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Review Rapscallion by Ross Leidy!

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metalone View Drop Down
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    Posted: 10/11/2012 at 1:32am
I received the beautify blade below last week, and I used it for two training sessions and played with several friends for 3 hrs over the weekend.  I would like to say that the blade realy surprised me, I had no issues adjusting to a slight reduction in speed and significant weight loss ~12 grams.  The weight difference did cause me to miss several loops, but I slowed down and changed my timing, problem went away.  This is my second RL blade and even though I really enjoyed the 1st blade, due to its great blocking, great control (short game, loop drives), I lost just as much in the ability to slow/medium loop - these loops had to be controlled by penetration into the rubber and slight misses resulted in significant changes in spin / speed ratio, making it inconsistent on opening loops, loop drives were outstanding, but getting to that point was trying.  I play an aggressive offensive game, always looping on the FH, BH is mixed between loops / blocks and punch blocks.  The blade that I have played with mostly over the last 1.5 yrs is a Nittaku Barwell, so I will give some comparisons to this blade below.
Now to the new RL Rapscallion.
 
Looping
This is a looping blade, generating spin was not an issue and loop drives were very easy - I felt the control was slightly better than the Barwell.  The speed was good to about 5 ft from the table, anything further would need a OFF+ blade.  I want to emphasize that this blade is above average for looping, with emphasis on consistency / spin and placement.
 
Flicking
Very good, stable and quick acceleration due to weight reduction.
 
Passive Blocking
Very good (surprised me).  I could adsorb very heavy loops and control the placement with a soft wrist.
 
Punch Blocking BH only for me
This was slightly worse that the Barwell - I will need to play more before coming up with a final decision.  I don't train this stroke, I just use it as part of my game, so I might need more adjustment.
 
Serves
The first session with the blade, I had a difficult time adjusting to the weight change, which caused inconsistent height trajectory over the net.  Spin was the same, which I believe comes more from the rubbers - timing is impacted by total weight and distribution.
 
Serve return
Much better than Barwell.  The blade has a stiffer outer ply and is less bouncy, which helps with control.
 
The real test came when playing with several friends, but I played mostly with a friend that is rated ~2300.  We played 5 sets - 3 out of 5 - I got 4 points (much lower rated than him, but since I train with a high level player, I actually play better with higher rated players than some lower rated ones).
I won 4 out of 5 sets and several games outright, to say the least he was very surprised that I played that well and so was I.  I do have to add that he could not use his BH serve, since I have seen players up to 2500 having issues with returning it, but his FH serve is no slouch either, I just can read it better.
I have played with several light blades before and never liked any of them, but I am glad that I like this one - this makes using Bluefire a breeze.
 
 
 
 
 
Weight - 77grams blade, Total weight 176 grams
FH - Donic Bluefire M1 Max
BH Donic Bluefire M2 Max
Speed rating Off -
 
 
 
 
Gave up listing, too many changes.
Blade - Yes
BH - Rubber Red
FH - Rubber Black
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Anton Chigurh View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Anton Chigurh Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 10/11/2012 at 1:37am
That is an extraordinarily handsome blade. Clap


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metalone View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote metalone Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 10/11/2012 at 1:42am
Its almost to good looking to play with.
Gave up listing, too many changes.
Blade - Yes
BH - Rubber Red
FH - Rubber Black
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caballero View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote caballero Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 10/11/2012 at 2:23am
Metalone,
I am glad that you had a similar experience with the Rapscallion. You will notice that after adjusting to the blade's particular weight, punch blocking and throw angle this blade will become an asset in your TT development. The first two issues people notice with the blade (beside its beauty) are the speed/power and the light weight. I received two new ones and will soon open a thread on how their pitch differs from other blades (i.e., Acoustic).
Hurray for independent blade-makers:

Leidy's Rapscallion
Charlie's 1Ply & 9-10-9
American Hinoki's WRC Quantum 3-ply



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rokphish View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote rokphish Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 10/11/2012 at 8:12am
Pretty! How could we bear to play with the blade? First dent would surely heart breaking...
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Ross Leidy View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Ross Leidy Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 10/11/2012 at 8:51am
Metalone - thanks for your review and your willingness to give the Rapscallion a try.  I appreciate your comments on the blade.
 
I should say that this particular blade was lighter than most Rapscallions, and I believe that's primarily due to lighter weight handle grips.  For those with sharp eyes, you might recognize this handle from an earlier metalone blade here.  There was a build defect in that blade, and I retrieved the handle grips to use on the new Rapscallion.  Metalone had done some significant shaping of the grips to suit his grip preference, so they were a bit lighter.  Most Rapscallions will finish in the low-to-mid 80's.
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metalone View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote metalone Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 10/12/2012 at 12:59am
Originally posted by Ross Leidy Ross Leidy wrote:

Metalone - thanks for your review and your willingness to give the Rapscallion a try.  I appreciate your comments on the blade.
 
I should say that this particular blade was lighter than most Rapscallions, and I believe that's primarily due to lighter weight handle grips.  For those with sharp eyes, you might recognize this handle from an earlier metalone blade here.  There was a build defect in that blade, and I retrieved the handle grips to use on the new Rapscallion.  Metalone had done some significant shaping of the grips to suit his grip preference, so they were a bit lighter.  Most Rapscallions will finish in the low-to-mid 80's.
 
Always a pleasure working with you and your blade quality is above all others!
 
Gave up listing, too many changes.
Blade - Yes
BH - Rubber Red
FH - Rubber Black
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r0b View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote r0b Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 10/12/2012 at 1:31am
Thanks for the review. Blade looks beautiful indeed!
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