I've often seen what wood goes into the composition of different blades, and of course, we have a sticky thread dedicated to that topic, but one things I've always wondered is what the properties of different woods are. This is not something I'm particularly knowledgeable about, and I suspect I'm not alone. Maybe I missed it, but I haven't seen a thread .........ing this topic fully. I'm guessing that some members know a lot about this, others don't, and many know some things about some types of wood but not about other types of wood, but, among all the knowledgeable, experienced people here, we can probably come up with a pretty comprehensive list.
So I'm going to go ahead and list all the woods I can find through looking at the blade composition thread (I also added "willow," which I didn't see anywhere in that thread) and fill in the properties for the very few I'm familiar with, and perhaps others can fill in the rest bit by bit. If the list gets filled in, I think we should then "sticky" it so that others can use it as a reference. I'm also going to list the materials other than wood that might go into a blade. The list is below in alphabetical order, for ease of reference, with the woods listed first and the synthetic materials after. If anyone has anything else to add to the list, please don't hesitate. Also, if two terms are really just two different names for the same wood, we should still list both, I think (since manufacturers probably use different names), and just have one of them refer back to the other. Also, in terms of what to say for any given item on the list, I think the ideal would be to say as much as possible to make it as useful as possible for someone thinking about getting a given blade. Is the material light or heavy? Is it springy or deadening? Is it linear or non-linear in its effect on the ball? What is its usual purpose in the blade, e.g., to make it faster, slower, deader, etc.? What kinds of players tend to use it, e.g., loopers, blockers, flat hitters, choppers, etc.
Where mentioned below, the "Janka rating" is determined by measuring the force required to embed an 11.28 mm (0.444 in) steel ball into wood to half its diameter (thus leaving an indention of 100mm sq). I’ll keep it consistent by using pound-force readings. The "specific gravity" of a wood is its relative density to water. And the "pounds per cubic foot" is (as the phrase implies) the weight of a cubic foot of the wood measured in pounds.
So, anyway, here we go:
WOODS:
abachi: (note: abachi, ayous and samba are all the same species, but are from different parts of Africa) soft, tends to tear easily in thinner plys; mainly an outermost ply wood, pairs up well with many woods; it is a lightweight, stiff wood that is excellent for close-to-the-table counterdrive play; this wood (or ayous, which is similar) is in 90% or more of all blades on the market; it’s used as outer, medial, and core plies, as well as for some single-ply blades; it feels like limba. Janka: 430; SG: .38; PCF: 24
e.g., Andro Kinetic ALL+, Joola Rossi Junior, Joola Rosskopf Allround, Joola Rosskopf Fire, Joola Sting, Joola Ticker, Joola Torre
anigre: (aka Kali, Osan, Landojan, Mukali, Muna, M'boul, N'Kali,Mukangu, Aniegre, Tutu,Kararo, Asanfena) a light-tan hard wood native to Africa, yellow aningre is the ultimate control wood; providing a soft feel on contact, this wood is favored by many all-round styles of players; it is mid-hard, solid, and non-elastic; it has a nice soft/woody feel and a very smooth texture; being waterproof, it is mostly used as surface veneer; Grubba Pro blades use yellow aningre wood for the outer and secondary plies; good for DEF+ to OFF- depending on the other plies it’s used with; Density .54 -.57 gm per cubic centimeter; Monnin Hardness 2.5; Janka: 740; SG: .40; PCF: 30-34
e.g., Joola Carbon Swe, Joola Fejer-Konnerth All, Re-Impact Backspin Control, Yasaka Extra
ash: cross between cypress and ayous, needs hide glue to fully bring out the playing characteristics; this is a wood best suited for fast all-wood blades; it’s heavy and hard so it’s best paired with lighter and softer core and outer plies; it’s rarely used and when it is, it’s generally a medial ply; Janka: 1320; SG: .66; PCF: 42:
e.g., Nittaku Violin
aspen:
e.g., Joola Ticker
