Custom Bats Cricket Forum
Companies => Off-the-shelf companies => Gray Nicolls => Topic started by: tim2000s on February 06, 2014, 07:16:31 PM
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Spent a bit of time over the past few months in discussions with Jake at Vitas, and the result arrived with me today...
The question is, what is it?...
(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/02/07/re3ubyra.jpg)
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Dyna drive or powerspot?
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My guess it's a bat ;)
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Megapower or a sabre
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Kaboom or a custom Maverick f1???
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powerspot???????????
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whatever it is but definitely a great bat !!!
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Can you guess what it is yet?
Rolf Harris with an underage girl? :-[
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Here's another...(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/02/07/y5ura4an.jpg)
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X181
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Does it have four scoops?
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Megapower ???
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Dynadrive.
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You tease.
Lovely bat, even though it is built for a giant ;)
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I'm inclined to think that it's NOT a Nemesis... ;)
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its got a red toe guard. only powerspot, dynadrive and maverick come with a red toe guard.
the maverick has stupid edge stickers do rules that out
a legend should come with no toe guard, but you could request one.
but the blade doesn't look clean enough for legend quality.
so hence me saying dynadrive or spowerspot.
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of course it could be a 2013 scoop or a custom made with a requested red toe guard, which makes my knowledge on 2014 gns seem useless(oh wait it is anyway)
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Would that we could get a Megapower made up... Sadly not.
Those who guessed Dynadrive are correct, made as a Long Blade. Really rather nice. There will be proper photos later on...
Nothing like a classic (of which I had two in the past) come back to life... And I'm rather fond of the ping.
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And with that my sadness is confirmed.
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What grade willow is it?
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What grade willow is it?
Not sure - best ask Jake on that one.
I actually don't care! Sometimes you just want something, and I wanted a Long Blade Dynadrive, and I knew what weight range I wanted. The only way to get one is to get a GN custom.... So that's what I did! :D :D :D
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Customs are grade 1 aren't they?
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Customs are grade 1 aren't they?
I think they classify them as LE?
EDIT: Based on the Wright's scale, it is Grade 1. Reminds me a lot of the blade of my Instinct. Better looking though - for reference:
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 (up to 1.75 inches). The grain on the face will be straight and there will be a minimum of 6 grains visible. There may be the odd small knot or speck in the edge or back but the playing area should be clean.
Interestingly, looking back at the version from March 2013, the number of grains in a G1 cleft has actually increased. It used to be 5.
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Here are a few pics. Hopefully I'll be able to get some better ones over the course of the weekend.
(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/02/08/mujaru5y.jpg)
(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/02/08/7e7a4eza.jpg)
(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/02/08/ha7arare.jpg)
(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/02/08/dazery3a.jpg)
And yes, that is a fpote method measurement...
How heavy do you think it is, looking at the pictures, given its a long blade...?
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2-9 at most.
It may be graded as grade 1 but i wouldnt be happy with paying grade 1 prices for it but it may play very well just not what ticks my mind as grade 1...
But what a grade bar a number hows it tap up Tim
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nice bat lots of tight grains.
ill guess 2.10
the clean willow we took as grade one will now be classed as g1+ willow so is the apparent shortage.
my grade 1gm has a few blemish like this.
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This fulfills the Wrights spec for grade 1, but it certainly isn't what we've come to believe is grade one. Having said that, it taps up superbly, and I can't wait to get it in nets. And I'd hope it would too, given what you have to pay for these...
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nice bat lots of tight grains.
ill guess 2.10
the clean willow we took as grade one will now be classed as g1+ willow so is the apparent shortage.
my grade 1gm has a few blemish like this.
Without going off topic that topic is not entirely true look around there still some unblemished bats still classed as grade 1 i have seen some crazy bats made in India and Pakistan and a few in the UK from the big guys and there in abundance in proper grade 1 willow. The bigger the buyer of clefts are gobbling up the real grade 1.
Sounds a belter Tim.
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Regarding grading. To my knowledge (please correct me if i am wrong) Grays bats made in the UK are made from willow they source themselves. Certainly there were a number of trees ready to be cut up when i was last there. So the only grading to go by would be GN's, if they even provide that info? I think there may be some grading info in the catalogue but i don't have it to hand.
