Custom Bats Cricket Forum
Equipment => Bats => Topic started by: Warneymonster on May 17, 2021, 10:22:05 AM
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Morning
bit of advice needed.
Picked this up very cheap as was in a terrible condition and drier than kindling. over a few days of oiling, sanding and waxing it has come out OK i think compared to how it was. but now there are 2 very dark patches? are these water damage, hence it not being wanted. or just hard wood? only concern would be the lower one if its hard wood.
is this worth persevering with? needs a good knocking in and taping still but dont want to waste my time if its a plank
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51184881268_e880170098_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2kZ2TWU) (https://flic.kr/p/2kZ2TWU)
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I think the only way you will know is by tapping up a ball on it and seeing how it feels.
I am not sure a picture helps here!
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is this worth persevering with? needs a good knocking in and taping still but dont want to waste my time if its a plank
Not sure what you mean by "preserving". If the bat is the same weight and shapes as your match bat, having a not so "good" bat in the kit bag is good thing for nets (cheap balls) or wet conditions.
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Not sure what you mean by "preserving". If the bat is the same weight and shapes as your match bat, having a not so "good" bat in the kit bag is good thing for nets (cheap balls) or wet conditions.
Imagine that's a typo/autocorrect for persevering.
Would agree with a wet weather/cheap balls bat, always a bit heart in mouth when the bat breakers make an appearance at nets.
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seems to tap up alright on the softer parts, the harder bits are going to take a serious hitting with the mallet to loosen up though.
Was more worried than there was damage to the bat that was obvious to someone else - like flood damage etc - as i havent seen it personally. and that i would waste my time trying to fix the unfixable,
will go in as a net bat for a while but may appear on ebay once if pissed off the neighbors sufficiently with the mallet
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The horizontal darker areas look like (what I call) hard bars, which emanate out from where there are some knots in the wood, on that right hand side. Similar to the butterfly stains.
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If you have a bat maker close to you, you could ask them to put through the press again. If it’s hard bars which this looks like it has they will always feel firmer mate
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Pardon my ignorance, but what exactly are "Hard Bars" on a cricket bat and how does pressing change them exactly?
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If a bat has some darker wood in the first place, the oil just exaggerates this. I’ve just oiled an old Kook that had a strip of heartwood on the inside edge and the oil has made this strip look extremely dark. 👍
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These are just natural variations in the wood.
Essentially they are marks from imperfections that have almost been shaped/sanded out during the making process.
they may or may not have a firmer feel, they might actually make the bat perform better.
until you have tapped a ball on it, hit it with a mallet, knocked it in, and played with it a few times, its impossible to tell whether you will get on with it or not.
It is however, very rare nowadays to find a total plank.
Pressing this again will only exacerbate any existing firmness that might be present from hard bars, its not something I would recommend at all.
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Two of the better playing bats I've had have similar marks to your Kook.
I'd knock it in as normal and knock seven bells out of it in the nets knowing that it will probably get better and you've got a bargain.
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My current match bat has a similar mark and doesn't seem to effect performance
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thanks everyone, will continue knocking it in and use it in nets. will be sending it back to kooks for new stickers if it works out as not a huge fan of the blue.
then on to knocking in the other bats that seem to keep arriving at my house when the wife is out