awan: a tropical wood that seems to be used as an intermediate layer, often in combination with a kiri core [need info in properties]
e.g., Donic Burn All+, Joola Flame Fast, TSP Phoenix
ayous: (note: abachi, ayous and samba are all the same species, but are from different parts of Africa) (aka Obeche, Wawa, Abachi, Arere, Ayus, Samba, M'bado, Bado, African Maple) soft, tends to tear easily in thinner plys; mainly an outermost ply wood, pairs up well with many woods; it is a lightweight, stiff wood that is excellent for close-to-the-table counterdrive play; Ayous is useful to both maintain some lightness in the core of the blade but not be as crazily light as balsa; the high elasticity of the this African gives quite a nice bounce effect when inside the blade; it is not that great a top veneer wood as it is not very pliable; Density .38 gm per cubic centimeter; Monnin Hardness 1.1
e.g., Andro C. Suss Hinoki ALL+, Andro C. Suss Hinoki Off, Avalox BT555, Avalox P500, Avalox P700, Butterfly Adolescen, Butterfly Innerforce ZLC, Butterfly Kong Ling Hui, Butterfly M. Maze, Butterfly Oh Sang Eun, Butterfly Petr Korbel, Butterfly Primorac, Butterfly Zhang Yining, Cornilleau Hinotec ALL+, Cornilleau Hinotec OFF-, Dawei GTS, Dawei Wavestone, Donic Appelgren Control, Donic Epox Power Carbon, Donic Dicon, Donic Epox Carbotec, Donic Li Ping Kitex, Donic Opticon RS, Donic Powerplay, Donic Waldner V1, DHS H-WL, DHS Hurricane Hao, DHS Hurricane King, Galaxy/Yinhe M-4, Joola Fever, Joola Guo, Joola K5, Joola MC1, Joola Wing Fast, Joola Wing Medium, Keyshot Light, Nexy Color, Nittaku Ludeack, Nittaku Wang Nan, Stiga Allround Classic, Stiga Allround Evolution, Stiga Clipper, Stiga Ebenholz NCT V, Stiga Energy Wood, Stiga Offensive Classic Old, Stiga Offensive Classic New, Stiga Tube Offensive, Tibhar IV-L, Tibhar IV-L Light Contact, Xiom Amadeus, Xiom Amati, Xiom Aria, Xiom Fuga, Xiom Jazz, Xiom Maximus, Yasaka Extra, Yasaka Extra Offensive
balsa: (aka Balso, Pau de Balsa, Lanu, Lanilla, Guano, Gatillo, Topa, Algodon, Bois Flot) an extremely light, soft, porous, springy wood that has a non-linear effect at ball contact; hard, direct contact results in a big springing effect, while light or grazing contact results in a more controlled carom, and the difference is greater than what you'd expect; readily available but not usually in widths required for blades, so gluing will most likely be required; primarily useful as core and in rare cases second plys due to its fragility; deteriorates very quickly unless sealed; a thick balsa core tends to result in very springy, offensive blades; due to its softness, it can allow the ball to sink in, resulting in high dwell time, which is good for loopers and choppers who want to manufacture a lot of spin. Also, due to its softness and non-linear effect, it is useful for deception and spin variation; Density .14 gm per cubic centimeter; Monnin Hardness 0.3; Janka: 88; SG: .17; PCF: 11
e.g., 729 Bomb, Andro Fibercomp, BBC Carboflex Alpha, BBC Triflex Alpha, Butterfly Balsacarbo X5, Butterfly Kazan, Donic Appelgren Control, Donic Opticon RS, Donic Persson Carbokev, Donic Persson Dotec Off, Donic Persson Exclusive Off, Donic Waldner Black Devil, Galaxy/Yinhe T10, Galaxy/Yinhe T11, Hallmark Aurora, Joola Fejer-Konnerth All, Joola Cat, Joola Kool, Joola MC1, Joola R*1, Joola Sheik, Joola Trix Fast, Nexy Icarus, Re-Impact Backspin Control, TSP Balsa Plus (various thicknesses), Ulmo Duality, Yasaka Balsa, Yasaka Balsa+, Yasaka Synergy
bamboo: (note: technically bamboo is a grass, not a wood)
bass: (aka Linden, Bee-tree, lime-tree) a harder wood, but still used in lower end all-round blades; bass wood has been a mainstay in racket making for over fifty years due to its high degree of control and economical price; it is favored by the close-to-the-table counterdriver as well as players looking to purchase their first professional racket; it’s in that ambiguous range of hardness and density which can be used for any ply; it’s generally used in cheaper blades, but it can certainly make a quality product; its behavior is widely determined by the plies and thus it is another very diverse wood. Density .37 gm per cubic centimeter; Janka: 410; SG: .41; PCF: 27
e.g., Butterfly Balsacarbo X5
beech:
e.g., Donic Opticon RS
birch: a blankety blank wood usually used in outer plies to provide a feeling of blank and most often used by blank-type players.
