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[WillyorWonty]

Absolute rubbish.

Please explain your bold and incorrect statement to me. We saw Green Oak beams, we saw Ash, Beech, Oak and many more for furniture makers, no one complains about any monement in the wood apart from moisture. I don't see how compressed willow can decompress?

[Vitas Cricket]

Please explain your bold and incorrect statement to me. We saw Green Oak beams, we saw Ash, Beech, Oak and many more for furniture makers, no one complains about any monement in the wood apart from moisture. I don't see how compressed willow can decompress?

I don't know enough about wood to properly intervene here, and obviously don't know the reason for the 'absolute rubbish' statement, but as a very small and specific answer to the compression point, i have removed/reduced dents in willow by running a jet of steam over them.

[Seniorplayer]

All quality bats should open up and as already stated eventually crack  over time if  they do not they are to hard.
Clefts do get pressed harder to maintain warranties therefore can take longer to open up.

[WillyorWonty]

Vitas, I see your point about steam and that confirms mine about moisture, look at all the steamed wood we import in this country.

Does open up mean cracks open up on the face? I was always told by my old man that bats fully harden and then are at their best, but they continue to harden and then go past their best and become planks eventually?

[WillyorWonty]

Thinking about it I'm going to ask tomorrow to see if steaming willow might work, does anyone know if this is done already?

[Vitas Cricket]

Vitas, I see your point about steam and that confirms mine about moisture, look at all the steamed wood we import in this country.

Does open up mean cracks open up on the face? I was always told by my old man that bats fully harden and then are at their best, but they continue to harden and then go past their best and become planks eventually?

That is my definition yes, it generally takes quite a while to get to this point, occasionally a bat will open up early in it's life and this is generally a bat that performs very well indeed. The term opening up is overused and incorrectly used on the forum in my opinion, as explained previously.

As for the other point you made, i think what your old man said is probably true. Modern bats in my view generally get better the more they are used, up until the point where they break. As we know from the knocking in process, the more you hit a bat, the harder the 'crust' on the surface layer becomes via means of compression.

In your Dads case (assuming he is referring to a bygone era of at least ten years ago) i would guess bats back then simply lasted longer as they were naturally air dried and probably carried more moisture. Modern bats are generally kiln dried and i suspect have less moisture content, hence larger sized profiles at similar weights. As a consequence, some longevity can be lost.

So in short, a bat from the past may improve and improve (in simple terms getting harder and harder) over time and at some point will reach its peak and open up. After this point it may start to decline, a modern era bat is likely to break before this point so we never get to the situation where it is 'too hard.'

My opinion/theory of course. I only sell the bloody things, i don't make 'em! I am forever gleaning knowledge though, i will talk to Tony at Hunts about this topic next time i see him.

[Vitas Cricket]

Thinking about it I'm going to ask tomorrow to see if steaming willow might work, does anyone know if this is done already?

Steaming willow certainly works as a 'repair' for small localised dents. I suspect you are referring to an industrial process though, how does it work in your industry? And why is it used? Got my curiosity hat on now

[mp07]

How much knocking is too much knocking?  I have a team mate who just bought a SS Reserve Edition and he has been knocking his bat for 12+ hrs...it pings REALLY good, but he wants to do it more.  Is there such thing as too much knocking? 

[Vitas Cricket]

How much knocking is too much knocking?  I have a team mate who just bought a SS Reserve Edition and he has been knocking his bat for 12+ hrs...it pings REALLY good, but he wants to do it more.  Is there such thing as too much knocking?

Probably. Each bat is different of course but i would say if someone has been knocking in a bat for 12 hours and feels like it needs more work, they probably aren't doing it right.

[the sauce]

Probably. Each bat is different of course but i would say if someone has been knocking in a bat for 12 hours and feels like it needs more work, they probably aren't doing it right.

It's not so much that we feel it "needs more work" after 12 hours - to the contrary, it's probably ready for a match. The question is whether you can increase a bats performance by continuing to knock it in beyond that 12 hour point (say 20-25)? Will there by anything to be gained from that?

[Vitas Cricket]

It's not so much that we feel it "needs more work" after 12 hours - to the contrary, it's probably ready for a match. The question is whether you can increase a bats performance by continuing to knock it in beyond that 12 hour point (say 20-25)? Will there by anything to be gained from that?

I don't know as i have never done it. I prefer to feel my bats improve by actually using them, be that in matches or at training/nets.

I do refer back to technique though, if you are knocking in a bat 'properly' for 25 hours, i wouldn't expect the at risk areas like the edges to be in great shape. A mallet, especially a good one, is a very different animal to a cricket ball which of course will get softer over time.

[WillyorWonty]

Steaming willow certainly works as a 'repair' for small localised dents. I suspect you are referring to an industrial process though, how does it work in your industry? And why is it used? Got my curiosity hat on now

We don't do it ourselves but your right as in its a big industry method. Mainly Beech, they steam it to get the moisture levels down and make them even through the board, also it makes the colour better and removes stains. You'd only see furniture people taking it as when the tree gets splits you see loads of grey wood come out, steaming takes that away and makes the red colour stand out a little more. But the biggy is moisture, air dried Beech is 16%, maybe down as low as 14% sometimes, but no good for kitchens so kiln levels will be 8% and no case hardening with steaming.

[Seniorplayer]

As we are aware bats are knocked in by hand to give the blades a final hardening and to extract the best possible performance.
Any bat knocked in for a minimum of 6 hours will suffice and extend the blades lifespan.
Bats made from the best willow generally open up and crack sooner because because they are mostly softer pressed.
Also there used to be a school of thought that when the bat  starts to crack (open up ) the blade will give  you maximum performance.

[Bats_Entertainment]

Please explain your bold and incorrect statement to me. We saw Green Oak beams, we saw Ash, Beech, Oak and many more for furniture makers, no one complains about any monement in the wood apart from moisture. I don't see how compressed willow can decompress?

You said wood only 'opens up' if damaged. I do not consider an 'opened up' cricket bat to be damaged; rather something to be cherished.

[Bats_Entertainment]

Also there used to be a school of thought that when the bat  starts to crack (open up ) the blade will give  you maximum performance.

Used to be?