Custom Bats Cricket Forum
Equipment => Bats => Topic started by: windyroad on October 10, 2015, 07:50:41 PM
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Looking for some ideas for grip set up for those of you who use heavy bats but are afflicted with the curse of small hands. When I add a second grip to counter act the weight of the blade the handle started to feel uncomfortably thick and un-tactile. Does anyone know of a fix?
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try one and a half grips or a thicker grip? so spiral rather than chevron for example?
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How high up the handle do you hold the bat?
Lead tape around the very top of the handle and under the one grip may help as a counter balance(Google jaque Kallis bats for what I mean)
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Some try golf lead tape around the top of the bat handle under the grip but you need a lot of tape and it's not cheap.
I cut a strip of lead about an inch wide taped it tight all around the top of the handle under the grip that worked but was a bit bulky
For me the best solution although it reduces the weight of the handle and therefore initially effects the pickup is to reduce the handle diameter to around 1 inch thick and then build up the handle using thin chevron grips till I get the feel and pickup required usually just one grip suffices.
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I use youth size gloves and bat with a 2.10 and a 2.12. In my view the weight is no issue. If the bat feels heavy it is probably not the bat for you.
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I use youth size. In my view the weight is no issue, just the fact that you can wrap it around. The missus agrees!!!!
Youth size bat?
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How high up the handle do you hold the bat?
Fairly standard mid grip. The Kallis tape method looks worth a try. I am loath to add much more weight to the bat is my only reservation-it's 3lb 3oz with one grip-any heavier and by 35 I am beginning to tire. Hopefully by counterwieghting it will actually seem lighter in the hand.
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Here is my setup:
- thin handle
- thin full length grip on the entire handle
- second grip on the upper half of the bat and remaining grip rolled-up around the top 1-inch of the handle. This rolled-up grip acts as a counter weight since I use heavy bats.
Works like a charm and balances out the bat; people who pick up my bats say that they don't feel heavy.
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Fairly standard mid grip. The Kallis tape method looks worth a try. I am loath to add much more weight to the bat is my only reservation-it's 3lb 3oz with one grip-any heavier and by 35 I am beginning to tire. Hopefully by counterwieghting it will actually seem lighter in the hand.
Easy solution to that, make sure you don't get to 35! Just leave a straight one in the 20's every week, problem solved ;)
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I personally use two thick grips if I have a heavy feeling bat, especially with my GN Powerbow. I have tiny hands but I don't find the extra grip an issue, it helps lessen the vibration problem for me as well as my Powerbow is mostly definitely on the downward slope towards being a dead plank.
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So just to confirm you bought a bat that is too heavy for you and you want to solve the issue by adding weight?
How about you shave an oz or so from around the toe or add a little concaving to take a little weight from the bat.
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Agree with Buzz, counterbalancing won't do it. IMO you need to reduce the dead weight.
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So just to confirm you bought a bat that is too heavy for you and you want to solve the issue by adding weight?
It's not a weight issue. I have used heavier without any problems. It is more of a balance issue. I wanted the sweetspot lower in my new bat but that comes with the obvious balance trade off. While others can add an extra grip and solve the problem I cannot without it feeling too thick owing to my silly child hands.
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I do this more for the feel in my hands than because I want to counter balance a bat, but the added weight up top may help you out. Here's what I do to all my bats.
An extra half layer of binding using extra thick twine (jewellery cotton cord in this case) to the bottom half of the handle. The twine/cord is bought as 2mm on eBay and comes in 10m lengths. I use almost all of a length to do each bat.
Once the additional binding is added and the glue has set it adds roughly 1oz of weight.
(http://i1206.photobucket.com/albums/bb450/CPye061194/43DF37BA-D587-4CD4-9FA9-ED162A19DC79_zpsjram22ue.png) (http://s1206.photobucket.com/user/CPye061194/media/43DF37BA-D587-4CD4-9FA9-ED162A19DC79_zpsjram22ue.png.html)
(http://i1206.photobucket.com/albums/bb450/CPye061194/418D3F46-4C9B-476F-BB91-7FCED6785E6B_zpsgva33xul.png) (http://s1206.photobucket.com/user/CPye061194/media/418D3F46-4C9B-476F-BB91-7FCED6785E6B_zpsgva33xul.png.html)
The above 2 pictures are on a thicker handle, so I have applied a single chevron over the top. If the handle is thinner I will apply a thicker grip, my preference being a spiral or a ripple.
Here are two bats next to each other, the one with the ripple applied had a thinner handle to begin with, but I doubt you'd be able to tell them apart in a blind test now.
(http://i1206.photobucket.com/albums/bb450/CPye061194/Mobile%20Uploads/1CA1BCAB-F51D-40A0-B81C-DA5FA2B3BB92_zpscy37s7ob.jpg) (http://s1206.photobucket.com/user/CPye061194/media/Mobile%20Uploads/1CA1BCAB-F51D-40A0-B81C-DA5FA2B3BB92_zpscy37s7ob.jpg.html)
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The other problems with the bat handle being to thick is controlling your shots and keeping grip on the handle in particular the bottom hand during the follow through.
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Why don't you get one made where the handle is on the heavy side. A heavier handle will mean slightly less wood in the blade but minimal and won't be noticeable. What it will do is give you the weight you need in the handle without adding the extra thickness in grips.
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Drill a hole in the Top of the handle. Not far. Just about half and inch to 3/4 of an inch down.
Fill with anything heavier than what you removed. Glue it in until it feels good.
The way laver and wood do the honeycombed handle
(http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h76/smilley792/Screenshot_2015-06-11-15-31-51_zpsqzcrgdru.png) (http://s61.photobucket.com/user/smilley792/media/Screenshot_2015-06-11-15-31-51_zpsqzcrgdru.png.html)
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Why don't you get one made where the handle is on the heavy side. A heavier handle will mean slightly less wood in the blade but minimal and won't be noticeable. What it will do is give you the weight you need in the handle without adding the extra thickness in grips.
Great advice.
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The other thing you could try is cut up a grip into 2 inch lengths and placed them at the top of the handle under your grip until you get the pickup and feel required it does work and doing this is a cheaper option than lead tape but it can get bulky at the top of the handle depending on how many grips are used.
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Drill a hole in the to Not the handle. Not far. Just about half and inch to 3/4 of an inch down.
Fill with anything heavier than what you removed. Glue it in until it feels good.
The way laver and wood do the honeycombed handle
([url]http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h76/smilley792/Screenshot_2015-06-11-15-31-51_zpsqzcrgdru.png[/url]) ([url]http://s61.photobucket.com/user/smilley792/media/Screenshot_2015-06-11-15-31-51_zpsqzcrgdru.png.html[/url])
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Have found some heavy metal nuts of bolts and a small race ballbearing so I'll have a go at doing the above.
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Instead of drilling, I would advise the golf lead tape approach first. You'd be amazed how even just one layer of tape around the very top of the handle (adds about 0.1 oz, per layer of tape) can make a difference. Next, remove the toe guard (if you are using one) and thats 0.2 oz taken off the toe.. the combination will substantially improve balance. You can also remove stickers which can take off anywhere between 0.3 and 0.7 oz.