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[procricket]

I see many selling and many parading there bats as grade 1 but accordinding to many a grade one should be clean and free from blemishes in the playing area with evenly spaced grains.

Now i know a couple of my bats are technically grade 2 but is this forum full of grade 2 bats and grade 3 i have not seen to many actual grade 1 bats as advertised by wrights the only real authority on clefts..

Big brands and little brands seen to be doing it or am i just a fussy person but i do not buy into graded on performance because performance can not really 100 per cent be graded straight away

I went into a shop today and many of there top end bats the big brands flagship bats looked horrible and had marks and stains and all kinds.

It leads me to think there a genuine willow shortage of the best willow.

And yes we all know looks do not guarantee a performance from a bat but it tends to pay a higher price but recently i have seen so many grade 1 or top of the range bats looking less and less like grade 1

[mattw]

I see many selling and many parading there bats as grade 1 but accordinding to many a grade one should be clean and free from blemishes in the playing area with evenly spaced grains.

Now i know a couple of my bats are technically grade 2 but is this forum full of grade 2 bats and grade 3 i have not seen to many actual grade 1 bats as advertised by wrights the only real authority on clefts..

Big brands and little brands seen to be doing it or am i just a fussy person but i do not buy into graded on performance because performance can not really 100 per cent be graded straight away

I went into a shop today and many of there top end bats the big brands flagship bats looked horrible and had marks and stains and all kinds.

It leads me to think there a genuine willow shortage of the best willow

I do think there needs to be some standards introduced to clarify Grades.

[procricket]

Anybody else got any thoughts on grades currently

[ppccopener]

I was lucky enough to spend an hour with Andrew Kember a couple of years ago and he told me how they grade,no one,just how they do.
So if any of my team mates ask me i'm confident I can tell them.
My personal opinion is large sports shops do not neccessarily have the best willow regardless of what the labels say.
Just my opinion

[Timed-To-Perfection]

My friend recently got a GM LE with a pretty huge blemish/knot on nearly centre in the bat. Must have been a grading error.

[Blazer]

I like the grading used by SS . I had a SS premium which was supposedly grade 3/4 and the only problem it had was a knot underneath the sticker and slight uneven spaced grains . I also feel that the MSR grading is unbelievably good . Is it just me or most brands do have better looking willow compared to last year . An example would be the Kookaburra lower grades available at Uzi sports .

[procricket]

Buzz's grading

Grade 1



or



Uploaded with ImageShack.us



grade 2



or




grade 3



Grade Plank






For me there abig big shortage of unblemished willow especially in shops and on here real grade 1's.

Agree with much of what you said Blazer bar i do not think standard is up

[Six Sixes Cricket]

According to JS Wrights

"A Grade 1 Blade"

"A Grade 1 is the best looking blade money can buy, though it will not necessarily play the best. There may be some red wood evident on the edge of the bat. The grain on the face will be straight and there will be at least 5 grains visible. There may be the odd small knot in the edge or back but the playing area should be clean."

As we know grading is subjective, most are gonna say we judge on performance, you would be mad not to, but which is right? Does grading matter? Well for some of us it does. I'm not keen on heartwood, the gn legend that passed through my hands had it. Didn't appeal to me. This is Gn's 1% top willow. Total nonsense, greed from a big big company.
There are a few company's that grade the same as Wrights, and I think they follow there guidelines. CA, SS etc... And even MSR follow and there top bats are truly stunning, as I believe they follow wrights guide.

End of the day 95% of all bats, graded 1 to god knows how many when pressed and played in will be of equal performance. The other 5% is what us plonkers are searching for.

[procricket]

According to JS Wrights

"A Grade 1 Blade"

"A Grade 1 is the best looking blade money can buy, though it will not necessarily play the best. There may be some red wood evident on the edge of the bat. The grain on the face will be straight and there will be at least 5 grains visible. There may be the odd small knot in the edge or back but the playing area should be clean."

As we know grading is subjective, most are gonna say we judge on performance, you would be mad not to, but which is right? Does grading matter? Well for some of us it does. I'm not keen on heartwood, the gn legend that passed through my hands had it. Didn't appeal to me. This is Gn's 1% top willow. Total nonsense, greed from a big big company.
There are a few company's that grade the same as Wrights, and I think they follow there guidelines. CA, SS etc... And even MSR follow and there top bats are truly stunning, as I believe they follow wrights guide.

End of the day 95% of all bats, graded 1 to god knows how many when pressed and played in will be of equal performance. The other 5% is what us plonkers are searching for.

Rob as you know you and I think the same about performance my main grip is top roller for none top doller willow.