e.g., BBC Anvil, BBC Carboflex Alpha, Re-Impact Backspin Control
cedar (Red Western): This wood is a good substitute for cypress; it has a soft woody feel and a very nice grain pattern when quarter sawn; it’s a perfect candidate for single ply-blades; can serve as cores, medial plies, and outer plies; Kevin from American Hinoki deserves some credit for popularizing this wood in table tennis blades. Janka: 350; SG: .37; PCF: 23
e.g., American Hinoki custom blades available at americanhinoki.com
cedar (Port Orford): A bit harder and denser than its previously mentioned cousin, this wood is also a good candidate for a single ply, as well as a lovely substitute for Hinoki Cypress; can serve as cores, medial plies, and outer plies; Janka: 720; SG: .44; PCF: 30
cork:
e.g., 729 Bomb
cherry: very stiff and hard, this wood has, as an outermost ply, a flat return curve. It is mainly known for providing much spin reversal to slick rubbers but is also said to support smashing quite well.
e.g., BBC All Around
cypress: good, cheap and readily available. Tends to work best with woods similar to itself in playing quality such as ayous, ash and varieties of pine. Smells nice, though the mythical Kiso Hinoki variety is both rare and extremely valuable; the classic Asian attacking wood, it is favored by attackers for several decades because of its unique combination of speed and softness; there are several different species of cypress and they’re all usable for making blades; the Chamaecyparis obtusa, or Hinoki wood (as we call it) is perhaps the most sought after wood for blades; unfortunately it’s just about impossible to get hinoki in the United States; cypress is very much like cedar in it’s feel and appearance, but it tends to be more yellow; cypress can serve as cores, medial plies, and outer plies; Janka: 300-800 (depending on species); SG: .20-.46; PCF: 32
e.g., BBC 9-10-9, BBC Anvil, BBC Fiddler, BBC Single-ply Cypress, BBC Three-Ply Cypress, BBC Triflex Alpha, Galaxy/Yinhe T10, Joola Rosskopf Carbon, Joola Trix Fast, TSP Hino-Carbon Power
ebony:
e.g., Stiga Ebenholz NCT V
enzo:
e.g., Joola Trix Medium, Joola Tactics
fineline:
e.g., Donic Epox Power Carbon, Joola Fejer-Konnerth All, Joola K1, Joola K3
fir: see "tanne"
hinoki: (aka Port Orford Cedar, Oregon, Oregon Cedar, Lawson Cypress) a prized Japanese wood that is soft and bouncy; the wood is lemon-scented, light pinkish-brown, with a rich, straight grain, and is highly rot-resistant; 'kiso' denotes the top hinoki woods, available only from a single location in Japan; considered the "golden" wood of blades, hinoki is a form of cypress, and much of the hinoki used just as outer plies is really cypress; hinoki is called "false cypress"; hinoki has the property of being very soft with a nice soft touch in the short game, but very fast when hitting; the biggest drawbacks are probably weight and cost; Density .43 gm per cubic centimeter
e.g., Andro C. Suss Hinoki ALL+, Andro C. Suss Hinoki Off, Avalox J-Aramid, Butterfly Amultart, Butterfly Jonyer-Hinoki, Butterfly Kazan, Butterfly Kreanga Carbon, Butterfly Photino, Cornilleau Hinotec ALL+, Cornilleau Hinotec OFF-, Cornilleau Hinotec OFF, Cornilleau Hinotec OFF+, Dawei GTS, Donic Li Ping Kitex, Donic Persson Dotec Off, Joola Rosskopf Force, Joola Wing Fast, Nexy Color, Nexy Dexter, Nexy Oscar, Nittaku Septear, TSP Break 9, TSP Break 11, Xiom Amadeus, Xiom Control, Xiom Ignito, Xiom Jazz
ipil: (aka Intsia bijuga, merbau, kwila) is similar to wenge but somewhat less hard. It is also suited for near-table play, possibly with spin reversal, but somewhat slower than wenge. (Please be aware, according to Greenpeace large amounts of ipil timber sourced from illegal logging are being traded. At the current rate of logging the tree will go extinct within 35yr.)
