Custom Bats Cricket Forum
Equipment => Bats => Topic started by: harry gamble on March 01, 2015, 08:08:40 PM
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Have been wanting a custom bat for a while and obviously been the best player in the country (not) the best bat needs to be had also, so what is your thoughts for the best bespoke bat making service, taking in to account, customer service and the quality of the bat. I would say B3, but please fill out the poll and if other lease state
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Aldred
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It might depend on whether you want to actually visit and be there when your bat is made, or whether you want to do it online/telephone. I think B3's website looks really detailed and it would tempt me to order from them if I couldn't visit (though I live about 2 minutes away, so in reality that wouldn't be the case!)
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Value for money the £165 option for a G1 Hunts Custom.
Getting exactly what you want B3, you know the shape and weight you'll get after a design process and as soon as the cleft is selected.
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If your on a budget the G1 Hunts County option from Jake is almost impossible to beat. If you can stretch the budget and vijay Kent, factory visit to see Kember at Salix is amazing, can see the bat shaped in front of you, pick the cleft and talk through what you want from your bat.
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I wonder what % of custom made bats completely satisfy the customer?
Seem to be an awful lot get put up for sale and reading through here there regularly seems to be issues.
Are people unrealistic when searching for the perfect bat?
Does it exist?
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I didn't think that Kippax advertised a custom option. I believe you can choose from the Colossus or Pure blade only.
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If you can stretch the budget and vijay Kent, factory visit to see Kember at Salix is amazing, can see the bat shaped in front of you, pick the cleft and talk through what you want from your bat.
I only have experience of one bespoke bat, and that was with Chris and Andrew at Salix last year, and I couldn't recommend it enough. To see the cleft take shape in front of your eyes, and have it passed back and forth as the process went on was simply amazing; really was as bespoke as you could have I reckon. The artistry and craftsmanship alone was lovely to watch, and I ended up with a fantastic stick at the end of it!
Just my 10p's worth! :)
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I wonder what % of custom made bats completely satisfy the customer?
Seem to be an awful lot get put up for sale and reading through here there regularly seems to be issues.
Are people unrealistic when searching for the perfect bat?
Does it exist?
You are correct I was one of them used my custom made first match last season so disappointed with it sold it on EBay for exactly half of what I paid last May.
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You are correct I was one of them used my custom made first match last season so disappointed with it sold it on EBay for exactly half of what I paid last May.
I think the question should be, "what percentage of customers got something they didn't ask for?" You could order a shape/ weight with the bat maker and receive exactly that. However this doesn't guarantee it will suit your game. If it doesn't suit your game, who's at fault? The bat maker for making what the customer wanted or the customer for ordering a shape that doesn't suit their game?
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I think the question should be, "what percentage of customers got something they didn't ask for?" You could order a shape/ weight with the bat maker and receive exactly that. However this doesn't guarantee it will suit your game. If it doesn't suit your game, who's at fault? The bat maker for making what the customer wanted or the customer for ordering a shape that doesn't suit their game?
Listen, if I ever don't score any runs it is almost ALWAYS the bat's fault ok?!
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Listen, if I ever don't score any runs it is almost ALWAYS the bat's fault ok?!
HAHA, mines always "user error" like 99% of computer issues :(
Or talent being exceeded half way through the shot :(
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I wonder what % of custom made bats completely satisfy the customer?
Seem to be an awful lot get put up for sale and reading through here there regularly seems to be issues.
Are people unrealistic when searching for the perfect bat?
Does it exist?
Unrealistic? Possibly.
You do tend to see quite a turn over of bats on this site - but that may well be heavily skewed by the sheer volume of gear nuffies on here as opposed to in the game at large. In addition, one suspects that the vast majority of bats that do turnover int his way are perfectly good and, well, you rarely hear comments along the lines of "I ordered X but they served up Y instead" so I guess a lot of it comes down to perfectionism meeting with superstition...
