OOAK Table Tennis Forum

I play around the 2000 level, USA, occasionally beating 2200+ players, both before and after (but better after) switching to pips 3-4 years ago. I started with Donic Bluefire M3 max (black), Tibhar DTecs Grass OX (red), and a Nittaku Endless defensive blade. I LOVED the control, spin reversal, and the way it "deflated" and radically slowed any offensive attacks on the BH side, and the timing awkwardness it caused my opponent by slowing the ball down so instantly compared to my FH. I also liked the spinny chops and loops I could deliver from the FH side. What I didn't like? VERY limited speed on my FH attack - loop, drive, or flat hit.

So I started trying progressively faster blades, keeping that same rubber combination (though sometimes trying DB M2 max on the FH)

First it was a Samsonov Alpha blade, which was an okay middle-of-the-road choice; a few others, getting faster and faster, then culminating (until last night) in a Donic Persson 7 blade. Been very happy with my FH offense, but BH? Not so much . . .. Not only did I NOT get that radical slow down I'd gotten with the defensive blade, but I had very little control - I was losing a LOT of points on what I call "nothing" balls: balls with nothing special to recommend them: easy pushes, blocks, chops. They'd just go flying off the table, no matter what I did. At first I figured that all I needed to learn the right technique to control them and practice more, that I'd get used to it, but to no avail. Finally I'd had enough, no more of this frustration, and started to research. I've read somewhere in the last couple of days that mine is a common problem with OX on fast blades: the incoming ball bounces right off, with very little energy loss, and is consequently hard as hell to control.

So last night I broke the Nittaku Endless blade out of mothballs - only this time I put some DB M1 max on the FH, to try and compensate for the FH slowdown. Ahhhhhh, now that's more like it! THERE'S that BH radical slowdown again! I LOVE it, for blocking, chopping, and those weird offensive pushes and hits. The FH? Welllll . . . it's okay, especially if I want to rediscover that 70's style flat hitting style I grew up with. But if I want to loop, counter-loop, and chop effectively from the FH side, that DB M1 is pretty clunky, in a hard and fast kind of way.

So I'm happier than I was. But still not where I'd like to be, optimally: with an easy-to-control/giant slow-down/spin reversal/deflating block/weird push on the BH; and a spinny attack and chop on the FH. Any suggestions?

Another possible route: I've also read that the way to get an offensive blade to slow down on the LP side is to get the LP with some sponge on it, that the sponge will accomplish that energy attenuation I've been missing on the BH side with OX on a fast blade. So I'm thinking to try that. Any suggestions on this score? What thickness of sponge should I get for the most slow down? Is there another brand of LP that works best with this in mind? Anyone else faced similar travails, trying to negotiate a slow as possible BH defense and an aggressive as possible FH topspin attack? Is this a common problem? And BTW, no need to suggest a Joo Say Yuk double-sided blade - I tried it (still have it), and found it to be heavy, not have a really very noticeable difference between the two sides, and to have all the feel of a brick.

Many thanks for your suggestions!!

No, not really any good magical blade that fits the bill out there. Just choose your trade off. Want safer bh blocks or more powerful forehand? Think of it like a sliding scale - go to one side, reduces the other etc. You can settle in the middle, but then neither side will have that 'special' feel you're probably seeking. Against passive players you might say oh god, this forehand feels great! Then using the same blade vs a hyper attacker, you think the BH is too fast so you start swapping... now it happens again, only in reverse! FH too slow!

Few options:

- have fun spending a ton of money trying out new equipment

- pick a blade you like depending on your bh/fh preference and stick with it

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SOULSPIN CUSTOM BLADES
Fh: Spinny rubber
Bh: Not so spinny rubber...

So what you're asking me to do is give up a feeling: either the evil satisfaction of seeing your opponent fumble in shock and panic when his super-fast, spinny, point-ending drive comes right back at him from the LP OX Twilight Zone - dead, weird, half-speed, reversed, and wobbly - or the athletic satisfaction when you connect solidly with just the right timing and weight transfer to drive the living daylights out of a FH topspin?

Wah! I want both!

Sounds like the Nittaku blade with DTecS ox is perfect for you and maybe you just need to try a faster new generation rubber with no more than medium hard sponge and highish arc, i.e. one that does not require you to hit really hard all the time to create pace and spin.

Any suggestions on that “new generation” rubber? Not all that conversant in rubbers these days - I tend to find something I like and stick with it

Joola dynaryz, butterfly tenergy, pretty much any new rubber being released now will lean toward the fast side of things. Victas 11 or victas 15. Like I said, it's an expensive path to travel

You could also try some frictionless anti spin rubbers with thin sponge. The older ones are closer in friction level to d.tecs, such as dr neubauer gorilla. Get it in .6 sponge... still very fast! Or try a newer anti rubber with a dampening sponge.

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SOULSPIN CUSTOM BLADES
Fh: Spinny rubber
Bh: Not so spinny rubber...

Oh, and what about that notion of using a thicker sponge on the LP instead of OX on a fast blade, because that will absorb energy from the impact and slow the ball down? I'm assuming it would need to be a thick, soft sponge? Are there any LPs out there that fit that description? What does that do to reversal and disturbance factors?

Hah! Same thing! More safety by slowing the return on long pips cuts down on their reversal or disturbance factor. Anti spin is better for slowing down the ball while keeping good reversal. Trade offs! In general the easier it is for you to control the easier it is for them to handle

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SOULSPIN CUSTOM BLADES
Fh: Spinny rubber
Bh: Not so spinny rubber...

Yes, but I have to be able to control it first - all those deliciously wicked reversals, wobbles, and disturbances aren't much good if they fly everywhere but where I want them. So again: can I slow it down by putting a sponged LP on a fast, offensive blade, to the same degree or similar as I can by using a slow, defensive blade and 0X?

Are there brands of LP whose sponge is specifically meant for this task, to dampen and slow the speed of the ball for control's sake? What are they? Does it work the opposite of inverted sponge, i.e., the thicker the sponge, the more defensive the rubber/sponge combo?

Thanks!

I would try out the DMS Wizard. A combi blade that's quite competent when it comes to looping even though it's quite stiff. Great with Grass on the BH.

As far as I know, no 'disturbing' blocking pip is produced with dampening sponge. Reason being... you dont get the disturbance if you kill the speed with a big pillow sponge. Best option is a frictionless anti spin like dms reflection etc.

_________________
SOULSPIN CUSTOM BLADES
Fh: Spinny rubber
Bh: Not so spinny rubber...

Maybe try combination blade or slower pips with similar properies as grass. Even in ox pips differs in speed.