jatoba: This wood is very hard and very heavy. Its only practical use is as a very thin top ply. It melds well with balsa to create a long pips-friendly blade. Janka: 2820; SG: .71; PCF: 56
kiri: (aka Paulownia, Royal Paulownia, Princess Tree, Empress Tree); A light weight, soft but very tight and torsionally stiff type of wood, mainly used as core veneer. (Almost every Butterfly table tennis blade that is made in Japan has a Kiri core.) More durable, heavier and harder than balsa. (This is one of the main reasons why Butterfly blades are heavier than other manufacturer's blades.) Density .26-35 gm per cubic centimeter. Janka: 250; SG: .26; PCF: 16
This wood is from the Paulownia family. It’s a bit over double the hardness of balsa, but it remains very light-weight. This is a great core wood for faster blades with heavier medial and outer plies. Just like balsa, it cuts down on vibration and makes a blade with a little less feeling than something made with a wood like cypress; just like balsa, it cuts down on vibration and makes a blade with a little less feeling than something made with a wood like cypress; Janka: 250; SG: .26; PCF: 16
e.g., Butterfly Amultart, Butterfly Jun Mizutani, Butterfly Kreanga Carbon, Butterfly Photino, Butterfly Timo Boll Spirit, Cornilleau Hinotec OFF, Cornilleau Hinotec OFF+, Donic Epox Carbotec, Donic Li Ping Kitex, Donic Persson Carbotec, Joola Chen Weixing, Joola Fever, Joola Rosskopf Force, Joola Wing Fast, Joola Wing Medium, Keyshot Light, Nittaku Violin, Xiom Control, Xiom Ignito, Xiom Stradivarius
kiso hinoki: the top grade of hinoki, available only in Japan (see entry on "hinoki" above). A very light, solid type of wood; this particular cypress is used for blade manufacturing only when having 300 years or more in age. It can be found in all types of veneers in table tennis blades.
e.g., Donic Liping Kitex, Donic Waldner Dotec Hinoki
koto: (aka Anatolia, Poroposo, Ofete, Kakende, Ikame, Ake, Awari, Kyere, Kefe) Soft topspin wood, typically used in extremely thin outer plies to produce a faster and stiffer blade. Great wood for players who rely on both looping and countering techniques. Koto wood surface plies encourage crisp, fast blocks and hard hitting for sharper ball contact and faster rebound. Usually quartersawn for the pattern. The wood is tight and rather solid. It has a nicely striped, decorative design and therefore is often used as surface veneer (with a thickness of 0.7/0.8 mm); this wood is widely used by Butterfly; it tends to feel pretty hard and has a sharp tone. Density .59 gm per cubic centimeter; Monnin Hardness 2.5; Janka: 950; SG: .65; PCF: 35
e.g., Avalox P500, Butterfly Kong Ling Hui, Butterfly Timo Boll Spirit, Butterfly Oh Sang Eun, Donic Persson Carbokev, Donic Persson Carbotec, Donic Persson Dotec Off, Donic Persson Exclusive Off, Donic Powerplay, Donic Waldner Black Devil, DHS Hurricane Hao, DHS Hurricane King, Joola Chen Weixing, Joola MC1, Joola Wing Medium, Nittaku Wang Nan, Stiga Offensive Classic Old, Xiom Fuga, Xiom Jazz, Xiom Stradivarius
lilac:
e.g., Joola Trix Medium
limba: (aka Korina, Ofram, Frake, Afara, Akom) a West African wood, limba is the classic European topspin wood (as compared to Hinoki, which is the classic Asian topspin wood); heavy and fast, but not springy; limba wood adds the soft feel and great control needed by today's modern topspin players; it is lighter and softer than hinoki or koto; limba wood changes its color as the time passes so it is sometimes hard to spot a limba wood by its color; the wood is either a light ('white limba') or with dark stripes ('black limba' or 'korina') hardwood; although limba wood is soft, it can’t give a soft feeling to the blade by itself, and when used with other veneers, a limba blade can give a hard feeling; limba has excellent acoustic properties and provides a good acoustic click sound when used with speed glue effect rubbers; its vibrations or flex is liked by topspin players; the higher the thickness of the limba ply, the greater the blade's hitting ability. The wood thickness is about 0.8 mm usually. Although it should be remembered that Limba vs Hinoki vs Koto, Limba is still the lightest and softest. The usage of limba wood became popular in 1950 in guitars. It is considered as as a west African wood. The limba wood even replaced wood like mahogany because of its straight grain and dark color. density .45 gm per cubic centimeter; Janka: 490; SG: .45; PCF: 34.
