Custom Bats Cricket Forum
Equipment => Bats => Topic started by: chesterh4 on March 23, 2012, 07:48:59 PM
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I've always knocked my bats in by hand,
but last season i used a boom boom sig, and where i bought it from they had a knocking in machine, because i had bought the bat it was
free. was told i could then use it. went into the nets and got a few surface cracks and the toe went.
but i keep hearing there great things, be interested to see what you all think!
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I prefer using a good ol' fashion mallet.
I genuinely think that if you do use a machine then you won't be able to find out for yourself which areas of the bat need more knocking in during the process.
It'd be interesting to see what other forum members have to say.
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mate i would always knock a bat by hand even if its pre-knocked, beauty of machine knocked is it requires less work from you but you should still knock the bat till you are happy with it...now in some case no matter how much you knock a bat it might still break...
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machine will get about 70 percent done then i would do it by hand then i would say to any one give a few catches with old ish balls then throw downs with old ish ball balls then a net with old ish balls then get on the harder balls this if you want ur bats to last longer hope this makes senes
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As much as I hate knocking in bats I could never trust a pre knocked in bat, so the toe and edges get a good 2+ hours and the rest gets just about 2 hours.
My SAF had the above treatment and then I started useing it in the nets but I still give it 20min knocking in when I can.
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The only machine I've used butchers good bats, it is a South African one with a metal ball and it is fine is the bat is hard pressed but on most it dents it so hard that you can break up straight away. I've used for many bats at the owners request and in the end refused to use it anymore due to damage.
If your bat is pressed well then it should not take very long with a mallet plus you get a feel for the bat.
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talisman yer your right there it does help you get a feel for you bat and presseing can make a lot a differnce from a good bat to a bad bat
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^I think it is pressing and handles which seperate and make one bat good and other bad
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I always get mine done by machine, because it's definitely going to do it properly. I never use 'hand knocking in services' as I don't believe they're truly gonna stand there for 5 hours knocking it in for £15-£20. When I do it myself I never do if fully, so I always use CJI's machine (and it works a treat).
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No bat needs over an hour of knocking, if you know what you are doing you are looking at 15 minutes to fully prepare a match bat for nets. I understand that companies ask for much much longer as it is natural for people to get bored and cut down the length of time they spend on it. If you pay someone to knock it in then they should know what they are doing and therefore they won't need to spend 5 hours on it.
Handles don't affect the knocking in, pressing does massively but so does willow type.
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I've always hand knocked my bats. And friends let me knock theirs in as well for a small fee of course :)
I tend to knock evenly but firmly with a quality mallet occross the blade for around 45 mins. I spend maybe an extra 20-30 mins on the toe until it makes a less ear piercing sound off the mallet. Edges get a light rounding with a smaller mallet as well. That's how Richard Wensley told me to do it and I've stuck to it
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Personally, I dont knock in my bats, as I feel it makes the bat play better immediately, and I have never had a problem with any of my bats breaking etc, but if I were to knock them in, I would use a machine because as Joe said, you know that it is done properly.
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Personally, I dont knock in my bats, as I feel it makes the bat play better immediately, and I have never had a problem with any of my bats breaking etc, but if I were to knock them in, I would use a machine because as Joe said, you know that it is done properly.
If I can't get it to CJI I won't bother knocking it in, like you said never had a problem with cracks or anything.
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Yeah, I think the pressing is more than enough haha
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I start light by had then get bored fairly quickly (around 10mins). work on the toe for about another 10 mins and then hit the nets.I'm too lazy to do It right.
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Why would anyone spend the sort of money spent on this forum and not knock the bat in?
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Why would anyone spend the sort of money spent on this forum and not knock the bat in?
Because people want instant gratification. Now if you can share the secrets of the 60 minute knock in, people may do it!
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Sure, it only really works on well pressed bats but most are pretty good these days,
Use a decent wooden mallet, the M&H style one is my weapon of choice.
Gently tap the edges at a 45 degree angle from 6 inches below shoulder to toe so that you get no more than a rounding off.
Start from the same point and work the outside 1 inch of each edge to the toe and back up again with enough force to see the dents but not to feel them.
Do the same for the bottom 3 inches of toe.
Then simply work the entire face for 5 minutes.
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That's useful and reassuring at the same time, as it is how I knock bats in! Just means I don't need to spend so long doing it!
Thanks!
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THANKS! for all your opinions guys! think i know what I'm doing now when it comes to knocking in!
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I no this topic was touched on about 5 years ago but I was wandering what people think is better to knock in bats, machine or hand done? Have a new bat coming and not sure which one I'd rather do. Technology has come a long way but some things are better hand done. People's thoughts, advice and experience welcomed!
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Just give it a few knocks on the edges and bottom by a mallet, put on a couple of acuff sheets and take it against a bowling machine! After spending a couple of hours, take of the scuff and it should be ready for a match. The key here is to oil well before doing anything so that the surface cracks don't occur.
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I hand knock and get good feedback but i only do it for reviewing. Anyone can do it. It all depends on the willow and press. I would never machine knock a soft expensive bat personally as i roll the edges and toe before any mallet work and some bats are so soft that they would crack if not progressively knocked. There is a great thread on here about knocking started by @Gingerbusiness.
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http://custombats.co.uk/cbforum/index.php?topic=32421.msg548745#msg548745 (http://custombats.co.uk/cbforum/index.php?topic=32421.msg548745#msg548745)
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I would never machine knock a soft expensive bat personally as i roll the edges and toe before any mallet work and some bats are so soft that they would crack if not progressively knocked.
I learned this the hard way but you are right - expensive/soft bats require progressive knocking.
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Initially I used to knock my bats manually but was never satisfied. But once I started buying bats from the Phoenix guys, they knocked them on their customized machine & delivered the bats ready to play. Pretty impressive performance. So I would say "Machine knocking" because it does it evenly set on different types of pressure.