OOAK Table Tennis Forum

Hah hah, we'll do speedplay

A lot of balsa blade have this great feel and touch, and they are light (especially with thin SP rubbers). I find when you play more with them and you try to loop with them, they are not that great. Their strength is in blocking and counter hitting... Still that's just generalising, this blade may truely be a gem..

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I will be soon be abble to tell you more about it.
Of course I already tried it beacause I organised a test cession for France and Belgium for the last products: Combi Effect, Gladiator, Diamant and Domination tuned.
The test was interessant but it found it too big even if the speed difference is the biggest I have found in 100% wood blades.

But I have now a version cut in a more normal shape: very very light.
On the forehand: a domination tuned 2.1 and on the backhand, I will try a globe 979 even if I would prefer a Monster. I am waiting for one Monster because mine on the Tibhar is too small but I will first train with the Globe as the Monster will be banned.

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

This is really interesting!!

I'm actually waiting for my new blade to come through (I'm hoping it will have arrived today when I get home from work!). I've ordered the Dr N. Special blade after speaking to one of the players at my club.

I believe this blade is very similar to the combination blade (i.e. the same control / feel), so it'll be interesting to hear how you get on with the combo blade.

Out of interest, are these blades really over sized? I'm wondering how hard it will be to twiddle and am now thinking if I should have asked for a custom version to be made. My current Andro Kinetic blade is quite small (but then I think Andro blades are smaller anyway than normal blades). I suppose if it is a little big, I could always gently sand it down at the edges?

Anyway, I'll keep an eye on this thread as I'm very interested to hear your comments / thoughts!

Cheers!!

_________________
Blade: Ross Leidy custom blade
Forehand: Butterfly Tenergy 05-FX 1.7mm
Backhand: Dr Neubauer Gangster and Desperado 2 (testing both) OX

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a little big?
I hope you know what you will receive: it is the biggest thing you will see (as a blade of course )
It is so big that some rubbers: uncut, are too small.

That's why I choose a smaller version.

Quite similar blade as the special but with an extra wood thickness to slow down below the LP: a combi blade.

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

Yeah I knew it was bigger than my current blade but by the sounds of this it sounds HUGE!!

I'm wondering if I should take my sander to it and just take a bit of the size off, or will that ruin it?

Failing that, I suppose I could see if there is anywhere in the UK that will modify blades so I could just send it to them?

Is the Special blade in normal format too large to twiddle? I really need to be able to twiddle it as that is one of the main parts of my game!

_________________
Blade: Ross Leidy custom blade
Forehand: Butterfly Tenergy 05-FX 1.7mm
Backhand: Dr Neubauer Gangster and Desperado 2 (testing both) OX

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The Special blade has a large sort of squarish handle, which for me makes twiddling more difficult than normal. It's a pretty nice blade but a little cumbersome because of its massive size. To me it had quite a bit better feel than the Combination Effect blade.

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

The handle shouldn't be an issue now as you can order them with either a FL, AN or ST handle. Personally I've always enjoyed playing with a FL handle and have ordered my Special blade with this.

I'm still yet to receive it (damn post service!), but I'm hoping it'll arrive soon as it was dispatched from Germany on the 23rd of October!

I'll see how I get on with it as I'm aware that it is a huge blade. However having said that, twiddling is more to do with the width of the neck and handle rather than the size. Also because it's lighter than my current blade, I'm hoping this will make it feel easier to play with. We'll see

Out of interest though, does anyone know the difference between the different generations of Dr N. Special blades? I've ordered the 4th Generation blade but could have got the 3rd Generation from a local supplier. Not sure if there is much difference, but if anyone knows I'd be interested to hear.

Cheers

_________________
Blade: Ross Leidy custom blade
Forehand: Butterfly Tenergy 05-FX 1.7mm
Backhand: Dr Neubauer Gangster and Desperado 2 (testing both) OX

Butterfly Amicus Professional robot
-----
Ever tried, Ever failed? No Matter.
Try again, Fail Again, Fail Better!

Twiddling will be possible I think, it is not the same for me as I also have a special smaller handle.

They change only a few things from a generation to another: I expected to try this version but the one who organised these tests steal the blade instead of let him try by others...

I think they have modify the handle to have beter feeling.

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

According to one website review I've read, the 3rd generation used a top layer of birch and the 2nd generation used a top layer of Limba.

Apparently Limba is better than Birch so therefore you'd assume that the second generation blade is better?

I'd be interested to see what the 4th generation blade uses!

Out of interest, are there any decent reviews on here or on the net for the Special blade? I've searched everywhere and have only found one short write-up.

Surely there must be more people out there using this blade?

