The Skull Blade - Skull Blades  

I call these blades the "Skull" for obvious reasons. It is great for power forehand looping. Not so great for BH or serving.

ITTF Rules Protest Blade - Top   Front   Back

I call this blade the ITTF rules protest blade ie. the "Rule Bender". Its not that I dislike the ITTF I just wish I knew the intent behind their material rules. The "Rule Bender" is a 3-ply blade with a thick cork core and thick bamboo outer plies. Both cork and bamboo although made of the same materials as wood, are technically a bark and a grass. Although major manufacturers use both cork and bamboo in certain blade models I want to warn everyone that their legality is up in the air. I hope they are legal because they work great in blades.

Jatoba/Cypress/Jatoba - Top

I am currently experimenting with dense, hard woods. This blade has a center ply of American Cypress and outer plies of Jatoba. Jatoba has a density of 57 lbs/cu.ft. with a hardness rating of 2653 lbs while the density of cypress is about 25 lbs/cu.ft. hardness of 510 lbs. The blade is 6mm@87grams. I suspect it will be very stiff and good for smashing and blocking. Note: The Jatoba grain is horizontal rather than vertical as is normally done.

Jatoba/Basswood/Jatoba - Side   Top   Front

Shown below is a 3-ply oversized shake blade (156mm width) that has a 9mm thick balsa core and hard Jatoba and soft basswood outer plies. I made this blade for Bertrand who is in Belgium. Bertrand was looking for an oversized blade under 80 grams. This blade came in at 74 grams and after final sanding it was down to 71 grams.