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[Talisman]

You didn't want it to be easy did you???

Butterfly stain/Bar stain

Bingo, Butterfly stain, it goes through the middle but is clearly visible on the rear edge, can't help think that is a bonus for strength.

Toe is not really massively stronger for being so thick, it simply lowers the length of the sweet spot nearer the toe, the balance is not massively worse but you can feel the difference between this and one of my Fuji shapes at the same weight.

[SkipperJ]

Did you say butterfly stain clefts are a lot cheaper? Where do I sign up for one of these??

Would happily trade looks for performance, esp if it comes with a price cut

[SkipperJ]

Toe is not really massively stronger for being so thick, it simply lowers the length of the sweet spot nearer the toe, the balance is not massively worse but you can feel the difference between this and one of my Fuji shapes at the same weight.

Yeah, you're right. Because of the head-on shots, the toe just looks much bigger than it actually is. Sweet spot extending closer to the toe is great for straight bat shots, especially when it  comes to driving intended yorkers that land just a tad short ...

[Talisman]

The shape is simply a movement of this old one with the swell being lower, the splice does not look so thin at first glance but it was about the same thickness but the spine rises sooner in this shape.

Butterfly versions would have more pronounced stain but are cheaper and can always be made to order.