e.g., Andro Kinetic ALL+, Avalox BT555, Avalox Ma Wenge Carbon, Avalox P700, Butterfly Adolescen, Butterfly Innerforce ZLC, Butterfly Jun Mizutani, Butterfly M. Maze, Butterfly Primorac, Butterfly Petr Korbel, Butterfly Timo Boll Spirit, Butterfly Zhang Yining, Cornilleau Hinotec ALL+, Cornilleau Hinotec OFF-, Cornilleau Hinotec OFF, Dawei Wavestone, Donic Appelgren Control, Donic Dicon, Donic Persson Exclusive Off, Donic Waldner V1, DHS H-WL, Galaxy/Yinhe T11, Galaxy/Yinhe M-4, Joola Carbon Swe, Joola Cat, Joola Fever, Joola K3, Joola K5, Joola Kool, Joola Panther, Joola R*1, Joola Rossi Junior, Joola Rosskopf Allround, Joola Rosskopf Fire, Joola Sheik, Joola Sting, Joola Ticker, Joola Torre, Joola Zolli Cross, Nittaku Acoustic, Nittaku Ludeack, Nittaku Rutis, Stiga Allround Classic, Stiga Allround Evolution, Stiga Clipper, Stiga Energy Wood, Stiga Offensive Classic New, Stiga Tube Offensive, Tibhar Lucjan Blaszczyk, Xiom Amadeus, Xiom Amati, Xiom Aria, Xiom Maximus, Yasaka Extra
mahogany:
e.g., BBC Fiddler, Ulmo Duality
maple: There is a big difference between Canadian and European maple. European maple is light, medium hard, slow, and has well-balanced properties with regard to spin and control. It may be used as any layer in a blade. Canadian maple is remarkably harder and more durable.
meranti:
e.g., Avalox P700, DHS H-WL
movinge: outer ply material, hard and expensive; pairs up well with a soft core. [needs more information on how it plays]
okoumé: (aka Gabun ) the wood is soft, rather elastic, and light-weight. It is typically used as core ply in ca. 2-4 mm thickness. It is an alternative to abachi as it is somewhat faster, spinnier, and has a flatter rebound curve. It is a control wood.
e.g., TSP Katai Power OFF-
paduak: (aka padouk) The wood is hard and elastic, partly used as surface veneer (dark red colour). [needs more info on playing characteristics.]
pine:
e.g., Yasaka Balsa+
planchonello: planchonello outer layers produce great speed; this wood is most often found in blades designed for the power attacker.
e.g., Butterfly Joo Se Hyuk (outer layer), Butterfly Mazunov (outer layer)
poplar: readily available, capable of being used as a core wood and as an outer ply, providing skill in matching thicknesses up; this wood is good is similar to ayous and basswood; Janka: 430; SG: .42; PCF: 30. [needs more info on how it plays]
e.g., Ulmo Duality
samba: (note: abachi, ayous and samba are all the same species, but are from different parts of Africa) soft, tends to tear easily in thinner plys; mainly an outermost ply wood, pairs up well with many woods; it is a lightweight, stiff wood that is excellent for close-to-the-table counterdrive play.
