Custom Bats Cricket Forum
Equipment => Bats => Topic started by: Canners on November 06, 2011, 10:27:06 AM
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what is everyones understanding of willow grading
I personally expect
grade 1- clean willow no knots/blemishes or heartwood 8+ straight grains
grade 2 same as above with slight blemishing/heartwood
grade 3- pretty ugly willow with waver grains knots and heartwood
what are your expectations? thoughts....... ?
this is what JS Wright (the experts) say.....
A Grade 1 Blade
A Grade 1 is the best looking blade money can buy, though it will not necessarily play the best. There may be some red wood evident on the edge of the bat. The grain on the face will be straight and there will be at least 4 grains visible. There may be the odd small knot in the edge or back but the playing area should be clean.
A Grade 2 Blade
A Grade 2 blade is also very good quality and normally a larger amount of red wood can be seen on the edge of a bat, this has no effect on the playing ability of the bat it is purely cosmetic. Again there will be at least 4 straight grains on the face of the bat with maybe some blemishes, pin knots or "speck" visible.
A Grade 3 Blade
This is the grade we produce and sell most of and it offers very good value for money. A Grade 3 Blade has up to half colour across the bat and is sometimes bleached, again this has no direct relation to the playing ability of the wood, it just has less visual attraction. There will be a minimum of 4 grains on the face of the bat which may not always be perfectly straight. Again some small knots or a little 'butterfly' stain may be present with perhaps more prominent "speck".
A Grade 4 Blade
A Grade 4 Blade is normally over half colour or contains butterfly stain (see our page on Imperfections in Willow). This wood is also normally bleached just to make it "look better", it will still play as well as the other grades. Any number of grains are possible and the willow containing 'butterfly' stain is very strong, there could also be more "speck".
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Like I said in the other post, grading is nonsense. Look at the GM LE clefts on cricket insight, most have heartwood.
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it does seem like it, from js wrights statements i would expect all grade 1's to be of 'sig' appearance
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Imagine if you bought a top of the range bat, now in most cases that's £250 - £400 and a 4 grainer turned up.
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Imagine if you bought a top of the range bat, now in most cases that's £250 - £400 and a 4 grainer turned up.
Hehehe, remember seeing a "top of the range" Slazenger last season that had five grains, one of which ran off the edge of the face half way down. Suffice to say, it was less than a total gun...
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Willow grading is whatever the batmaker wants it to be
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Willow grading is whatever the batmaker wants it to be
i think you've hit the nail on the head ;)
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Should be..
1) 8-11 straight grains, no blemishes, knots or heartwood. Good ping also.
2) 7-14 Straight-ish grains, the odd blemish, knot and maybe a tinge of heartwood. decent ping
3) 3(?)-20(?) Grains, very knottey, blemished and again a tinge of heartwood. average ping.
But most companies grade on EITHER performance or looks, i'm not sure that I can think of a brand that do both (<--please prove me wrong).
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Should be..
1) 8-11 straight grains, no blemishes, knots or heartwood. Good ping also.
2) 7-14 Straight-ish grains, the odd blemish, knot and maybe a tinge of heartwood. decent ping
3) 3(?)-20(?) Grains, very knottey, blemished and again a tinge of heartwood. average ping.
But most companies grade on EITHER performance or looks, i'm not sure that I can think of a brand that do both (<--please prove me wrong).
why cant you have 15 striaght grains, all sapwood, completely clean and that not be grade one
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15? i want 20 ;)
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My personal preference has always been fewer grains, for whatever reason. I prefer the look and imo you get a better ping from the bat, but if you wish to have 15 then i agree that that is probably acceptable.
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I think grading is simply a way of the manufacturer creating different pricepoints for their bats. Willow is willow is willow at the end of the day. It's no coincidence that a lot of people have tried top range G1 bats that play like crap and 4 grain G4 bats that go like the clappers. Willow grading in general is total bull in my opinion. The only way you could realistically grade bats is with a mallet and how it pings, and after all that's what we want the bat to do.
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Team mate has a GM Icon Original, 7 fairly straight grains, no heartwood. Without the model sticker I'd say 707 but it performs unbelievably.
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Canners - you're such a grain-tart! As long as it pings, use it to (No Swearing Please) the ball!
My grading criteria is a cleanish face, big chunky profile and a nice middle.
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Brucie, you keep calling me a tart of late.....
I honestly don't think number of grains are that essential, I had a bat with 30 grains and by no means is it the best bat ive had.....
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My grading criteria is a cleanish face, big chunky profile a nice middle and tiger stripe Reebok branding...
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Reebok stickers???
I have heard brucie bats like dhoni these days
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Oh yeah - bring on the Tiger Striping - it may make it's debut this week!
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Canners - you know I only refer to you and James Taylor as tarts as a mark of respect!
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Brucie I have some jt pro bats to show you on weds ;)
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Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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I was with a bat maker last week who grades on performance. For example he was making a bat with 4 grains and a huge butterfly knot on the face of the bat. To look at it was disgusting but the rebound off the mallet and with a ball was one of the best I've ever heard.
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Reds, was the batmaker your new mystery kit supplier?
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To my mind a grade one at is one that gives the batsman ultimate confidence to be the best player he (or she) can be.
the rest is how much the brand feels they can charge for a bat.
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was it similar to this??
apologise straight away for making everyone tweak their necks to see this pic lol
:D
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Chase-167-Beluga-SH-Cricket-Bat-/260882679696?pt=UK_SportingGoods_CricketBats_SM&hash=item3cbdd1c790
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Reds, was the batmaker your new mystery kit supplier?
Haha its not a mystery mate, it was one of the 4 options.
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Who was it then?