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Listen, if I ever don't score any runs it is almost ALWAYS the bat's fault ok?!
on a serious note, there will always be some bats that are cast aside because the owner uses them for a couple of games, scores nowt and thinks they're cursed...
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I'll freely admit to having bought a custom made bat from a maker on here, using it in the nets a few times and thinking it was okay, then as soon as I got in the middle, realising that what I had ordered just didn't meet with the way I played. Thoroughly my own fault. The bat was moved on.
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I'm still using my Laver Bradman and will continue till it falls apart. It's a gun.... I am still having guys ask me where they can get one. Even this Saturday just gone when I played a square cut that hit the boundary before the fielder had time to move 3 metres to his left to stop it I had 3 players come up and ask where they could get one.
Didn't have the heart to tell them it was all the batsman ;)
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I've just received a custom x2 red Ink from John, when I get a sec I'll do a review, but initial thoughts are the finishing and pick up are first class.
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I've got a custom red ink from john as well. The bat pick up is superb, the finish is great and the service was top notch. I made 2 mistakes, 1. not picking the bat up first (I was lucky with this one as the bats great) 2. Not going for a higher grade. I know the looks and performance debate and this bat by no means under performs but I should have pushed the boat out. Not Johns fault, purely my own.
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I think there are also different interpretations of the concept of a "custom" bat.
Some will say that a custom bat is one made for you, but you might only select a few things (ie weight, willow grade and handle type), but the rest of the bat is based on a particular 'shape'.
At other places (B3) you can more or less choose every aspect of the bat to suit your requirements.
So, the extent to which you can customise a bat can vary between manufacturers too!
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surely b3 win this hands down ..... they can create any bat to the nearest half pound and nearest millimetre ..... the only thing you have to worry about is if they have a suitable cleft, which i think they would judging by the amount they have.
If i was at B3 i'd buy a camera/video/IT package which takes the pictures of old bats and converts it into a CAD drawing .... i really cant believe they dont have one. Takes out the human error part when trying to do it with calipers as not every part of the bat is measured so they could turn out a little different.
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Do you mean 3d modelling a bat with a standard camera? If I am not mistaken that is essentially impossible, you would need some pretty specialist stuff to genuinely map something in 3d. And some very specialist knowledge of how to capture it etc.
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Bat mapping as we call it
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Ive gone through b3 when they had the butterfly offer on and dave and dave's(streaky) advice was great. Streakys knowledge of shapes and hitting areas in second to none, and dave @procricket B3 is a top bloke who is more than happyto listen and guide you to what you need.
I predominantly use paul aldred @Aldred Cricket Bats . He is always there to answer questions and his service is quality. In terms of customisation ive never really asked much since i had my first supreme apart from weight, angle of toe, slight bow. The rest I leave to paul as he seems to understand the willow.
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I wonder what % of custom made bats completely satisfy the customer?
Seem to be an awful lot get put up for sale and reading through here there regularly seems to be issues.
Are people unrealistic when searching for the perfect bat?
Does it exist?
Someone who talks sense?! Get him out this discussion! :D
In all seriousness, completely agree with this. The best custom bat I've ever had made was my Laver, it was 2 ounces heavier than it should have been, but it's always been my go to bat. Maybe a lot of us are used to chopping and changing too soon, I know I'm guilty of it! Chances are, unless you're physically there throughout the process, then you won't really have your 'perfect' bat, and even if you are, the excitement of being there can often make the bat feel better than it is! There will be some bats that you won't be used to using, no matter how much you try, but if you get one which feels good in the hands, and maybe just a touch off in weight or something like that, try using it for a while. In the end, your muscle memory will adjust nicely to the bat.
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I would imagine that most if not all of the bat makers on here would offer a pretty good service, some particularly standout. However, if you are looking for a beautiful handcrafted bat then I agree with Soulman and a trip to Langley is called for. Salix produce some magnificent bats and watching Andrew shape the cleft in front of you, to your requirements, is a joy. OK, they're not cheap but they are gorgeous!
