OOAK Table Tennis Forum

I suppose this is EJing of a different sort. More like EHing. Here's a photo of what I received in the mail over January and February:



There's more to come, I ordered stuff from Eacheng over the (Chinese) New Year (that's why there's a box of tangerines in the photo, too - kinda glad it's over, Chinese New Year tunes are worse than Christmas tunes when it comes to getting stuck in your head and playing over and over.. and they were playing in the malls non-stop. Particularly that one that starts out like "The Good Old Summertime" and then morphs into the US Marine Corps anthem.. ). A lot of this stuff is M8 blades. Remember that sale by XVT? Where they cut the price down to about $7 including shipping if you bought five - and they only allowed you to buy five? I ended up buying a significant proportion of them.. I've had people around here asking to buy blades, so... I also wanted to see what would happen if I bought all that was being offered (there were only eight left, five in one "store" and three in the other). Would the items disappear? No, they just went back up to the normal price.. And both orders were packed in one box (which confused me initially).

Anyhow, I've started unpacking and weighing and measuring:





Note the nice, free padded edge tape. Eacheng gives plastic rubber protectors, XVT gives padded edge tape. And in this case you get those racket head covers, too.

I've been getting private messages from another forum user saying that the current M8 blades are thicker (about 6.5mm) and heavier than they used to be, so I've been keeping an eye out. Most still seem to weigh between 72 and 78 grams - this with the plastic sheath and the sticker they give you (for free). I've made the discovery that this plastic weighs 1.9 grams! And with the sticker, that's 3.2-3.3 grams that must be subtracted. Varnishing will undoubtedly add a little.

I've only measured thickness on four blades so far (if you measure with the plastic the plastic is an extra 0.04mm). Most seem to be the old 5.8-6mm but I did find a couple, one was 6.3mm and the other 6.5mm. I've set a couple of blades aside, one "normal" 73g 5.9mm and one "thick" 75g 6.5mm blade, which I have unwrapped and will varnish for near-term testing.

I have five (!) more blades coming from Ali Battleship (aka Eacheng). All of these are "heavy" - they say 80-83g, and have the latest blue handles. Not sure if those weights are with wrap and sticker or without, if with, then the blades will weigh 77-80 grams. The blue handles are latest production, so we'll see if they're all thick. I suspect the thick blades are the result of someone nudging the dial on the surface sander rather than a deliberate design decision - or is it??

I've also got a N11s for testing, this one was 86 grams (Eacheng's weight) but it's got a wrap on it so maybe it's actually 84 grams. Also have two sheets of Kangaroo, a sheet of Eagle and a sheet of Tin Arc (quite looking forward to testing that, to see if it really is like Tenergy - oops, I can't haven't tried Tenergy yet... ).

More data and photos to come.

Iskandar

that is a great deal. i do a big eacheng order each year. maybe it is time for me.

Wow, that's a lot of stuff. Have fun!!

Sent from my SM-T210 using Tapatalk

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Donic Waldner Senso V1,FH Baracuda Big Slam 2.0mm ,BH Victas Triple Regular 2.0mm

You gotta watch Eacheng. In this case two out of the seven Aliexpress stores had the M8 on deep sale (the other stores wanted twice the price). On top of that they were running a major promotion - $11 off a $40 order, which is why I bought five blades. And then there was a $2 coupon.. I ended up with a better price than XVT's, less than $6 a blade. I posted about this deal elsewhere on the forum at the time:

viewtopic.php?f=9&t=21567&start=105#p332145

Just checked - there's still big discounts going on at two Eacheng stores (Ali Battleship and ALI Discount Store) but I don't know if the $11 discount is still in effect.

I figured that since I was buying five blades I'd ask for some of each "generation" - one of the old"red badge" version and a couple of the pink and blue handles each. But it turns out they're out of everything except for the latest production with the blue handles. I also asked for the lightest blades they had in stock, they said they had four between 82 and 84 grams and one 90 grams (!). I asked them to wait until more stock came in - came in the next day and they substituted one 80 gram blade. In retrospect I should have taken the 90 grammer - it would have been interesting to see what it played like.

I suppose it would also make sense to check the mother website and both (yes, there are now two - with different prices - see if you can figure out who is the other one) eBay presences.

