Nittaku Feruku

Butterfly Photino is one of my favorite blades, so I was excited to try out the Feruku with its similar 2 outer plies of Hinoki over plys of Kevlar (vs Zylon). However this blade is very fast and stiff, lacking the controlled power and flexibility of Photino. Feruku's outer plies of hinoki are very thin, so the "hinoki" feel is negligible. The thick and hard middle ply is what dominates the feel of this blade, and its only when you are far away from the table taking huge swings that you feel the flexibility of Kevlar. Otherwise, anywhere close to the table your shots will go sailing. The ST handle I tried was average thickness, but it seemed a little short. Lastly, due to the retail price of this blade, I was expecting quality along the lines of Violin, Acoustic, Tenor, etc, but I was again disappointed. The uneven finish of Feruku left a lot to be desired considering the price tag. Not to mention the sharp wings gave my hand blisters and I wasn't about to try and sand a Kevlar blade, especially since I knew I would sell it. Stay away from this blade. There are probably 100 better blades out there with similar specs and lower price tag.