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If your on a budget the G1 Hunts County option from Jake is almost impossible to beat. If you can stretch the budget and vijay Kent, factory visit to see Kember at Salix is amazing, can see the bat shaped in front of you, pick the cleft and talk through what you want from your bat.
when you say if you can stretch it, to what?
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when you say if you can stretch it, to what?
Around £250 to start at for performance grade and up to £450 for finite but normally has something for most budgets to be honest mate. Open every sat from April 9am works as first come first served. Brand new profiles for this year as well.
As has been said nothing can come close to B3 if you want to be specific in every detail but for pure handcrafted skill ( and I know I'm biased) watching Kember or any pod shaver in action from start to finish is worth the money.
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Around £250 to start at for performance grade and up to £450 for finite but normally has something for most budgets to be honest mate. Open every sat from April 9am works as first come first served. Brand new profiles for this year as well.
As has been said nothing can come close to B3 if you want to be specific in every detail but for pure handcrafted skill ( and I know I'm biased) watching Kember or any pod shaver in action from start to finish is worth the money.
mmm I have seen both process maybe Chris you should come up to b3 and see the skill our "podshavers" have too not sure if you have seen a Cnc made bat and the same effort goes in.
I understand what you are saying mate I have seen quite a few podshavers but think our process is not too different.
I like both processes I really do
Salix finish bat others aspire too
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Best custom made for me was RPC, thing was a beast in performance and decent in size but it met all my specs and thats what has kept me loyal to RP since then as return customer over and over again.
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B3 closely followed by red ink.
B3 have made me several bats, and all have arrived as what I was expecting, it is the joys of seeing and being able to later a cad before it is made.
In terms of the others, john at red ink is the only one that got close. He's made me to almost perfect bats.
The other custom bat makers I've used have gone from, kinda what I wanted to not being anywhere near.
And never once have I Recieved a "sorry it didn't suit" or "hmm shall we have another go". I have merely gotten either "it was down to the cleft, needed to be worked like that" " or "it felt bottom heavy so took weight out of toe" despite me asking for a bottom heavy bat. Lol.
Hence to me why I sold said custom mades on.
(Have only mentioned good experiences, as I don't want to be seen as arsey towards others, there skills, and or service may have changed since, so who am I to judge?)
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Ive gone through b3 when they had the butterfly offer on and dave and dave's(streaky) advice was great. Streakys knowledge of shapes and hitting areas in second to none, and dave @procricket B3 is a top bloke who is more than happyto listen and guide you to what you need.
I predominantly use paul aldred @Aldred Cricket Bats . He is always there to answer questions and his service is quality. In terms of customisation ive never really asked much since i had my first supreme apart from weight, angle of toe, slight bow. The rest I leave to paul as he seems to understand the willow.
Thanks horseman, well being a one man band without the back up of investors and staff I have to really work hard at understanding everything I do. I know I am not great at marketing and is something that I am trying to get better at. I do know my strengths and I am lucky that having spent many many hours teaching myself the skills of the profession I am lucky that as the actual bat maker that I have been lucky enough to have played first class cricket for many years. This has given me a real insight as to what players need and using that knowledge as well as having a career in coaching at the highest level I have been able to combine the two. My business is growing truly by word of mouth because my belief is if you get recommendations you get happy customers. Luckily this has led to me being asked to make bats for some big players over the last year or so and we are now just sponsoring a young lad who I coached who has been taken on the staff at derbyshire so we move on at snail pace really compared to other companies but I know and am confident in my products and methods which is good for me. It's very hard as a one man band but I truly love working hands on with such lovely materials and the feeling of creating something that is truly special using my own fair hands.