e.g., Ulmo Duality, Joola Cat, Joola K1, Joola K3, Joola K-ALL, Joola Panther, Joola Rossi Exact, Joola Tactics, Joola Trix Medium, Joola Zolli Cross
spruce: (aka fichte) used to create better speed, spruce plies result in big sound and good feeling when you hit the ball, but when this ply comes too much close to the rubber, the sound and feeling are too powerful, and the ball will not be very spinny, so it is better used beneath a surface ply; is believed to be amongst the most important types of wood used in forestry. It grows quickly and is also know as Oregon. In table tennis blades it is principally used as mid veneers. It’s similar to cypress and the cedars in terms of its feel. Janka: 300-500; SG: .43; PCF: 27.
e.g., Avalox BT555, Avalox P500, Butterfly Kong Ling Hui, Donic Dicon, DHS Hurricane Hao, DHS Hurricane King, Joola Kool, Joola Sheik, Joola Trix Fast, Nexy Color, Nittaku Wang Nan, Stiga Ebenholz NCT V, Stiga Offensive Classic Old, Stiga Offensive Classic New, Xiom Aria, Xiom Fuga, Yasaka Extra Offensive
tanne: (aka Silver Fir, Fir) density .43 gm per cubic centimeter; a good wood for medial plies; it's similar to cypress and cedar in characteristics. Janka: 650; SG: .50; PCF: 34
e.g., Donic Persson Carbotec
teak:
e.g., Joola Rossi Exact
tineo: (aka Indian apple) is hard and has a somewhat flat return curve. As outer ply it is especially suited for topspin-smash play. It also supports spin reversal used with slick antis.
tung: (Vernicia fordii) used as inner plies; the wood of the tree is lightweight and strong, and is sometimes used as a substitute for balsa or basswood.
e.g., Nittaku Acoustic, Joola Guo
walnut: dark coloured wood that is fast, hard and expensive; outer ply material; pairs up well with a soft core; it has a hard but crisp feeling; Janka: 1010; SG: .59; PCF: 40
e.g., Butterfly Kazan, Nittaku Rutis, Donic Ovtcharov Senso V1, Yasaka Extra Offensive
wenge: It is extremely stiff and heavy. As outer ply, it is best suited for pips or antis operated near to the table, especially it supports spin reversal very well, but also some spin. It is not suited for pips in red, mounted without sponge because of its dark color shining through the rubber.
willow: (aka Yanagi, Black Willow) this is an awesome defensive wood; it eats up the force of an incoming ball; a heavy wood used most often in choppers' blades, as an outer layer, due to its deadening effect, making hard, fast loops easier to control; it has a hollow feeling. Density .39-.42 gm per cubic centimeter; Janka: 360; SG: .39;
PCF: 26
e.g., Butterfly Defense II, Nittaku Willtria, TSP Yanagi Alpha Def
zebrano: Another hard and heavy wood. It has a surprisingly good woody feel. It’s not used by any major manufacturers but I’ve seen other custom shops use it. It’s definitely an outer ply only. Janka: 1575; SG: .74; PCF: 46
NON-WOOD/SYNTHETIC MATERIALS:
aramid: High strength, high stiffness fibre. Slightly softer than Arylate. Usually yellow. [needs more info on how it plays]
e.g., Avalox J-Aramid
aramid carbon: a composite material comprised of a soft aramid fiber and hard carbon fiber; aramid fiber makes the blade fast but not quite so hard as pure carbon
e.g., Xiom Control, Xiom Stradivarius
aratox: a softer and more elastic (Donic & Andro) fibre than aramid.
arylate: Also known as Vectran. A spun resin-based liquid crystal polymer used in high strength applications, such as body armour. Typically harder and stiffer than Aramid and Kevlar. Fibres are usually blue or pale yellow. It is a reinforcing fiber used to expand the sweet spot of the blade and also to provide unsurpassed vibration control.
