Custom Bats Cricket Forum
Equipment => Bats => Bat Care => Topic started by: 19reading87 on November 01, 2011, 10:34:47 PM
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As my search function isn't working I just thought I would post a new topic.
How long does everyone normally knock in their bats for? Can you possibly over knock in a bat???
Reds
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30 mins of quality knocking for me. Knocking in like '1 hour a day for 7 days', is extreme and a load of cack.
It also depends on the quality of knocking. Getting light throw downs or hitting a ball in a stocking means you hit the ball once every 10 seconds etc (6 times a minute etc). But if you get a ball mallet/wooden mallet you hit the ball once every second (so 60 times a minute).
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Depends on the bat but generally about an hour
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You can't 'over knock in' a bat - the longer you knock it in for the better it will perform. I normally do mine on feel; I'll knock it in until the rebound sounds are the same as an old bat I've got that's already knocked in.
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ill just smash the toe with a mallet for 30 mins then do top of bat and the shoulders and edges then use it. never touch the middle
new bats are usually pretty hard but when u hit them in the middle they "ping"
after the bat is knocked in and is soft the "ping" is not felt as much just tapping up but when u play shots u can defo feel the diffrence
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I just do it till the grains start to slightly "open" then for me my bat is ready to go.. Always done it this way and have never had a broken or cracked bat
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im sure Mr laver mentioned something about 10x10 min sessions is more than enough.
personally i tend to do 1-2 hours on the toe and a bit on the splice and edges. i think fit an antiscuff and do some throw downs with an old ball. in total probably a total of 4-5 hours in all. its all personal preference and depends on the willow. so take more than others.
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I take the bat to Mr romida and give him some cash. a week later Mr romida gives me my bat back and it is ready to go...
not really sure I understand about grains opening up, or the like...
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for my next bat im going to try the Black widow of south africa way of knocking in.
http://www.blackwidowbats.co.za/Page.php?pageID=5
ive modified an old bat mallet and its ready to go. not sure how effective it is or how long it will take but ill update you guys once ive tried
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for my next bat im going to try the Black widow of south africa way of knocking in.
[url]http://www.blackwidowbats.co.za/Page.php?pageID=5[/url]
ive modified an old bat mallet and its ready to go. not sure how effective it is or how long it will take but ill update you guys once ive tried
Please do, looks interesting!
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How does there knocking work?
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ive tried it on an old bat already as i didnt want to damage a new blade as i wasnt sure how fierce it would be. doesnt seem to make a mark but ill probably be doing it in the next couple of weeks on a new bat so will start a new thread and let you know
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How does there knocking work?
they use a sds hammer drill on hammer only i guess. they seem to use a table leg or something attached to the bottom. check the link out and it shows a pic
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I like the bone they use for the edges.. bloody elephants shin bone
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I take the bat to Mr romida and give him some cash. a week later Mr romida gives me my bat back and it is ready to go...
not really sure I understand about grains opening up, or the like...
How would you rate the service from Romida for knocking in?
I've always thought about doing it, but I have been a bit sceptical!
I usually 'bone' the edges, rounding them off on the edge of my sink, then spend about 30 minutes on the edges. I'll then use it against the bowling machine or a few throw downs, then I'll use it!
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They do a decent enough job - the bat doesn't bruise too much - if anything they might slightly over press the bat but I think they do that to save themselves complaints.
The fact is I have no interest and they are the easiest for me to get to to do the job (although I might give colt cricket ago at some stage)
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so i take it romida just repress the bat? what are peoples views on pressing the bat or having it hand knocked in? ive never used either system so cant comment
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Romida to a mix of knocking in by hand and using the press i think. It might have a minor impact on perforance - but that is something you accept.
Personally I think nothing beats doing it buy hand - but I don't have the time or desire to do it.
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Might send away one of my TLB bats and see how it gets on, will have to post a mini review up!
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I'm a lazy so and so. I don't spend much more than an hour making sure the edges and toe are done.