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Thanks horseman, well being a one man band without the back up of investors and staff I have to really work hard at understanding everything I do. I know I am not great at marketing and is something that I am trying to get better at. I do know my strengths and I am lucky that having spent many many hours teaching myself the skills of the profession I am lucky that as the actual bat maker that I have been lucky enough to have played first class cricket for many years. This has given me a real insight as to what players need and using that knowledge as well as having a career in coaching at the highest level I have been able to combine the two. My business is growing truly by word of mouth because my belief is if you get recommendations you get happy customers. Luckily this has led to me being asked to make bats for some big players over the last year or so and we are now just sponsoring a young lad who I coached who has been taken on the staff at derbyshire so we move on at snail pace really compared to other companies but I know and am confident in my products and methods which is good for me. It's very hard as a one man band but I truly love working hands on with such lovely materials and the feeling of creating something that is truly special using my own fair hands.
Very nice post that i agree with much of it for sure. Agree about learning from some of the International players who turn up and ask for things some are very knowledgeable some less so.
With a ex first class cricketer on board as a director i agree it has help us too and now a first class umpire as a director who has strong links.
We are not the biggest either and it hard to start especially in the circumstances we found when many turned there back because of our two directors past with a bigger boy and the might of the one that should not be named trying to keep us underground.
We are growing but trying to keep a small same feel to it i guess thats where i come into it as business assurance.
It hard been really hard work for most people to get started especially as some have bigger overheads but like my own passion for bats B3 have got it right to a tee combining passion and progress into clothing and other avenues.
Now we have other ambassadors who are all ex professionals some very leading players like Marcus North helping the process further and none and i mean none on any payroll we aim to get better and better.
If you like passion go down to the factory now that is a place for proper cricket nerds like me and i thank the forum for helping me achieve the little i have.
I think anybody involved in the industry deserves praise it it a hard competitive place
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Do you mean 3d modelling a bat with a standard camera? If I am not mistaken that is essentially impossible, you would need some pretty specialist stuff to genuinely map something in 3d. And some very specialist knowledge of how to capture it etc.
100% technically possible, increasingly cheap and easy these days too.
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Bat mapping as we call it
When it's time to hang up the Bradman I might send it over Dave @procricket B3 and see how you go getting it copied. I'll leave a couple of runs left in it for you to have a play with it of course ;)
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mmm I have seen both process maybe Chris you should come up to b3 and see the skill our "podshavers" have too not sure if you have seen a Cnc made bat and the same effort goes in.
I understand what you are saying mate I have seen quite a few podshavers but think our process is not too different.
I like both processes I really do
Salix finish bat others aspire too
Dave I certainly was not knocking or taking anything away from the process you guys use and iv had a couple of B3 bats since you guys have been going. This is only my point that I prefer the old and traditional bat making process personally over the modern CNC approach. CNC bat making has many benefits and certainly does not mean tha the end product is any different in fact for pure custom bats I doubt any bat maker would be able to replicate the precision a CNC offers I just personally like the whole handmade process in its traditional form when given the choice
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B3 closely followed by red ink.
B3 have made me several bats, and all have arrived as what I was expecting, it is the joys of seeing and being able to later a cad before it is made.
In terms of the others, john at red ink is the only one that got close. He's made me to almost perfect bats.
The other custom bat makers I've used have gone from, kinda what I wanted to not being anywhere near.
And never once have I Recieved a "sorry it didn't suit" or "hmm shall we have another go". I have merely gotten either "it was down to the cleft, needed to be worked like that" " or "it felt bottom heavy so took weight out of toe" despite me asking for a bottom heavy bat. Lol.
Hence to me why I sold said custom mades on.
(Have only mentioned good experiences, as I don't want to be seen as arsey towards others, there skills, and or service may have changed since, so who am I to judge?)
thanks mate. always good to hear positive feedback.
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I can vouch for Paul Aldred's bats too. I got a Gold Sovereign off him halfway through last season and it's suiting me extremely well and the price he charged makes it an absolute bargain. The thing is an absolute cannon from just about everywhere below the stickers, I'm really enjoying flaying the bowling in the nets at the minute. The pick up and balance seems just about perfect for me.
It actually weighs a touch more than what I asked for but I hadn't even noticed until I weighed it out of interest when I was weighing up another bat to sell on, but Paul's expertise has obviously meant he has hidden the extra weight in the pick up which means I benefit from the extra power and wood in the bat. I'll definitely be getting another one when it's time to put mine out to pasture, though I think it will be a while as there is barely a mark on it other than the odd cherry on the scuff sheet.
