OOAK Table Tennis Forum

How fragile is a blade? And what kind of fragility? I heard that balsa blades especially is (extremely) fragile according to the reviews I read. What do they mean by this?

Does the fragility means chipping/dents on the sides? Or head area? Or somehow the inside/core could get broken or something?

I thought that blade is pretty tough but just want to clear things up especially with the balsa blades.

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instagram: rokphishtt

I don't think any particular blades that I know of are fragile. Sure, they can break if you hit the edge of the table while executing a shot or if you drop them heavily. But I don't know of any brand or series of blades within a brand thats renown for breaking easily.

Chips/dents are unavoidable on some blades if you like to push hard/deep or you loop heavily near the table edge. Edge tape can help but its mainly decorative.

Besides, you shouldn't be hitting the ball where the chips/dents are anyway so its a storm in a tea cup.

Balsa blades can erode and stain over time. But considering the price these days of blades and the amount of hours you can get out of them before they really fall apart, this is still one of the cheapest individual Olympic sports (if not the cheapest) around.

I have seen two hinoki one ply blades split, one from being dropped and one from being hit with the hand. Not my blades.

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Shakehand, left handed.
Blade, Yinhe, W-1
Forhand, H-3 National
Backhand, Sriver FX Max

Balsa blades are very soft and can easily be dented and chipped if you hit the table or drop the blade on the floor, even edge taping it won't prevent it.

I know there is a C-Pen attacker kept hitting with the tip of his blade on the table when he push hard on his back hand, basically making his blade dent (I heard recently he finally broke the blade) and that side of the table (about 3 inches in) uneven in bouncing.

He definitely will not be invited to my garage to play.

HAhahahaha!!!

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instagram: rokphishtt

I'm guessing that one ply's are easier to break, since a crack at the grain could start the fracture and eventual blade breakdown.

Blade fragility seems to me, is chipping and denting plus blade cracking.

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Viscaria. H2 Neo 2.15. Tenergy 05 1.9.

My concern about blade fragility is about the break down on the core in the middle part of the blade. But I guess, it doesn't work that way. The damage usually are on the edges and won't cause any damaged to the core.

So I guess it was just a rumor when I heard about the core of a blade is broken/ruined. The rumor goes like this: "don't buy second hand blade, especially with lots of damage on it because you won't know if the inside of the blade is also ruined."

So this is just a based-less rumor.

Personally I think that it won't do damage to the inside part of the blade because it's solid wood/composite anyway.

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instagram: rokphishtt

I guess it's probable to break the core without breaking the top ply -- albeit I'm skeptical because core plys do tend to be thicker than the upper plys.

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Viscaria. H2 Neo 2.15. Tenergy 05 1.9.

I've seen blades that had deep cracks that severely impacted their performance. Other blades i've seen did not have visible damage, but when rapped with a knuckle or tapped on your knee, there was audible rattling/vibration, or vibration you could feel that was much more than the blade had when new. These are situations where the player never cited a damaging incident, the racket just suddenly started behaving weird. Perhaps the racket was dropped on the ground or hit the table the wrong way.

I watched a friend break his racket with perhaps a 3 inch break down the middle when he simply dropped his racket on the ground. For that to happen the blade probably had some damage prior to him dropping it, but he's not a racket thrower.

I've had one blade with an audible cracked core but i don't remember what it was because it was a while ago. I don't think it's a common thing and don't know which blades are prone to having this problem. I've heard of a manufacturer or two that were "known" as making fragile blades but i can't speak for/against those rumors.

It's important that a blade be durable as blades, much more so than rubber, are variable from one item to another. A blade that suits you can be hard to replace; it's not about the price of replacement. Professionals are known for using the same blade for decades (though the switch to the 40mm ball may have caused a lot of players to switch).

Edge denting/chipping is a different issue, and there are ways you can help protect against that (such as practice). I wouldn't term a blade that tends to dent or chip "fragile".

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Equipment: Matsushita PowerDefence, Spin Art 1.9 black, Xiying 979 ox red
Style: American | US Rating: barely 2000

Three main points:

1. Balsa IS EASY to break, I took a chunk out of my Kool blade, due to minor knocking on the edge.

2. Yes core damage happens, this is especially true for power loopers, my friend (a very strong looper) used to have a Kreanga Carbon that was split in the middle, but you couldn't see it (perhaps due to the silver layer also), but if you had a hit with it, you KNOW straight away something is wrong. Also blades like the extra 3d cracks along the 3 lines after a couple of months of heavy looping.

3. If my speed 90 splits down the middle, I'd most likely break down in tears

Second that.

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instagram: rokphishtt

i accidentaly hit the table slightly with my Tricarbon, and there's a quite large dent in it:(:(

(2 balsa 3 carbon 2 paduk layers)

With a thick blade, whether balsa or hinoki it's a good idea to seal the edge with something like epoxy and cover it with edge tape. Otherwise it's pretty easy to dent the soft core if you hit the table.

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-- Andrew

Spintech All Around Penhold blade
Spinlord Keiler II 1.5 black
Nittaku FastArc G1 red

729 all around blade
Tibhar Grass D-Tec S Red
Nittaku FastArc G1 black

i find the problem with balsa core blades isnt the fact that they dent easily, but the fact that the ply glued to the balsa core separates from the balsa when dented.
vid:( not mine)
http://youtube.com/watch?v=GdCo4eUU1VY
read comment, same thing happened to friend with kool blade.

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Stiga Clipper FL- Haifu BW2 2.2- Hammond Pro Beta 2.1

I was shadow-smashing last night in my room. I accidentally knock my beloved Nittaku Rorin and there is now a nick on the edge

Cheers.

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Main Setup: There is NO such thing
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