I've cracked the toe of three nice bats so far this season and I did knock two of them in myself very conscientiously as I always do.. the one I did yesterday looks similar to the pics above.. but on the outside toe edge so my question is - is it serious?
I like to keep my bat faces clean and admire the grains and beauty of the willow so can understand how gutted you are but i'm wondering if i'm being oversensitive about cracks and whether I should just accept it's the nature of willow and that a crack doesn't necessarily mean.. nearing the end...unless it's the end!
The other thing i've been thinking about is whether a more expensive bat like my woodstock, hell4leather and bradbury, whose toes i've cracked are more susceptible due to the grade and performance post-pressing compared to cheaper bats.