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Anyone seen this method before?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yvfWVvBiZWs
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its good but absolutely butchers the softer pressed bats...
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I'm having mine done by that in a week or so - I'd rather that than by hand, as I trust machines more than myself of others!
They have one of them down at Chase as well, their pre-knocked in bats are done by that.
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they are decent machines, but we all know they arent watched over...which is where the risk sometimes lies...
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Yes it's possible to over knock in a bat. You're best to knock in the edges and toe to avoid damage then some light knocking in in the middle, but use balls mainly.
There isn't a set time which is correct, just until there's no risk of major cracking or huge seam marks.
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Yes it's possible to over knock in a bat. You're best to knock in the edges and toe to avoid damage then some light knocking in in the middle, but use balls mainly
How? Knocking in simulates a ball hitting the bat very gently, and bat's will need a bit of use to prime the middle, so surely they'll perform better with more knocking in in the middle?
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For a bat to perform at it's best you want a thin hard layer over a soft lower layer of willow, creating a trampoline type effect. Knocking in too much makes that layer too deep, meaning that performance is decreased.
Laminated bats create the hard layer artificially (though do still need some preperation!), and is one of the reasons why they perform.
That said, as a manufacturer, you want people to knock in a bat as much as possible as it means less returns.
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PakPassion.net: Also, why isn't it possible to over knock a bat? Wouldn't it over compress the blade and cause it to lose ping?
James Laver: It is certainly possible to over-knock a bat. The last thing we recommend is for you to knock your bat in too much. We prefer to make sure the toe and the edges are structurally safe and sound and then let the bat develop by using it for what it is designed for – hitting cricket balls!
Over knocking can significantly reduce the ping of a bat and wear it out quicker and it therefore not recommended.
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I do remember someone saying that the pressing really provides the thin hard layer on the face and what you are doing by knocking in the toe and edges is building up protection. Can't remember who said it though.
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They do a decent enough job - the bat doesn't bruise too much - if anything they might slightly over press the bat but I think they do that to save themselves complaints.
The fact is I have no interest and they are the easiest for me to get to to do the job (although I might give colt cricket ago at some stage)
Buzz, the guy at Colts cricket does a very good job of knocking in from what I can see, he showed me the bats he was knocking in and does take a lot of care on what he does.
He's repaired a couple of bats of mine and they've gone well after (notably the Salix I had which was a beaut!).
Also, his prices are very very decent too, and surely he's closer to you..? 8)
They do a decent enough job - the bat doesn't bruise too much - if anything they might slightly over press the bat but I think they do that to save themselves complaints.
The fact is I have no interest and they are the easiest for me to get to to do the job (although I might give colt cricket ago at some stage)
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In leymans terms: I guess this is why a bat 'dies'.
It's too knocked in. That thin layer becomes a thick layer and the ping is gone.
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I normally round the edges off, hit the toe fairly hard, slap a face cover on and use the bat. Apart from me being a batsman who drives yorkers, the bats don't have any problems from knocking in.
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I try to use against old balls because I fear I might over knock as described by James Laves in Toms post.
However, I was talking to Julian Millichamp last night and asked him about knocking, he said when he test his bats with a mallet to check the performance it causes indentation so what I can do is just even out the whole face [meaning indent the whole face] and then use against old balls, that is what I will do with my Screaming Cat [if I buy a mallet or borrow one]
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yeah ive heard that before as well hit the bat when it makes a dent do the rest so its all flat!
however some of the uk made bats ive had when u hit the mallet it doesnt make a dent or anything.
maybe only applys to softly pressed bats
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Yeah that's what it says on the laver website, although I've never been able to hit a bat hard enough to dent it, apart from when rounding off the edges
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Most people I have asked just knock it in for 60 minutes!
I start by rounding off the edges and getting rid of any 'sharp' corners! Then up and down the edges once they're rounded off. Next I concentrate around the toe area and the bottom 4 inches to strengthen that!
I do knock the rest of the blade in a bit but only really for 30 minutes or so! But the most important parts are the toe and edges to ensure the willow is compressed and strengthened!