Iskandar

First, a word on the N11s. Stated weight by Eacheng was 86 grams (as compared to around 80 grams for my three N11 blades). Weighed it with the wrapper, 88.34 grams. Without the wrapper - 86.21 grams. Eacheng really does do its job properly - when they say 86 grams they mean.. well, in this case, 86.21 grams... Thickness. This is interesting. Average of six measurements around the circumference of the blade (as is my practice) is 6.49mm (this without the wrapper). My N11 #3 was actually thicker! 6.61mm.





Compare the butt scan for the N11:



Now I see them side by side it seems the N11s has the exact same handle construction as the old N11, it's the colors of the veneers that are different.

And the face scan:



I'll have to say the N11s doesn't have that same mirror-smooth-tactile-ecstasy surface that the N11 had.

The face plies seem to be the same (meranti).

Scans for the M8:





#8 is a "normal" thin blade, #11 is a "thick" blade. Note the imperfection in the handle laminations on #11 - reminiscent of Jupiter's Great Red Spot.

Bare blade thicknesses: #8 - 5.96mm, #11 6.43mm. Weights (bare): #8 72.89 grams, #11 74.90 grams.

Iskandar

Just got myself a few blades to test.

Among them, a training blade from Huieson. Like the M8, it has 5 plies, thickness of 6 mm and weighs 80.9 g. There are two versions. V1 with normal size handle and V2 with smaller size handle. Build quality is decent as expected from most entry level blades. Plays slower than the N11 and do have a fair amount of vibration. A decent blade for beginners. However, I still prefer Yinhe for their quality.

https://www.aliexpress.com/store/produc ... 0.0.Q2d3pY

The N11S I got weighs 82.3 g. Not too heavy. I think the new N11S plays a hair faster than the old N11. The thicker outer plies might got something to do with it. Maybe it’s because of the different rubbers I put on them. Perhaps it’s just the print on the blade (offensive vs allround) that is messing up my brain.

Ordered this on a whim. Figured it'd be yet another cheap blade to try:

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/TULPE-p ... 49461.html

Comes from Playa Ping Pong on AliExpress. You know, the guys with the $2000 Ma Long blade and the Pro Tenergy 05. Eacheng gives free rubber protector sheets, XVT gives free padded edge tape, these guys? Both. Though only one protector sheet. Their sheet has a QR Code, though..







Love the silk screened message, though I'd take it with a huge pinch of salt. Turns out it's a 7 ply, probably basswood (which would make it an old-school Chinese-style blade). Problem is the weight - 91.35 grams! Also fairly thin - 5.74mm. Wonder what to use it for - way too heavy for my taste. Maybe put long pips on it.

Iskandar

January's Haul



Didn't include the racket covers..

Bats Sous Vide:



Iskandar

Unwrapped four more blades. Those stickers and wrappers way about three grams! This was good, the Eacheng weights seem to be based on wrappers weighing 2 grams, so the actual weights are a gram less than those estimated by Eacheng.

Grey handle from XVT:
Blade #21: Weight 79.81g, Thickness 6.27mm
Blade #22: Weight 71.92g, Thickness 5.96mm

Blue handle from Eacheng (Ali Battleship):
Blade #25: Weight 81.23g, Thickness 6.19mm
Blade #26: Weight 80.84g, Thickness 6.19mm

So yes, it's confirmed - there are very lightweight M8s (around 70-72g) and there are heavy ones (over 80g). And stuff in between. The heavy ones tend to be thicker, though it's not a direct relationship. I'll probably keep the light ones and sell off the heavier ones. One of the above will get turned into a long pips chopping/blocking bat, just for fun.

Iskandar

Just finished sealing those four blades (man, this takes a while - unwrap blades, weigh them, measure thickness, type it up in Excel - four blades took a LONG time to do.. and then seal them). Anyhow:



You know how everyone talks about using polyurethane varnish to seal blades? This stuff has a pretty big drawback. It hardens not just by losing its solvent, like other varnishes do. It reacts with oxygen in the air and polymerizes. This is good, it forms a nice, tough seal that's impervious to a lot of chemicals. (Model plane people use it to "fuel-proof" wood, since it's proof against methanol.) Problem is, it comes in cans with pry-off lids. Why is this a problem? Whenever the lid is off, the contents of the can are exposed to air. And no matter how hard you try, varnish gets between the lid and the can, and hardens. Eventually you can't easily seal the can without pounding on the lid, and no matter how careful you are it doesn't take long for a layer of the varnish to solidify in the can. Major pain, you have to puncture it to get at the varnish (and the varnish underneath gets thicker, too, and yellows). Eventually it all goes hard. My last can of varnish went solid altogether right when I wanted to varnish a couple of M8 blades that had just arrived, and I had to put off the job (eventually for something like two months.. ).