e.g., Keyshot Light
arylate carbon: A woven combination of Arylate and carbon. Used in popular blades such as the Timo Boll Spirit. The speed and large sweet spot of Carbon combined with the great vibration control and soft feel of Arylate.
e.g., Butterfly M. Maze, Butterfly Timo Boll Spirit, Dawei GTS, Dawei Wavestone, Nexy Oscar
black cloth:
e.g., Joola Chen Weixing
carbon: a layer of carbon is often used in blades in order to increase the speed and the "sweet" spot, i.e., to make more of the blade surface ideal for ball contact; carbon also tends to stiffen the blade. While fast, the bigger sweet spot provides for a shocking level of control.
e.g., Avalox Ma Wenge Carbon, BBC Anvil, BBC 9-10-9, BBC Carboflex Alpha, BBC Triflex Alpha, Butterfly Balsacarbo X5, Butterfly Kreanga Carbon, Cornilleau Hinotec OFF+, Donic Persson Carbokev, Donic Waldner Black Devil, Galaxy/Yinhe T10, Galaxy/Yinhe T11, Joola Carbon Swe, Joola Guo, Joola Rosskopf Carbon, Joola Rosskopf Force, Joola Trix Fast, Nexy Icarus, TSP Hino-Carbon Power
carbotox: softer and more elastic (Donic & Andro) fibre than Carbon.
carbon fleece: A style of carbon where the fibres are not aligned nor are woven. Typically lower stiffness, speed and hardness than other varieties and has a more elastic feel than ordinary carbon. Used in popular blades such as the Waldner Senso Carbon.
e.g., Donic Epox Carbotec, Donic Epox Power Carbon, Donic Waldner Senso Carbon, Xiom Amati
fiberglass: similar to carbon in its purpose but resulting in less blade stiffness.
e.g., Andro Fibercomp, TSP Balsa Plus (various thicknesses)
g-carbon a/a carbon glass: Glass fibres and carbon combined into a resin base. Stiff and soft, lower speed than other carbon composites. Shatters easily.
e.g., Donic Persson Carbotec, Nittaku Rutis
kevlar: High stiffness, high strength fibre. Usually used in conjunction with carbon. [needs more info on how it plays]
e.g., Donic Persson Carbokev
meliorate carbon:
e.g., Joola Fever
spantex paper:
e.g., Joola Sting
tamca 5ooo Carbon: A style of carbon which is woven into a fabric or mesh. Typically stiff and fast, but not as hard as laminate type carbon layers.
texalium: An aluminium impregnated resin cloth layer that is formed into a solid ply. Hard, fast and quite stiff, but not as heavy as carbon weaves.
e.g., Donic Li Ping Kitex, Joola Cat, Joola Kool, Joola Panther, Joola Sheik
uni-axis Carbon: Carbon laid out with fibres aligned in a singular direction; typically north-south. Not as stiff, fast or hard as weave type carbon layers. Considerably lighter (75-85%).
zeta carbon:
e.g., Xiom Ignito
zl carbon (aka "zlc"): Zylon fibres woven into a carbon weave. Generally around 50% zylon 50% carbon. Lightens the blade by 10% or 15% and retains the original speed. Stiffness is slightly lower and the feel is now soft.
e.g., Butterfly Amultart, Butterfly Innerforce ZLC, Butterfly Jun Mizutani
zylon: Also known as PB0 fibre. Used in high strength applications. Known issue where the fibres slowly degrade after contact with any form of water, but is not an issue in tabletennis applications. Slightly lighter than other similar polymer fibres (Arylate, Aramid, Kevlar) but slightly faster and stiffer. Typically gold coloured fibres.
e.g., Butterfly Photino
Bass: a harder wood, but still used in lower end all-round blades.
Walnut: dark coloured wood that is fast, hard and expensive; outer ply material; pairs up well with a soft core; it has a hard but crisp feeling.
Balsa: an extremely light, soft, porous, springy wood that has a non-linear effect at ball contact; hard, direct contact results in a big springing effect, while light or grazing contact results in a more controlled carom, and the difference is greater than what you'd expect.
