Picked this up today from local JJB in somewhat of an educated gamble. Now, this model had one of the hideous fake grain scuff sheets fitted, suggesting the face isn't going to be pretty. However the back of the bat is exposed (albeit bleached), but leaving enough to show that the bat has somewhere in the region of 15 grains. Interesting I thought. Sale? £54? Worth a shot.
So I bought, with the intention of cutting away the horrible fake grain sheet and seeing what was underneath. Using a sharp knife I made a cut just below the Oblivion logo across the blade and edges. Then using a hairdryer I first removed the two fibre tape edge thingies, then the main scuff sheet. Interestingly, it was found that the fake grain sheet is infact seperate from the protective scuff sheet and is formed of a stretched, very thin sheet. The anti scuff is bulky and semi opaque and only covers the very face, not the edges. The removed grain sheet/edge tape/anti scuff looked thus:
The exposed face was fairly rough and the only evidence of adhesive for the sheet was at the toe end:
The bat face as found after sheet removal:
The face after fine sanding and a light coat of oil to emphasise details. I used a rather wonderful product called label remover to get rid of the glue. Smells of oranges. Note the couple of butterflies (Ok, just for Mike, not butterflies 'graping') which probably caused the bat to be downgraded, yet also note 15 pretty nice grains and about 40% heartwood.
Needless to say, the main driving force for buying this bat was it's size, remarkable for 2'8 (before sheet removal), considering some people are under the impression you have to spend £300 for a big bat.
I'd suggest you have a close look at this model the next time you see one!
Not the prettiest, but for £54 and half an hour's work, a huge bat with nice stickers and big grainage. Jon 1 JJB 0.
Author
Topic: A rather interesting buy, GN Oblivion Power (Read 7469 times)