Miura "Blade TF2" question

[JGeiman2]

I found a set of heads called Blade TF2 which the seller is claiming are Miura forgings. Is this true? They look like the mini blades. The heads are in phenomenal shape and he told me to contact someone at Blade golf to check authenticity. Thanks for any help.

[Bigmean]

Pics?

 

TF2 is nothingni have seen as Miura here or Miura giken?

 

Y grind Type F would fit your description.

[JGeiman2]

He is saying that they're made by Miura for a company named Blade Golf?

 

[JGeiman2]

Here are pictures

[Bigmean]

I found them, golf review says 1028 steel? Is that even a thing?

 

I don't know bro. Chrome looks off but could be pic...I have never seen any on Japanese auction so they are not Jdm I take it???

 

Seems really sketchy to me. You would know if you hit one next to Miura, that is for sure. Hell, after only 2 seasons with my miuras I could not hit a ball for 3 months and hit something and know that feel or not.

 

Have you had miuras before? If so i would think you would know. I never say never but that looks sketchy and fit and finish ain't exactly screaming Miura. How much are they? Even old TM irons that are Miura forged still go for $350+, not much forged by them sneaks under the radar.

[JGeiman2]

Yeah I was thinking the same but found something about being made just for Blade Golf but called TF1. They're selling for $200

[JGeiman2]

People on tourspec boatdd have them and I guess they're legit. They bought a bunch of Miura mb5002 blanks and finish them themselves. Might be worth a try for the orice since I have a set of shafts waiting for a home.

 

Thanks for your help, Bigmean! You pointed me in the right direction.

[Bigmean]

The font on the "P" is different in the 5002s, and the head looks more square in the toe. I have bought Kyoei blanks in a half assed experiment, but they come stamped with numbers, even overweight. I would think if you are being told they are 5002, it would seem likely that the numbers would at least be identical? Just a thought, not trying to be negative, just appropriately skeptical....

 

http://buyee.jp/item/yahoo/auction/j427736027

[Tcann32]

I found them, golf review says 1028 steel? Is that even a thing?

 

I don't know bro. Chrome looks off but could be pic...I have never seen any on Japanese auction so they are not Jdm I take it???

 

Seems really sketchy to me. You would know if you hit one next to Miura, that is for sure. Hell, after only 2 seasons with my miuras I could not hit a ball for 3 months and hit something and know that feel or not.

 

Have you had miuras before? If so i would think you would know. I never say never but that looks sketchy and fit and finish ain't exactly screaming Miura. How much are they? Even old TM irons that are Miura forged still go for $350+, not much forged by them sneaks under the radar.

 

1028 carbon steel is a real thing, yes. IIRC, I do think that's what Miura uses..

 

The heads look right, honestly.. It does seem a bit odd if the pricing doesn't follow suit though.. Miura doesn't charge as much as they do and make a heavy profit, or they wouldn't be in the position they're in now.

 

The only thing I could think of for a cheaper head is if the head didn't match Miura's tolerances, but he's pretty strict about that, and probably wouldn't put his name on something, or let himself be associated with it, if it didn't pass his test.

 

Then again, with the new ownership, they're using carpenters steel and making chunky clubs, so I'm sure the old ways of tossing out the old heads were viewed as wasteful. That's purely speculation, of course.

 

And yes, after not much time, you'd know if you're hitting a Miura or not. I have yet to hit anything else like them. Not to say that I haven't enjoyed hitting other clubs, but they're forgings are pretty unique.

[JGeiman2]

Yeah they look very similar and after reading a few threads over at the TourSpec board, I'm pretty sure they're real. It's very possible that they didn't fit Miura's specs and they sold them. They were produced in the early to mid 2000's from what I saw.

The owner of Blade Golf was a sponsor on that site so I wouldn't think they'd allow a snake to sponsor their site.

I really appreciate your knowledge, Bigmean and Tcann

[Tcann32]

Yeah they look very similar and after reading a few threads over at the TourSpec board, I'm pretty sure they're real. It's very possible that they didn't fit Miura's specs and they sold them. They were produced in the early to mid 2000's from what I saw.

The owner of Blade Golf was a sponsor on that site so I wouldn't think they'd allow a snake to sponsor their site.

