Donic Waldner Black Devil Carbon Balsa
Blade description:
The Donic Waldner Black Devil is a lightweight, high-performance offensive blade designed for aggressive, speed-oriented play. Featuring a 3+2 construction that combines a soft balsa core with carbon fiber and hard Koto middle plies, this blade is known for its extreme speed and stiffness. Its unique composition results in a distinctive high-pitched sound upon contact, which some users find satisfying while others describe as hollow.
Playing Characteristics
- Speed and Power: This is a very fast, powerful blade that excels at flat hitting, smashing, and aggressive counter-blocking.
- Feel and Dwell Time: Due to its stiff construction and minimal vibration, the blade offers a very direct feel with very low dwell time. This lack of dwell time can make it challenging to generate heavy spin for loop-heavy players.
- Control: While it provides excellent performance for attacking, it is considered demanding. It can feel “bouncy” during the short game or when blocking against high-velocity incoming shots, requiring a high level of technique to master.
- Physical Features: The blade is notably lightweight. The head size is slightly smaller than that of many standard offensive blades, and some players report that the handle edges may require light filing for comfort.
Rubber Selection and Maintenance
- Rubber Compatibility: The blade is highly sensitive to rubber selection. Because of its inherent stiffness and low dwell time, it is widely recommended to pair this blade with soft to medium-soft rubbers to improve control and consistency. Harder sponges can make the blade difficult to manage.
- Durability and Care: The balsa core is delicate and susceptible to impact damage, so the use of edge tape is recommended. Some users note that the surface material can be challenging for some adhesives when applying rubbers.
- Skill Level: This blade is generally not recommended for beginners. It is best suited for intermediate to advanced offensive players who prioritize speed and flat-hitting efficiency over spin-heavy looping.
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Recent Reviews
#1 — December 2021
A black gem in the right hands. Moved to this blade coming from Donic Epox Offensiv (5ply all wood), and what I felt upon first touch are: the blade is considerably lighter (mine weighed around 84-85g) and immensely faster, especially on flat shots/smashes. Head size is slightly smaller (about 2mm shorter than typical wood blades), and cutting/finishing is a bit rough. The Koto/balsa material is fragile, so you can put on edge tape if you want.
Just like its name, the BLACK DEVIL is a difficult blade to control. Expect a few bouncy, over the table hits when first using it. DO NOT use this blade if you just started playing table tennis. Use an all wood instead, stabilize basic strokes, and control techniques first. Only then can you move to this blade if you feel confident enough…
Personally, this blade is going to be my stepping stone to further sharpen my techniques before I decide to get an ALC blade sometime in the future.
Typically, people will suggest using medium/soft rubbers with this blade. I first put Donic Bluefire M2 and Yinhe Mercury 3 Euro Soft on FH/BH. Control is pleasant enough without compromising much speed. Close/mid distance to table plays are quick and deadly; however, a problem persisted when playing far from the table. My shots occasionally lacked power to go over the net with such setup, maybe it’s the characteristics of softer rubbers or at that point, I just simply wasn’t skilled enough to control this blade?.
After a few intense weeks of taming this little devil… I moved the M2 to BH and put Friendship (729) Battle 2 Provincial on the FH to turn the blade into a mid/far distance looping beast. Speed+super spin obliterated anyone who dared to put up their blade :)
Yes, a hard Chinese rubber on a stiff/fast blade, either I am confident enough in my skill improvement or I am an outright table tennis masochist. LOL ?.
#2 — October 2020
The layer that utilizes both balsa and carbon has a reputation for being hard and stiff. However, upon using it, I experienced an unexpected level of speed. The combination with soft rubber further enhances the comfort during gameplay. Minor adjustments to the wording may be necessary for clarity.
#3 — April 2019
The blade has a weird sound that needs time to get used to.
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