Butterfly Mazunov

In my opinion, the best all-wood blade is fantastic for blocking. It generates fast and heavy topspin, and control is superb, both close to the table and from a mid-distance. I think this is the only all-wood blade that can compete with professional composite blades in the era of plastic balls. Sadly, Butterfly will no longer produce this blade.

Just replace it with Stiga Clipper Wood. Same performance but less weight.

Mine was 110 gr, heavy but stable. Great for close-to-table drives, attacks, and blocks, as well as slow, spinny loops from 1 m away. I paired it with Aurus Soft (FH) and Samba Tech (BH).

Has a good overall weight, making it suitable for both offensive and defensive play. Its balance allows for precise control and powerful shots. The blade excels in close-to-table smashes, providing excellent spin and power for decisive plays.

Awesome speed. Use soft rubber for more control and to reduce the weight. Good quality.

The Butterfly Zhang Jike ZLC Table Tennis Blade is one of the most powerful blades available from Butterfly. Despite its power, the blade is not overly hard, allowing for excellent control and feel.

Mazunov, in my honest opinion, is as light as any better blade. My own blade weighs 89 grams and it stands out as a very well-balanced wood filling blade that boasts incredible looping capabilities. It is unfortunate that BTY is increasingly manufacturing blades of this type with heavier weights. I believe the ideal weight range for a Mazunov blade is between 85-90 grams, as it was in the initial series.

I played with this blade for 7 years. I love how I can easily loop with it even though it is 7.0mm thick. Control is awesome.

Amazing blade! I own two 25-year-old blades (older than the black tag series), and they are absolutely impressive. They offer unparalleled speed, feeling, and control—far superior to most composite blades (carbon, arylate-carbon, zylon, ZLC, super ZLC, etc.). The yellow planchonello outer plies provide an exceptional feel, as if the blade is an extension of your hand.

The wood structure is identical to the Cresail, but both my 25-year-old Mazunov blades play even better. I own one and have tested another. They are superb and a perfect weapon for offensive-minded players. Give them a try, and you’ll be amazed!

Madera de gran consistencia y peso muy apropiada para atacar y contratacar, con golpes certeros, ya que controla muy bien las picadas o drives, tan rápida como las de carbono, pero teniendo mucho más control. Una de las mejores de Butterfly para atacar, con golpes muy potentes y de gran precisión. El inconveniente de esta madera es su elevado peso, cerca de 100 gramos o más.

Particularmente, me gustan las maderas más ligeras y manejables, de unos 86 gramos o menos, y con más facilidad para efectuar los Top Spin en corto.

Before I ever tried the Mazunov, I had tried numerous other blades, searching for a composition that would suit my “Twiddling-Attack-Chop-Blocking-at the Table-Style”. It was always challenging to find a good compromise between safe blocking and powerful topspin attacking. So, I tested slow to fast defensive blades, all-around blades, and offensive blades up to the speed of the Photino, which is also an exceptional blade.

I would have never considered the Mazunov if it weren’t for that one night when I accidentally ended up in the training hall still wearing my suit. I borrowed someone’s racket and played in a shirt and socks. It happened to be the Mazunov with Xiom Vega Pro max on the forehand and short-pip Flarestorm 2 max on the backhand with a flared handle. Although it wasn’t my long pips ox as I was accustomed to and not my tenergy 25 2.1, it was a revelation that kept revealing more and more positive traits the longer I played it. After that night, it didn’t take long until I had my own Mazunov with a straight handle at 100g.

Here comes a list of why I love the Mazunov so much: 1. The solid, chunky feeling gives you a lot of control, so pushes (very important for me) were very controlled (TTR 1655 German Joola system). 2. Blocking is amazing! - Pips in wonderful blocking because it is so stiff that the difference between blocking very (fast) spinny vs. not so spinny fast topspins is not so big, and a significant number of blocks bounce back very controlled at high speed. - Long pips ox (bomb talent) provide very controlled and flat chop-blocking and flat blocking, so blocking variation is very easy. 3. A vast amount of spin! I have a lot of spin in my topspins, but I never had as much (especially in opening topspins) as with the Mazunov (TSP Pur Hinoki may be the only exception in this field). I don’t know if it’s because it’s purely wood or because of the outer Planchonello layers, which are “power loopers” veneers. However, I read (http://www.fbvtt.org/E-temel1.htm) that the player Mazunov himself had set a spin record, so maybe there’s a connection?! Anyway, tons of spin but much more power and speed than I was used to, so short backhand movements from mid-distance are still very fast, and counterattacks are superb all over the place. 4. The overall control is much better than any rating you’ll find. 5. The handle (straight) is the only straight handle (quite square and edgy) I’ve used so far besides Juic Kalinic Allround + that allows me to twiddle (almost) without any mistakes and helps very much with feeling the adjustments and angles when using a forehand or backhand-oriented grip. (One of the typical straight Butterfly handles, like Timo Boll ALC and such, but different to Photino, which is rounder.) 6. The weight - all right; of course, my racket doesn’t weigh so much because I play ox pips on one side, but after experimenting with anti, which made my racket heavier, I found out that I needed a certain weight to produce enough power. So, to me, the Mazunov compensates for the extra weight other offensive players can use to produce powerful attacks, but I got used to the extra weight so quickly that I could well imagine getting used to even more, such as with two inverted rubbers, also quite quickly. Apart from speed, the increased weight helps to control the tangential movement of the racket head during the topspin. 7. Conclusion: It comes as no surprise to see that so many pros and advanced players play this blade. Super!

Third Blade: I bought this blade about a year ago, and to this day, it hasn’t let me down. As one of the top plywood blades on the market, it has an incredible resistance to damage. I have dropped this blade countless times, and it remains in fantastic condition. Its speed is impressive when paired with quality rubber. The one potential drawback is that it’s one of the heavier blades available. However, with sufficient practice, you can learn to control its weight and, therefore, the ball, resulting in improved gameplay. Ultimately, this blade is ideal for offensive and attack-minded players. Give it a try. I highly recommend it.

At one time this was labelled the fastest non-carbon blade available. However, further developments in table tennis blades, particularly those featuring carbon, balsa, or fibreglass, have left this once-famous blade for speed lagging behind. Nonetheless, it remains a quality blade that has withstood the test of time. The fact that it is still available is a testament to its quality and popularity.

This blade is extremely heavy, and I have never come across anything heavier. It is very good for punchy blocks, and the feel and control for either short drop shots or long push shots make it extremely versatile. It is much easier to control than carbon attacking blades. I would not recommend this blade to those with longer shots, as this would further increase short length and reduce recovery time. This probably explains why they recommend it for mid-distance loops and topspins.

Don’t be put off by its OFF+ rating, as this rating is over 30 years old. It is ideal for offensive-minded players with punchy backhand blocks, wristy topspins, and mid-distance loops. I would always recommend it over a carbon blade, but most people now prefer much lighter blades.

An astonishing blade indeed. Fast, hard, but with excellent feedback, great in any field of the game! I have probably tested hundreds of blades, including many carbon blades, but this one gives me the feeling to be able to do anything! There is no other blade like this out there, a real shame that Butterfly discontinued it.

I do not agree that the Stiga Clipper could replace the Mazunov. The Mazunov is way more solid and has less vibration. Thus if you can find one, go for it!.