OOAK Table Tennis Forum

Ah, the quality and/or the consistency.

First of all I have a problem with the word 'cheap'. What do you @haggisv and @bbkon call cheap, what do you compare with each other? Different weight, different characteristics? Look at Tibhar. I remember a Stiga blade was shown just recently with a knot on the outer layer. Comparing sub $20 China-blades with >=$80 blades from Japan, +-$40 and up on Joola, Donic? I've got the Stiga Graphite, the Banda Dorada, the Stiga Tube Aluminium, the Banda Dacota and a few others, most of them good blades, no questions asked. I've also got some less good ones with a 'brand'-name on it, blades that broke quite quickly or which played awful (for me) - I got rid ot them as quickly as I got them.
I've also got a Palio TCT and a Yinhe T-7, I can't sense quality issues nor inconsistencies and I like to use them. I also got a Palio WAY-003 and the HRT Palisander NCT VII. No issues. Palio Energy 03, HRT Crystal Graphite, Huichuan: No issues either for $10+- each, even the latter offers impressive feel and is used by an 11yo.

And this thread is for rubbers and blades for+-10yo, not for already evolved league-players. So, if one is preferring a cheap blade of some major brand it's ok but don't expect it to be great. And I call bullshit on consistency and quality claims made for China-blades at about half the price.

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Red is blogging here >> http://ooakforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=58&t=30522

I can't put numbers on the ranges Red, since my comment is just a generalisation. I too can give plenty of example to the contrary (all the XIOM blades for example), but in general quality for non-Chinese blades is a little better than Chinese IMO.
My comments on consistancy of Chinese blades refers to seeing the same model blade over several years in many shipments. The quality can be excellent, but there are variation in ply thickness, size and at times even handle size. If you only buy one, you cannot notice these inconsistancies. This is far more common on Chinese-made blades, especially at the lower price brackets.

Anyway, you may choose to disagree with me and have a different opinion, I totally respect that. I posted my comment since bbkon asked for non-Chinese blades as he felt they were better quality... and I think we need to respect that opinion too.

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Do note that even Japanese blades can have huge ranges in weight (in a given model). Some say that this is actually a good thing (it allows one to select a blade of a preferred weight from among several examples), but it also tells me that the material selection is far from consistent, even on very expensive blades.

Iskandar

This is the first time I've ever heard of anyone getting offended because someone didn't want to buy a product manufactured in a certain area. Grab a tissue.

I've had mixed results with blades as well. Particularly, the Yinhe brand. The W1 was a good blade. It felt nice in the hand, but the top ply splintered when changing rubbers. The W6 was the same way(splintered), but also had an overly large ST handle. When I started venturing into composite blades (I wouldn't consider W1 to be a composite due to its woody feeling), I didn't want to pay over $100 for something I might hate, so I picked up a V13 from Yinhe. The construction was much better than the previous blades except for the handle. It was abnormally long. When I'd try to BH flick the butt of the handle wouldn't allow me to get a fully cocked position because it was digging into my forearm. I tried sanding it down, but ran out of joy for that blade. Many years later a buddy of mine purchased a V14 with M2 rubbers. He played with it for a few weeks then went back to his old Waldner. I asked if I could try it out for a session and loved it. It played like a well behaved Viscaria for 1/4 the price. I ended up buying it from him for a really good price. To me, it is the perfect blade from Yinhe.

What I'm saying is I completely understand why the OP would be skeptical about buying Chinese manufactured blades. I only touched on my experience with Yinhe. 729, haha, I pulled the edge tape off and sections of the core came out with it. This stuff rarely happens with the Sweden and Japan manufactured blades. Stiga comes rough out of the package and is prone to splintering depending on the top ply used. Donic, Nittaku, Butterfly and Xiom feel premium nearly 100% of the time. BUT that quality comes at a price, a price that may not be worth it for a child who may or may not enjoy the sport.

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Freitas ALC Astro Airoc
Violin MXP

Sorry for being off topic here, just want to agree and share: I have two very different vdrsions of the expensive Butterfly Joo Se Hyuk-blade. I think they differ 15-20 gr in weight and very much in speed. When I shop a blade (always on-line) I try to ask about weight. To me it is a good thing that weight differs but one must know what that does to the blades characteristics. But being able to buy a Joo-blade with the weight of 84 gr is very good I think.

Now - I hope we can get back on topic and discuss what material is good for a youngster.

Here in Sweden almost everyone uses Stiga or Yasaka (most vlus are sponsored by them) in the beginning. After some 2-3 years they tend to chose Stiga blades and Butterfly rubbers. Almost no one uses Chinese equipment. They do like the elder ones... traditions....

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Def-attack's attempts to find balance between defence/attack | Getting better - health and game |
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For a 10 year old kid, does consistency of the blade manufacture even matter? Get him or her a decent medium OFF- blade, don't spend too much. Probably the next blade they get after a couple of years will be faster anyway. Seal it lightly if you worry about splintering. Surely there must be a ton of Yinhe blades that would be appropriate. But if you are worried, spend a few bucks more, get a Korbel, perfect handle for a kid. We are not talking a fortune here.

Kids are really adaptable and are almost never as picky about equipment as adults. Their brains and muscle memories are much more plastic.

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Butterfly Viscaria Black tag
2.2 mm Nexy Karis M on FH and BH

If someone prefers to buy European or Japanese, I don't have any problem with that. But when someone expresses an opinion that I believe is unfounded I will say so and explain why I think that way. Nothing wrong with that, either.

Splintering top plies aren't restricted to Chinese blades, by the way - I've heard of it happening to very expensive composite blades from Japan and Sweden as well, hence all the talk about varnishing blades and what water-based glues to avoid. I never heard of this happening in the old days, it's got something to do with water-based glues. And some of those "soft" wood outer plies people like so much on looping blades. I've only had it happen to two blades, one was a 729-A3 (IIRC - the one with the cork in the inside) and the other was that fake Primorac I bought for $7...

As for the recommendation of a Clipper - not only is that blade a little heavy, it's FAST. If the kid is a BIG 10 year old and is rated 1500 already, I'd say, sure. Otherwise I think it's too much blade. Same goes for fast carbon blades.

Iskandar

interesting what blade and rubbers are kids using to start tt in sweden ?

Yasaka Original, glued and fixed in factory, bought at a large shop for sports equipment, is very common. Or any 5 star Stiga or Donic or Yasaka. Stiga Cobra Ultra (or Cobra 2000) is also very common. Very soft and a little grippy rubbers these ones. Then many move on to Yasaka Rakza soft or som Stiga Boost or similar. Maybe on a Stiga Allround blade.

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DON'T, however, buy any of those cheap, pre-made Donic, Stiga, Tibhar, even Butterfly pre-made rackets (with the rubber glued on) in AMERICAN supermarkets. Those are pretty bad, even if they are made in Sweden. Slow, heavy, bad rubber, and you'll never get the rubber off them when the time comes to change rubber. Any of the Chinese pre-mades at Eacheng would be, in contrast, usable, with good rubber.

Iskandar