OOAK Table Tennis Forum

Hello guys, so I started chopping before coronavirus with p1r. I also bought some Sanwei J7 blade on sale before coronavirus which arrived like 10 days ago. I decided to try short pips on it. After some reading I want to buy 802 rubber, but aliexpress offers only thick sponges. Is 1.7 sponge good or too thick for chopping? Also what hardness should I buy? I attached a screen shot below.

I was about to ask - why the J7? I actually own one, it's not a typical chopping blade (normal size, 7 ply limba, FL handle). But I notice it's being touted as a "defensive" blade.

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32960325204.html



I don't know if Sanwei actually makes it any more, I'm going to have a look in their 2018/19 and 2020 catalogs. It's telling that the Eachengs are no longer selling it, it's still available through XVT and Playa. I don't recall very much about it - I remember trying it and then going back to my usual N11. Maybe I should try it again. I thought it'd be similar to the 7 ply hinoki blades I was trying out at the time.

In any case... 802 also seems to be a strange choice for chopping, maybe that's why they don't sell it with thinner sponges. But you can get the bare topsheet:

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1054525125.html

and you can get thin sponge separately:

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/33010414438.html

or you can try it without sponge. I have a couple of sheets myself, I have been meaning to make up a hardbat using a LKT Toxic 3 blade for about a year now.

By the way, if you want to mess with OX rubbers, DON'T use that Elmer's Rubber Cement I mentioned in the other thread.. it will cause the bare topsheet to curl up and ruin it. Gluing OX sheets is enough to turn your hair grey - I'd strongly suggest using a glue sheet (preferably one with a "strong" side and a "weak" side, like Andro or Xiom), though there are also ways to use water-based glues. As to whether 1.7mm is thin enough for chopping... I don't know. I'd say try it and see... Mind you, chopping, like anything else, takes a lot of practice to learn.

Iskandar

Sanwei J7 because it is probably a defensive blade. The are words on the blade: "Control + spin loop DEF".

Why 802 strange? I read on this forum that 802 is great.

I dont use ox

For chopping it's strange. I've always thought of it as a classic Chinese pips out hitting rubber. I thought choppers would use something like Super Spinpips (Wan Yang). Li Qian uses Speedy Soft D.TecS, Han Ying uses Spectol. Of course, these are international grade players, who can afford the expensive stuff..

Doesn't mean it won't work, though. If you're just starting out, I don't see why you can't try OX. One of my fun bats has 563 OX on one side, I had a lot of fun with it, since I could chop with it AND easily attack AND I got some spin reversal with it. And I could twiddle it too (I played with the 563 on the forehand about 60% of the time).

Iskandar

If I wanted to play with them like seriously I would buy spectol, but I just want to test them. What hardness should I buy (802)?

I'm guessing, but I'd go with the softest sponge.

Now.. important question - how good is the opposition? Can they consistently loop against backspin? At the lower levels of the game it's hard to play as a chopper, because the other player will often just push the ball back if it's got backspin on it. On the other hand if the other guy is good enough to loop it back it can be hard to actually chop back the loop.. that's why people use long pips.

Iskandar

Actually, you need to post your questions here:

viewtopic.php?f=73&p=381083#p380980

This guy has some experience with SP chopping.

Iskandar

Hi,
802 (normal version tack & speed) with ornage sponge is quite good for chopping with 1,5mm sponge (I don't think it comes with different hardness) but please use slow blade def, def +.

For reference check this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azRzLqqZN18

When I last tried using 802 for chopping, I found that:

1) no vendor from the US or China had the supposedly normal orange-sponge version in stock
2) The stuff that was in-stock, 802 Mystery III with the white sponge, felt like chopping with inverted. The feel when pushing or lifting backspin over the table was different from inverted, but it was very difficult to control when chopping topspin loops or receiving serves with side+topspin. I find TSP Super Spinpins Chop 1 much easier to chop with; sadly, it has been discontinued and only SSPC2 is still made (same topsheet, vastly softer sponge). Though a fair number of vendors still have some in stock. OOAK actually has SSPC1 in red 1.0-1.3mm on a blowout sale if you want to try it cheaply and shipping from Australia doesn't kill the savings (grab an OOAK t-shirt while you're doing things!).

FWIW, Hou Yinchao supposedly uses Spectol on a very hard sponge.

_________________
Seeking joy and fitness in recreational modern defense.
My blog: "Two rubbers, one racket"
Kill the game against long Pimps with Coach Li!

Currently experimenting with short pips:
VKMO+ Gambler Volt-T + TSP Spectol Blue (1.5)
Joola CWX + Nittaku Hurricane III Pro Turbo Orange + Spinlord Gepard (1.8 )