Custom Bats Cricket Forum
Equipment => Bats => Topic started by: The Palmist on May 16, 2014, 02:22:10 PM
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Pressing vs Knocking
Forgive me if I am being super daft here but aren’t both doing rather similar things.
If not then what is the difference?
Can pressing be optimized so there is no need for knocking in.
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Not really, pressing will give the bat a good compression level accross the blade but you still need to knock the edges and toe in as a press will not do this in a precise manner. Also pressing doesn't allow the willow to open up as well as knocking, so in order for a bat to perform well a degree of knocking all over will help to prepare the willow as it will compress the fibres more precisely. Think of it as fine tuning after pressing.
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Optimized pressing can be done the cleft is rolled through a press to compress the wood but there is a reluctance to do this as the blades fibres can be curled. So while it is possible to prepare a blade by pressing alone there is also the risk that the fibres would be compressed to deep into the cleft reducing the blades performance restricting how far the ball will travel compared to a blade that receives the correct pressing and then knocked in by hand.