo HypeXT 47
• Dr. Neubauer
  High Technology
  Cypress-Carbon(ST)
  ***************************** : FH/BH-YRakza7/YRakza7

==========================================================

Hi Iskandar
I got 2-for-1 Yinhe 9000s in clear vacuum packaging. Any advice? Do I boost? Is it fast? Controlled? Spinny? Compared to H3 or 729 OEM? Tacky? I haven't opened it yet

_________________
__________________________________________________________
Backup C-pen blades:

• TSP Black Balsa 7.0 :
  1. FH/BH-YRakza9/XOmegaVT
  2. FH/BH-TSP Spectol/Yinhe Qing OX
• 729 Bomb C-P : FH/BH-DHS H2 Orig/DHS H3 Orig
• TSP Versal :
  1. FH/BH-XOmegaVA/YJupiter-II
  2. FH/BH-*blank*

Fun blades:

• Yasaka Battle Balsa(ST) : FH/BH- DHS TG2Neo/Gewo HypeXT 47
• Dr. Neubauer
  High Technology
  Cypress-Carbon(ST)
  ***************************** : FH/BH-YRakza7/YRakza7

==========================================================

I pushed a backspin ball. With Mark V, I can get underneath the ball and slice it really well without worrying about the ball going out but with 729, Palio CJ8000, when I try to slice really well, the balls goes outside.

Okay, if you push a backspin ball, with any normal rubbers, doesn't matter Chinese, Euro or Jap, the result should be a ball that tries to go towards the net. If you aggressively push too much, the ball will tend to "float" much longer distance, flat, horizontally before descending.

I always find that beginners tend to push with too big a swing getting under the ball, either never lifting or lifting too much.

All you need to do to push effectively, is to position your arm, with elbow above the table, a sharp, short, flat chop motion under the ball, that stops moving within 1-inch of contacting the ball. Either you need to finish with a little lift ( if very heavy backspin is there ) or just chop+stop very very quickly once you contact the ball.

Try it out and let us know how it works for you. All normal rubbers should react similarly. Get a friend to feed you some backspin balls, to help you practice. Serve backspin, push some 3 or 4 times it should help figure out where and what you are doing wrong.

_________________
__________________________________________________________
Backup C-pen blades:

• TSP Black Balsa 7.0 :
  1. FH/BH-YRakza9/XOmegaVT
  2. FH/BH-TSP Spectol/Yinhe Qing OX
• 729 Bomb C-P : FH/BH-DHS H2 Orig/DHS H3 Orig
• TSP Versal :
  1. FH/BH-XOmegaVA/YJupiter-II
  2. FH/BH-*blank*

Fun blades:

• Yasaka Battle Balsa(ST) : FH/BH- DHS TG2Neo/Gewo HypeXT 47
• Dr. Neubauer
  High Technology
  Cypress-Carbon(ST)
  ***************************** : FH/BH-YRakza7/YRakza7

==========================================================