Weight
87g
Thickness
6.2mm
Plies
5-ply
Handles
FL / ST
Material
AllWood
Head Shape
Standard
Balance
Balanced
Rose Grade
Yasaka Rose Grade is a premium 5-ply all-wood blade featuring hard Santos rosewood outer plies, a material prized in fine instruments. This construction delivers a crisp, powerful feel for offensive play while maintaining impressive control for spin and touch. It offers a balanced blend of speed and finesse, making it a versatile choice for players who want traditional wood feedback with modern attacking power.
The blade features a symmetrical 5-ply all-wood construction. Hard Santos rosewood serves as the outer plies, contributing to speed and hardness. The inner layers are wood, with a noted slightly thicker middle ply that enhances offensive capabilities while the structure provides good dwell time and control.
TT Sensei Ratings
✦Our expert analysis of this blade's performance characteristics
Yasaka Rose Grade earns high marks for speed, primarily due to its hard Santos rosewood outer plies. This allows for powerful drives and quick attacks, letting players dictate the game's pace. Despite being an all-wood construction, it delivers speed comparable to many composite blades, making it a potent offensive tool.
Rose Grade is praised for its excellent control, a standout feature for a hardwood blade. The 5-ply construction provides good feel and dwell time, enabling precise execution of spinny shots and consistent placement. This balance of power and precision makes it versatile for various playing styles.
The feel is described as hard and crisp with noticeable vibration. While some players appreciate this direct feedback, others find it less nuanced compared to softer, more traditional all-wood blades, noting a similarity to stiffer carbon blades in tactile response.
Given its speed-oriented nature and hard outer plies, Rose Grade likely produces a medium-high throw angle on powerful shots, allowing for fast, aggressive loops that clear the net easily. Skilled players can modulate this effectively with spin.
The 5-ply all-wood construction of Yasaka Rose Grade contributes to a moderate dwell time. This allows the ball to sink into the blade sufficiently, enabling players to impart significant spin on shots and maintain good control during rallies.
Hard rosewood outer plies and the overall construction give the Rose Grade a stiff to medium-stiff flex. This stiffness aids in generating speed on powerful shots but may reduce the flexibility for extreme spin variations compared to softer, more flexible blades.
Players report a noticeable vibration that contributes to its crisp feel. This vibration provides good feedback on ball contact, though some might prefer a more dampened sensation.
Craftsmanship on the Rose Grade is consistently described as stunning, with amazing build quality. The use of premium Santos rosewood, often found in musical instruments, underscores its high-grade construction. Players report excellent consistency and durability in every blade.
Technology
Yasaka Rose Grade exemplifies traditional blade-making with a 5-ply all-wood construction. The core technology is the selection of hard Santos rosewood for the outer plies, a dense, resonant material used in high-end musical instruments. This choice aims to deliver significant power and a crisp, tactile feel. A slightly thicker middle ply further enhances speed while preserving the inherent feedback of wood, showcasing Yasaka's commitment to crafting quality wooden blades.
Similar Blades
Yasaka Goiabao 5 (or Rose 5)
Yasaka Goiabao 5 is frequently mentioned as a potential successor or very similar blade to the Rose Grade. Both feature hard outer plies and a 5-ply construction aiming for speed and control balance. The Goiabao 5 uses denser Goiabao wood, offering a comparable performance profile for players seeking this style.
Butterfly Peter Korbel
Players report the Peter Korbel as a point of comparison for feel, suggesting Rose Grade offers a different tactile experience—potentially less distinct. If a player seeks a classic, slightly softer all-wood feel, the Peter Korbel is a consideration, though Rose Grade provides more outright speed.