Then I take the bat into the nets against the bowling machine for an hour or so, and progress onto throw downs and bowlers using soft cricket balls (as the leather is softer)
By this time, the bat should be pretty much ready to go.
The important thing is to realise that knocking in a bat is ensuring it's ready to play against fully new and hard cricket balls. But this is not to be confused with having the bat ready at it's optimum performance level, as this can take weeks or months, depending on the pressing, grains, how often you play, etc!
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But this is not to be confused with having the bat ready at it's optimum performance level, as this can take weeks or months, depending on the pressing, grains, how often you play, etc!
Or indeed, how often you actually hit the ball...
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some may need to knock the outside edge in slightly more than others!
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What happens when there are cracks appearing under the toe that run across the blade/ across the grains.
I believe its called feathering but cant find any info? The cracks are too small/narrow to pour superglue into.
Anyone had this happen and can you recommend something? Cheers
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Is it in your cf Previn?
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Firstly i will round the edges, glancing blows with a mallet do the job, Doesn't really have a time period, just until i'm satisfied really.
Then the toe for 15-30 mins, depending on how long I can be bothered.
Maybe i'll smack the middle for fun a couple of times, but most bats are pressed so; no point in doing so.
Finally about 60-200 balls worth of throw downs, until the moment of truth (AKA the glory shot, the perfect shot) ...the one shot where you 'know' the bat is knocked in.
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What happens when there are cracks appearing under the toe that run across the blade/ across the grains.
I believe its called feathering but cant find any info? The cracks are too small/narrow to pour superglue into.
Anyone had this happen and can you recommend something? Cheers
Yeah this is feathering. As far as I know there's not much you can't do really, apart from sending it off for a refurb. I think your best bet (I have done this in the past) is to cover up the face and pour a load of superglue into the feathering until its all level, then when it's dry put a shoe goo toe guard on.
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Think I'm going to knock my next bat in for 5 hours.......
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Firstly i will round the edges, glancing blows with a mallet do the job, Doesn't really have a time period, just until i'm satisfied really.
Then the toe for 15-30 mins, depending on how long I can be bothered.
Maybe i'll smack the middle for fun a couple of times, but most bats are pressed so; no point in doing so.
Finally about 60-200 balls worth of throw downs, until the moment of truth (AKA the glory shot, the perfect shot) ...the one shot where you 'know' the bat is knocked in.
..or the shot where you hear a massive crack and think "ohhhhh ****"
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Yeah this is feathering. As far as I know there's not much you can't do really, apart from sending it off for a refurb. I think your best bet (I have done this in the past) is to cover up the face and pour a load of superglue into the feathering until its all level, then when it's dry put a shoe goo toe guard on.
ive heard superglue isnt great for bats as its too hard. wood glue is better as its slightly flexible. not sure how true that is though
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i was told if the cracks are really small. supper glue is fine. but anything other than tiny cracks and feathering u need to use wood glue
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Is it in your cf Previn?
Yes Johnny old boy, there are some cracks on the base of the bat. It arrived with the toe heavily oiled which I assume was to make the wood harder. Perhaps I should have asked for a toe guard?
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i was told if the cracks are really small. supper glue is fine. but anything other than tiny cracks and feathering u need to use wood glue
In my experience if the crack is on the face on the bat where the ball will hit you should use PVA or wood glue (same thing?) as it rebounds nicely, superglue will result in the ball dieing when it hit's that part of the bat as it is hard and unforgiving. For doing a feathered toe either would work, as you're not going to hit the ball there, so it's personal choice. I have used Superglue for doing this as a shoe goo toe guard sticks to it better than it does to PVA.
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Wood glue and PVA are definitely not the same thing! In my experience PVA reactivates when it gets wet (as i found out after I PVA'd a wall ready for plastering and then went out in the rain in the same jeans!) this is probably fine in plaster walls as you want a bit of flex but I'd definitely go for exterior wood glue on my bat to make sure you don't undo your repair.