Concavity on the blade. WHAT's FOR?

I can imagine a 7-ply blade transformed into a 5-ply by gauging all the top ply a 1/2 inch from the edges; that's kind of easy to do; for example from a 

tt4me wrote: the_theologian wrote: Not sure why you're so worked up about this.  I took it that igorponger heard an interesting tt conspiracy and wanted the thoughts of the forum. What's your problem with that? It is just what you said.  A rumor probably started by igorponger himself.   It is a waste of time, bandwidth and disk space. This idea is non-sense and rates right up there with pausing to generate more power/speed.

With the lead in smackman's post, I dug up Adham's response to haggisv's inquiry about the planned blade approval from the OOAK forum.

2. We have encountered many ambiguities about detaching and regluing sponge to rubber etc. There is also the whole issue of tuning and boosting sponge but not the rubber, etc. So it is felt that both parts should be the "racket covering". Regarding BLADES, we have discovered that some manufacturers actually shave the blade (concave shaving) in order to allow for thicker rubber to be used, or to allow for the expansion of the rubber when boosted. So the manufacturers that follow the rules are not happy. They find that it is cheating and unfair. We agree. Also some national associations have complained as they suspect that some players may be using these type of blades at the ITTF events. So we wish to control this matter before it goes out of hand and ensure a level playing field. Until now we used the honour system and relied on the manufacturers to produce the equipment according to the ITTF rules. Unfortunately some are not following the rules (85% wood, flat, even, etc.) and it forces us to put a system in place to control the equipment before it goes to market.

blade certification...it is coming; the way they sneakily advance the agenda is funny at best.

I have heard of this kind of thing back in the black and black days when combi players wanted to use extra sponge on their anti-side. At that time rackets were not inspected. There were wild rumors about various twiddlers having doctored their bats, and I did see the bat of a club mate, who had 2 layers of sponge disguised with edge tape -but he wasnt going to set the world on fire with his game. I came to the conclusion that the histeria generated by black and black was the main active force rather than people going to the trouble and expense of hollowing out bats.
But these days manufacturers hollowing out the sweet spot, why should they do it, and how can they do it. It makes the bat illegal, So they cant market it. It wouldn't make sense except as a private arrangement with their sponsored players and that would be very risky for both sides. Which brings you back to the players themselves. Maybe they might try to get the "MAXEST" rubbers from their suppliers and then sand the centre of the racket themselves and mill the outer edge of the sponge in some way. Such activity would be very difficult to conceal from the rest of the team. However all athletes tend to have an obsession/compulsion to try for every advantage and a constant worry that others are doing it and getting away with it.
Having read the google translation of Cai's remarks, I think its likely that if Cai got news of some idiots even thinking of going down this road, he decided to knock it on the head, while simultaneously scoring a propaganda coup for being proactive in dealing with it. China doesnt need these tricks to be on top, and it certainly can do without anything that is bad for the fantastic image they have made for the CNT

I wonder how ITTF is going to test the rackets? There is a potentially huge liability in that. Let's say they remove the rubber from a racket belonging to a player who has just won the world championship and the racket (which turns out to be legal) is ruined in the process. Who is going to compensate the player for his loss which could be worth thousands of dollars on the auction market (Ebay among others)? Not to mention the huge amount of man-hours training the player spent getting used the racket.

An X-ray machine could be used to inspect the rackets but that sounds expensive and radioactive...

Just a thought from a racket manufacturer.

I think all this equipment might have an effect on the top 100 in the world. The rest of us - improving our technique and fitness will have far more influence in our game than worrying about equipment. 

jrscatman wrote: I think all this equipment might have an effect on the top 100 in the world. The rest of us - improving our technique and fitness will have far more influence in our game than worrying about equipment.

But we are talking about what top players may do to get the edge...

Remember with TK and the speed glue.... He tried to hide it from his teammates by gluing up in the WC, but they found out. In the same way any national team member (of any country) who suddenly developed an extra 10% on his fh by whatever method would incur the suspicion of his teammates - and his teammates are his real competitors. So I think there is huge risk for trying something like this. China for instance must have learned from the controversy over drugs with LGL and the danger of ruining China's reputation over something which they just did not need to do, in view of their superiority. (I accept LGL's innocence btw, I simply cannot credit a person of such intelligence,doing something so stupid ).

Not pleasant perhaps, but not necessarily stupid. Being a leader involves a lot more than being seen as a nice guy.
If he had a rule about this, and Hao broke it in a public place, then maybe action was necessary.
But I dont know all the facts about Hao and the phone. Do you?

pingpongpaddy wrote: Not pleasant perhaps, but not necessarily stupid. Being a leader involves a lot more than being seen as a nice guy. If he had a rule about this, and Hao broke it in a public place, then maybe action was necessary. But I dont know all the facts about Hao and the phone. Do you?

I reckon Hao is lucky he Wasnt working for Alex Ferguson! (ex man united manager)
but seriously this is just confirmation that LGL is a leader operating in a culture where disrespect to authority figures and elders is not tolerated. If he did nothing he would be seen as weak. To lead a group of world class athletes all with huge egos you need to set rules and stick to them. A pretty basic rule for a top coach is: "When I speak you players listen"

gnopgnipster wrote: I wonder how ITTF is going to test the rackets? There is a potentially huge liability in that. Let's say they remove the rubber from a racket belonging to a player who has just won the world championship and the racket (which turns out to be legal) is ruined in the process. Who is going to compensate the player for his loss which could be worth thousands of dollars on the auction market (Ebay among others)? Not to mention the huge amount of man-hours training the player spent getting used the racket. An X-ray machine could be used to inspect the rackets but that sounds expensive and radioactive... Just a thought from a racket manufacturer.

phhsssh these arn't social players who change their rubber every two years, I would expect most pro's would peel the rubber off after every competition anyway, 

igorponger wrote: SEEING IS BELIEVING... To me, the whole issue about the "shaved blades" is just a smoke without fire.     None of such a blade is still found at Pro Tours events. Again, should the such racket modifications be really in use someday, they are very easy for the umpire to control just by taking an eye examination on the racket.    Again, once you have some non-standard concav blade you need non-standard BUCKLED rubbers as well. I know not any manufacturer greedy enough to take the risk of producing the illegal rubbers and blades, and I know not of any pro player reckless enough to practise deception of the kind. Lastly, you would be utterly unable to use the buckled rubbers because of lack of control.    ---------- I do not believe all the whispers of the misterious shaved blades till I see this blade in reality.. Not before.    -------------    To speak further more, ITTF has now undertook some experiments with rubbers over 4mm thick.   If they do legalize those someday, players all get disinterested in those concave blades. Yes..