So I've been wanting to get an old bat of mine copied for a good while, and when the Red Ink sale came on I decided it was time to get my first proper custom bat! John was superb when I got in touch with him, giving me a good choice and advice on clefts, and after a little toing and froing about the spec for the bat and me choosing a piece of willow, work started on my bat! Two weeks later and the beautiful finished article arrived:
Vital statistics - it's a 2.10.5 long blade, essentially a copy of an old profile with a slightly rounded face and thinner edges, just a shade of concaving.
Unfortunately I got a bit excited with putting a second grip on/starting knocking it in etc before I remembered to take some photos, but the finish was fantastic. Particularly liked the touch of stamping my initials into the shoulder! I had been a little unsure on the stickers seeing them online, but they really do look good in person. The feel of the original bat has been replicated really nicely even with the lighter weight I wanted, handle shape is fantastic as well - great copy of the original thick semi-oval on the bottom hand. Pickup is nice and balanced, feels light in the hands with enough feel to give you the confidence that the ball will fly.
Here's the photos then, few of the bat and then profile shot of it with my b3 bragg butterfly and my old match bat (not actually a NB) to give some comparison. Bat badger points for anyone who can guess what the Red Ink profile is based on, it's from one of the major manufacturers around 2005(ish).
Also thanks to John at Red Ink, great service and product for a fantastic price, one happy customer! I'll do an update with proper review after I've had a chance to play it in properly.