I really appreciate your knowledge, Bigmean and Tcann

 

Of course. The only thing that I was curious about was the comparison to the small blades.. They look very similar to tournament blades, but I can't speak to how well anyone would ever know the difference from the photos. Either way, I hope you get a chance to enjoy them. If you have an opportunity to hit a Miura side by side, be sure to let us know if you find any differences! The steel is correct, so if they're forged by Miura-san, I wouldn't think you'd notice any difference.. Best of luck! They're great looking sticks either way, so if the price is right, that particular carbon steel and head shape should make for an enjoyable experience either way my friend!

[Bigmean]

Yup, a cheap enough experiment, keep us posted!

[Tcann32]

http://www.golfwrx.com/forums/topic/245775-blade-golf-miura-forged/

 

Not sure if you saw the above link or not, but you may want to give it a read!

[Bigmean]

Plot thickening....SO are those originals or not? How would one tell?

[JGeiman2]

The guy said he got them straight from the owner of Blade golf and they set them up to his specs. I'm going to buy them and see how they work. It's worth a shot.

I'll keep the post open and respond when I get the shafts in them and take some swings. I'm playing Adams CMB's right now so it'll be a great upgrade.

[kaaayelll]

People on tourspec boatdd have them and I guess they're legit. They bought a bunch of Miura mb5002 blanks and finish them themselves. Might be worth a try for the orice since I have a set of shafts waiting for a home.

 

Thanks for your help, Bigmean! You pointed me in the right direction.

This is accurate. Blade TF-2 are from Miura 5002 blanks. Basically, it's just like the way a bunch of companies use Kyoei KCM blanks and put their own Grind on them, except Miura doesn't sell blanks anymore. These are legit heads. The feel will be all Miura, but the weight tolerances may not be.

[Thrillhouse]

I remember blade golf, that was the company that you could order custom grinds and top lines and toe grinds and all sorts of stuff on. I wouldn't think there was a huge market for this but it was a really cool idea.

[Bigmean]

Sounds like a home run!

 

Keep the Adams, I love a blade and CB set. Perfect to have 2 sets of different pros and cons to rotate if they gel together.

[JGeiman2]

I love my CMB's! Got them new for $310! Was a steal for sure.

 

I like the CB/MB combo sets too, those blade long irons are hard to hit. I definitely appreciate the ol timers and how they could play those tiny blades back in the day, huge props to them.

 

Getting them tomorrow after work for $200. Keep you all posted.

 

Thank you all for your help.

[rfmadjr]

I came across this topic and would like to address some of the questions asked and clear up some possible confusion.   Blade Golf started out in early 2001 with an iron line(TF-1) made by Kyoei.  In 2002, we released the TF-2, which is a Miura forging based on the existing Miura 5002 MB.  All Blade irons were/are manufactured and engraved to our specs by each foundry just like Endo Miura, and Fujimoto do for Titleist, Taylormade and others. We never bought blanks or seconds from any foundry. Having said that, because we wanted to offer ultimate customization, we ordered all our forgings raw, heavy, and unpolished.  We did this for several reasons, but mainly, we wanted to offer weight, grind, and finish options to our customers. 

 

For example, if you wanted a sharper leading edge(which we did for Gene Littler(yes, the Hall of Fame golfer), a heavier swing weight like D6,  and a Satin instead of polished finish, we could do all that. We would even allow you to request a square or round toe shape. The real benefit was we could dry assemble each club with shaft, length, and grip request and then polish every raw forging to exact requested specs.  All these variables made each set unique to the customer, and that is why we called it the "Made For You" process. We even stamped their initials on the hosel. 

 

Mr Miura, who I dealt with directly, was a complete gentleman and was gracious enough to give us good pricing, and we ordered enough inventory to last us for a number of years.  As we began to run low on inventory, golf was in a steep decline, and prices had, in some cases, quadrupled.  It was clearly not the time to continue, so we stopped marketing any new products for the last ten years or so. 

 

We had a great run, I got to work the tours, meet some great people, and live out my passion.   Given our incredible attention to detail and our made-for-you process, I feel we enhanced the already great forgings we were getting from our foundries.  And we certainly created a lot of very happy customers.  I even think helped/inspired some of our customers to get into the custom golf business as well.

 

Hope this helps!

 

Richard Madison

 

PS stay tuned!