The brand I use is a local one (Pye) - it's good and cheap, even if it melts Styrofoam (don't ask). The reason for the really long delay was apparently, in the last year or so, Pye stopped selling the small four once cans - the smallest they had was a quart! I did NOT want to buy a quart, which I'd never use a fraction of before it went the way of the last can. Grrr.. And Minwax cost more in the tiny can than a quart of Pye. Well, there are a couple of old-style neighborhood Chinese hardware stores in the neighborhood. You should see these places - almost everything and anything is in there, there's hardly space to walk.. I asked one of them if they had Pye varnish. Yes, sure, they pointed to the big quart cans. Any of the old small cans left? No, but.. well, we have these. They'd decanted varnish into what looked like ex-pizza sauce glass jars! About four ounces a jar.. Fantastic! Gimme a bottle.

First varnishing job went great! The varnish was 100% fresh... worked like a charm. And then, a couple months later, I had another blade to varnish. What's this????? Can't get the lid off... I tried everything - those rubber jar openers, old sheets of Emperor Dragon... blowtorch - nothing worked. It was just plain too stuck. Didn't feel like breaking the bottle, either - I'd then have to find another bottle after filtering the varnish.

And then I remembered something from Usenet - no, not rec.sport.table-tennis, this was from rec.models.rc - about how to make sure your polyurethane remained fresh forever, and handy for when you need it. Also crucial for the water-based polyurethane (like Minwax Polycrylic) because with that stuff, the can lids tend to get REALLY stuck. The advice was - drill two holes in the sides of the can, way up near the lid, on opposite sides, and then screw in a pair of sheet metal screws. When you need varnish, remove the screws, pour out what you need, and replace the screws. Never tried it - until now. Yes, that's pieces of Tin Arc under the screws..

How does it work?? Fantastic!! Tonight's the third time I've used this particular can, er, bottle of varnish, and it's been maybe a month since I put in the screws. No scum over the varnish in the bottle. We'll see how it works long term, I guess.

What's going on the blades? Well, I plan to sell two or three, but one is getting turned into a long pips/inverted blocking bat. I've got some sheets of 388D-1, and also a sheet of Old Man Huang rubber (the stuff with the expanded pips). I want to put sponge underneath, and I want to try this stuff:



What is it? Some craft foam I found at the local Art Friend. Ever since I read about that - what was the brand - Air - they sell a "sponge" that's really foam - I've been wanting to try this. Drawback is it only comes in 2mm - I wonder if I'll go over the 4mm thickness limit. Ah well, it's just for Weekend Social Doubles... The green sheet is slightly thinner than the pink, so I'll use the green. I anticipate this stuff will be DEAD... we'll see how it works.

Iskandar

Hello,

is the Yinhe N-11s good blade for beginner/intermediate player? I would like to buy old N-11 Allround and I am little bit afraid of Offensive mark and increased weight of N-11s. Unfortunately N-11 FL is sold out everywhere.
What is the most suitable blade for adult beginner/intermediate from Yinhe?

Thank you.

Just go ahead and buy it. Excellent beginner/intermediate blade for developing the loop/attack style which is most prevalent.

Is the M8 similar to the old Galaxy 961?

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Chasse Patate

Don't know what the 961 was like. The N11 IS a renamed older Yinhe blade but I forget the number.

Ah.. looked it up. The N-11 is the old 960, the N10 is the old 961. The Sanwei is like neither..

Having tried my N11s, it's the same as the old N11, except I can't get them in the same weight range (80 grams). Don't know why they marked the N11s "OFF", but to be fair the N11 was a little faster than other ALL blades. The M8 is slower, just a hair faster perhaps than a Stiga Allround Classic.

Iskandar

Thank you for your answers. Finally I have ordered Yinhe E-3 VB. I will write something about that while receive it.