Just got in from my cricket club where they have been hosting an evening with Charlie French. Charlie gave a really good talk on how he got into batmaking, how he makes his bats and his views on what makes a good bat.
He brought all his raw materials with him to demonstrate the various stages of the process, even some of the raw manau cane he uses to make his own handles.
I used to have an account with Charlie and sold his bats on the forum for a while, but whilst I've spoken with him on the phone plenty of times, tonight's the first time I've met him in person. A thoroughly nice bloke, and if you get chance to go to one of these evenings (he's on tour around the north) I thoroughly recommend it.
Whilst at the club I got chatting with the 2nd XI skipper and have been persuaded to make a comeback this year. I haven't played any serious cricket since 2012, but I always intended to come back to it. Whilst I won't be putting in a whole season, he's asked if I can help out for a handful of fixtures.
Which led me to the problem of having the right gear. I sold all of my bats when I decided I was going to take my hiatus, so I'm in need of new willow.
Charlie brought a selection of bats with him to sell, but nothing tickled my fancy. However, tempted by an attractive discount, he's going to make me a custom bat. One of his stock models, the Firebird is named after the Gibson Firebird guitar, as used by Charlie's favourite musician, bluesman Johnny Winter. So, given that I share the same name Charlie agreed that it would be rude for me to not get a bat with the Firebird branding on. The shape is going to be based on his Precision model... Just have to sit tight and wait for delivery now... pics to follow on arrival! Feeling a bit giddy about it!
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Topic: Batmaking talk, end to the hiatus and new willow on the way (Read 1489 times)