_________________
Blade: Ross Leidy custom blade
Forehand: Butterfly Tenergy 05-FX 1.7mm
Backhand: Dr Neubauer Gangster and Desperado 2 (testing both) OX

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Ever tried, Ever failed? No Matter.
Try again, Fail Again, Fail Better!

Ok well my bat turned up yesterday after a long ordeal! The original blade sent out to me on the 22nd October must have been lost in the post because I've not yet received it. However Dr Neubauer were absolutely fantastic in helping me and couried another blade to my work address which arrived yesterday afternoon. I also ordered the Neubauer DVD so that I can learn some of the shots and understand how to make the most of my blade and rubber!

Rather excitingly I got home and glued my rubbers onto the blade. First impressions of the blade were that it felt very much hand made (I love that!). The wood was almost fresh as if it had just been constructed! This blade doesn't come in a fancy box or fancy wrapping, just a piece of bubble wrap and a leaflet covering Dr N's product list. However none of this matters as this blade feels crafted unlike a lot of mass market blades that feel factory manufactured.

The only thing that I did do was lightly sand the handle a bit as the wood was a little rough, but now it's perfect. After putting the rubbers on, the blade still felt very light and after weighing it, it came in at a 1/4 gram lighter than my Andro Kinetic blade (with the same rubbers on). Also considering this blade is quite a bit bigger than my Andro blade, it doesn't feel cumbersome in the slightest.

I have to say that if anything, I find it easier to twiddle the Neubauer blade than I do the Kinetic because the neck recedes more sharply allowing you to turn the bat without knocking it on your fingers.

Now I've not played with the blade yet but I did bounce the ball on both blades. Things I noticed were:

1. The Special blade had much more spring on the forehand side, but it felt very controlled. It was almost as if the rubber was more elastic! It feels (and this is an assumption) that the touch and feel will be a heck of a lot better but that I could really put some speed into my shots!

2. On the pimple side (Inferno OX - red), the ball bounced about three times on the Kinetic blade when dropped from a certain height. When I performed the same on the Special blade, it bounced about five times, so there is definitely more speed there. However again, it did feel as if I had more control over the pace of the ball - i.e. I could really determine how much I wanted to the ball to bounce opposed to my kinetic blade where it varies.

Don't get me wrong, the Kinetic blade I have is a very good blade indeed! It's just that I get the feeling that the Special with be exactly that! I appreciate that there will be some adjustment time to get used to the pace of the Special blade, but initial feelings are very positive! This is the first ever balsa based blade that I've ever owned and it'll be interesting to see how it works with my pips.

I have a league match tonight and will have a knock before the game with the Special blade. If the opponents look to be easy, I might give this blade a go in my match! I'll let you know how I get on.

Very excited!!!

_________________
Blade: Ross Leidy custom blade
Forehand: Butterfly Tenergy 05-FX 1.7mm
Backhand: Dr Neubauer Gangster and Desperado 2 (testing both) OX

Butterfly Amicus Professional robot
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Ever tried, Ever failed? No Matter.
Try again, Fail Again, Fail Better!

Sounds good! I love the feel of the balsa myself... real soft for the short game, and a lot of kick when you start hitting...

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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

I have some experience to try 2nd Generation Special Blade (my own blade) , 3rd Generation , 4th Generation and Combination Effect Blade (my customers blades). For me the Combination Effect is the best since I can say that its F/H is fast as 3rd Generation but B/H is much better control as 2nd Generation. Believe it or not , the Combination blade is the top 3 best seller for my shop in last quarter (First is Dr.N Firewall and Second is H/M Integral). I got very good feedback from all my customer that the Combination Effect Blade is the best ever for them for playing with frictionless long pip.

Hmmm interesting! How would you rate the 4th generation Special blade?

In 2 and 1/2 hours I'll know as I'll be playing my match!!

_________________
Blade: Ross Leidy custom blade
Forehand: Butterfly Tenergy 05-FX 1.7mm
Backhand: Dr Neubauer Gangster and Desperado 2 (testing both) OX

Butterfly Amicus Professional robot
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Ever tried, Ever failed? No Matter.
Try again, Fail Again, Fail Better!

For me , it's too fast..........

Yes it did feel quite fast when bouncing the ball on the bat. It'll be interesting to see how it plays though as my current blade doesn't really have the pace or the control.

_________________
Blade: Ross Leidy custom blade
Forehand: Butterfly Tenergy 05-FX 1.7mm
Backhand: Dr Neubauer Gangster and Desperado 2 (testing both) OX

Butterfly Amicus Professional robot
-----
Ever tried, Ever failed? No Matter.
Try again, Fail Again, Fail Better!