Certainly, every cleft i've ever handled from the pile set aside for customs has been lovely. Something there for everyone, they aren't all multi grain wonder clefts. We had an E41 made for a forum member who requested 8ish grains and he has got himself a lovely bat, after i softened it up a bit anyway. - It was a little hard to begin with.
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Given that GN willow is grown by themselves, they are likely not to have vast quantities of clean willow.
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2.10
Very emotive looking bat, would be nice if the stickers either filled the scoops, or hand painted them?
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Have to admit that I'm tempted to paint the scoops red...
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Do it Tim... It looks sooo wrong as it is now
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Regarding grading. To my knowledge (please correct me if i am wrong) Grays bats made in the UK are made from willow they source themselves. Certainly there were a number of trees ready to be cut up when i was last there. So the only grading to go by would be GN's, if they even provide that info? I think there may be some grading info in the catalogue but i don't have it to hand.
Certainly, every cleft i've ever handled from the pile set aside for customs has been lovely. Something there for everyone, they aren't all multi grain wonder clefts. We had an E41 made for a forum member who requested 8ish grains and he has got himself a lovely bat, after i softened it up a bit anyway. - It was a little hard to begin with.
GN bats made world wide are made from willow that is grown by us and for us, we don't buy in clefts or trees from other sources!
Hello boys, it's good to be back!
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Welcome back BG
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Many thanks for clarification Alex. Welcome back :)
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Have to admit that I'm tempted to paint the scoops red...
I was surprised at the new scoop stickers. Last year's design was awesome, perfectly retro. Can you get a set from them?
Bat looks lovely.
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GN bats made world wide are made from willow that is grown by us and for us, we don't buy in clefts or trees from other sources!
Hello boys, it's good to be back!
How come J S Wright had a photo of a shipment going to Gray Nicolls Australia on their Facebook page?
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When was the photo taken?
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When was the photo taken?
7th February, about 18.10.
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How come J S Wright had a photo of a shipment going to Gray Nicolls Australia on their Facebook page?
Do you have a link to there Facebook page? Can't find it.
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Well what to say. This is a beauty. Used her in nets for the first time tonight and she picks up beautifully and goes just as well. There is a real, noticeable difference between a custom and off the shelf dynadrive. This bat feels as good as any I've used.
On the downside, doesn't really matter how much you knock a bat in, yorkers still cause trouble. It was knocked in for me by Vitas and I also spent some time on the toe and edges (mainly because I wanted to feel how she goes and had two weeks till a net) and yet a yorker going mostly under the bat managed to do this. Scuff sheet for the next outing I feel...
(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/02/14/byhy2u3e.jpg)
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Sounds good yep know that feeling Tim hard floor with no give and a Yorker.
A mate of mine told me to get a cheap bat and use it in the nets as I did this with one of mine and was not happy .
Sounds a gun
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Ahh gutted!
Get some tape on it, and move your feet next time!
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how did you play the yorker, drive it or just drop your bat on it? it looks like the top of the ball hit the end so your bat was off the ground.
jab your bat in the ground and soft hands, doing this the ball has to hit high up the bat and cannot hit the toe like this and the bat will have some give.
for example put a ball on the ground stand your bat up next to it and see the point of impact, it cant spilt hitting there.
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how did you play the yorker, drive it or just drop your bat on it? it looks like the top of the ball hit the end so your bat was off the ground.
jab your bat in the ground and soft hands, doing this the ball has to hit high up the bat and cannot hit the toe like this and the bat will have some give.
for example put a ball on the ground stand your bat up next to it and see the point of impact, it cant spilt hitting there.
As you can tell, I was late to it, and it was on the stumps and literally at my feet, so it was a half drop/half jab. Basically the ball was trying to squeeze under the bat, hence how the damage occurred. PVA at the weekend and then a scuff sheet.
As an aside, these GN custom bats really are totally different to the "standard" products and compete with the Salix's, Newbery's and high end stuff from the likes of Hell4Leather and B3, and are around about the same price point. I wouldn't hesitate to get another one as it feels so nice to use.
It's good to see that at least one of the big brands has retained the skill and knowledge to make truly handmade bats that really are very, very good.
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Cheers Tim
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luckily its a depression rather than a crack, so like you say, a little glue and some tape and it should be as good as new
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The dynadrive I have, and am now keeping is truly phenomenal. So I can feel your joys Tim. GN really go make beautiful bats and cannot wait to take mine on an outing in a proper ball net.