I can't speak about the Big Blue Pearl or the Vicious Strike, but I do use a Sharp Blade quite regularly and also a Diesel Particle Pearl. I keep the Diesel at a 1200 finish and the Sharp Blade at 2000 rather than the box 1000. The Diesel has the pin just below the ring finger and the Sharp just above the ring finger. For my PAP, with it's high "up" coordinate, both of these locations are 4" from PAP for me. The Diesel is all about mid-lane control and revs up and starts to turn well before the Sharp. In spite of it's being a particle ball (low to medium load), the Sharp gets so far down lane before turning that it makes me nervous sometimes; but it always makes the turn in time. It has quite a sharp turn for a particle ball. I don't know if it would do this with the box finish. I knew I wanted a fall back from my Diesel when I bought it, so I polished it right from the start. I think the Sharp Blade is an excellent ball. I don't really understand the lack of interest that it seems to produce. It might be that it is too aggressive with the box finish, I just don't know.
A word of caution...the Sharp Blade is highly abrasion resistant. I've never had to work harder to put a shinier surface on a ball. If you want to shine it up, you'd better have a spinner AND some time. It has been worth the effort for me. As another possibly relevant note, let me add that I also have an Inferno with the same drilling as the Sharp Blade, except for the addition of a flare enhancing balance hole in the Inferno. Both have the same surface finish. The Inferno goes even longer and moves later and sharper than the Sharp Blade, but the Inferno can skid out if not used carefully. The Sharp Blade always makes the turn. The three balls I've mentioned here are an excellent 1-2-3 punch for me.
I'm interested in hearing more about the Big Blue Pearl myself. From everything I've seen and read about the original Big Blue, I'm thinking that the Big Blue Pearl will turn out to be a better ball.
Shiv
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