This bat was on offer just before Xmas, It is a bat made from butterfly willow, which seems to be all the hype at the moment. It was shipped to me within 2 days of paying. Boxed and bubble wrapped up nicely. First impressions were of a big bat, felt its weight which is around 2-11, picks up nicely. It also has a Nice thickish oval handle. Now onto looks, finish is different to what I've had before. The finish feels almost like a white chalky wax. Nothing wrong with that tho. It has 7 ruler straight grains, front of the face has a strip of heartwood, and could probably pass as grade 1 for some people, No blemishes either. The back of the bat is a different story, here is the "butterfly" and personally I think it's ugly. Some will like it as it gives "character" to the bat.
Onto the shape, well first thoughts is that it looks like a newbery tour. The back of the bat is almost round. Edges are around 38mm, spine height is approx 60mm. Minimal stickers, which are actually rather nice. The lack of stickers also gives you more wood for finished weight. Only concern I have with the bat is the toe. Very thin, around 16mm at the edge and 20mm in the middle. Personally I would prefer a thicker toe, for no other reason than the thought of it breaking. The profile/shape would suggest it would have a med high middle, it has a bow to the bat as well. Do I like the profile, yes and no. I would prefer the spine running to the toe, other than that the profile is good and meaty, with none of this flat face malarkey.
So I spent some time in the last month knocking in the edges and the toe. Using the big m&h mallet this hasn't taken long as it's brutal. The middle/coverage starts from approx 4" from the toe to approx 10" from the toe where you then start to feel it vibrate again. I will carry on hitting around this area as the profile would suggest this should be middle as well. The sound off the mallet is lovely. It's like a firecracker going off. Something I picked up on when I used a different shaped BB a few years back.
The bat will be used for the main purpose as my net bat. It will be used against ex match cricket balls at nets and I will also use it against bola bowls as well to see how it performs.
Author
Topic: BlankBats Butterfly Bat (Read 8182 times)