I purchased this 6 wide grained Mongoose Torq off eBay(Milletsports) in May 2014 in a moment of drunken madness. It was 2.11 when It arrived and had an nice light pick-up. As the season was five months away i spent ages slowly knocking it in, but it always felt a bit flat off centre and higher up the blade.
In January I changed the scuff sheet and repaired a few surface cracks, polish and oil and, and some applied shoe goo. I reweighed it then and it was 2.11. Made no difference after a bit more knocking so i stuck it on the gun rack and moved on to my other bats.
Today I picked it up after leaving it in the shed over a 39 degree weekend. It felt lighter and the response off the mallet was impressive, nice rebound and a whip like crack from deep in the timber. Surprised I weighed it and it was now 2.93. Nearly 2 oz lighter!
Now this is more blind luck than sheer brilliance that I caught this, but it appears the reduction in surface moisture has helped harden the surface and improve the ping. It's staying in the house now btw.
Does this sound right? Do others have experience with wide grain timber coming to life after they lose moisture?