Being an opener getting my beat ready to face a new ball is very important. For my most recent bats, I had Meulemans apply extratec/scuff sheet plus fibreglass tape on the edges to help strengthen those areas. They gave the bat a 'bone' with a horses shinbone to round the edges slightly as well, but I still spend a good 2-3 hours all up on the whole bat, paying most attention to the edges and toe. One trick I learned is to further round the edges, using the edge of a porcelain bathtub or bathroom sink to run the bat along lengthways worked a treat and does save a good amount of extra work with the mallet. I would use a mix of hitting gentle catches and throwdowns with good quality older leather balls to check for seam marks and if I'm satisfied I'd progress to facing bowling in the nets. If it gets through that she's ready for matches.