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What a great topic and some nice feedback which is great to hear, not just for us, but also the other lads that work hard to try and offer the customer a service that other brands cannot. What makes a custom bat - for me it is MAKING a bat to the specs of the customer, this could be a very precise spec of weight/ shape / pick up / handle type etc, or simply I want a bat at 2'8. It doesn’t matter whether it is CNC made or not, as long as the customer's specs have been met.
Just wanted to share a comment from a recent meeting with Marcus North;
In his career he has used various companies/ sponsors for his bats, but his selection process had remained the same - get 10 bats, pick them all up and narrow them down on looks, shape and pick up to about 5, and then get the ball out and further narrow down to 2 or 3 which he is happy with. With B3 we designed his shape, discussed deadweight and how his shape would pick up and we made him 2. To say he was pleased was an understatement, he didn’t have narrow down his selection - we provided exactly what he wanted first time. The beauty of the CNC is every bat we make for him in the future will be identical to the first 2.
That’s enough about Marcus, as the most important people to B3 is you guys, our customers, and we offer this exact service to you guys.
Just a quick note on B3 - I gave up a great job, with very good prospects to start B3, to offer a service that was reserved to guys like Marcus to the whole cricket family. I invested my life savings, sold everything I had, risked my house (and possibly my marriage) and work 18 hour days / 6 days a week to make sure that it is successful as it can be. The success of B3 is not down to any investor or investment but rather the hard work of the all of the team, and the want to improve both product and service - and offer something that is truly outstanding.
Never Stand Still
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100% technically possible, increasingly cheap and easy these days too.
Not sure the feasibility of this but maybe we could organise a conference call open to anyone and I can show our design capability and also the bat mapping service..... Just an idea - anyone interested?
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When it's time to hang up the Bradman I might send it over Dave @procricket B3 and see how you go getting it copied. I'll leave a couple of runs left in it for you to have a play with it of course ;)
You know i like that bat and the handle perfect bat that pal
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Not sure how anyone can compete with b3 tbh.
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Not sure how anyone can compete with b3 tbh.
By making good bats, I don't see why Red Ink, Aldred, B3 etc have to be ranked one better than the other, they all seem to make good bats from what I've seen and read. Hope they all do well!
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What a great topic and some nice feedback which is great to hear, not just for us, but also the other lads that work hard to try and offer the customer a service that other brands cannot. What makes a custom bat - for me it is MAKING a bat to the specs of the customer, this could be a very precise spec of weight/ shape / pick up / handle type etc, or simply I want a bat at 2'8. It doesn’t matter whether it is CNC made or not, as long as the customer's specs have been met.
Just wanted to share a comment from a recent meeting with Marcus North;
In his career he has used various companies/ sponsors for his bats, but his selection process had remained the same - get 10 bats, pick them all up and narrow them down on looks, shape and pick up to about 5, and then get the ball out and further narrow down to 2 or 3 which he is happy with. With B3 we designed his shape, discussed deadweight and how his shape would pick up and we made him 2. To say he was pleased was an understatement, he didn’t have narrow down his selection - we provided exactly what he wanted first time. The beauty of the CNC is every bat we make for him in the future will be identical to the first 2.
That’s enough about Marcus, as the most important people to B3 is you guys, our customers, and we offer this exact service to you guys.
Just a quick note on B3 - I gave up a great job, with very good prospects to start B3, to offer a service that was reserved to guys like Marcus to the whole cricket family. I invested my life savings, sold everything I had, risked my house (and possibly my marriage) and work 18 hour days / 6 days a week to make sure that it is successful as it can be. The success of B3 is not down to any investor or investment but rather the hard work of the all of the team, and the want to improve both product and service - and offer something that is truly outstanding.
Never Stand Still
very nice to hear and all the bets to you in the future aswell, your service looks outstanding and the product just as good