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[Seniorplayer]

This is really confusing. I thought Bat pressing is part of the bat prep process. I was advised that it will cut down approx two hours of knocking in. Then there is this other dilemma of get it knocked in by hand or by a machine. Different people have different opinions. It becomes so hard and confusion, not sure whats the right way.

Would love to see your comments on this.

Yes it can get confusing the should be correctly pressed before you purchase it and then knocked in by hand Untill there's no marks on the blade if when you use it ball seam marks appear on the bat the bat requires further hand knocking in.
There's a  bat preparation thread on here  by Gingerbusiness which is excellent.

[Number4]

That's the link I just posted Senior

[radical.haqer@gmail.com]

Thanks Guys.

[manno]

Like i said. Dont confuse "pressing" a cleft with this "pressing" serivce. Yes they are the same words... One poorly chosen perhaps...

[procricket]

I had a screaming cat put through the pressing machine at Greg Chappell in Melbourne

Didn't hardly do anything at all but they scuffed and told me good to go..

It seriously wasn't

[Contrails]

I have a Spartan MC1000 as a net bat and it pings beautifully.  I knocked it in myself with a GN mallet and followed the advice I found on this forum. 

I started with giving it two coats of oil, 48 hours in between and the second just prior to the first knocking session.  I started with the edges, then the middle and toe.  After the first session, tested it in the nets against old balls at slow speed.  Gave it another knocking session (no oiling).  Tested again in the nets with old balls followed by one last knocking in.  By now the bat was starting to show some slight surface cracks.  Taped up the edges, then added a GN face protective sheet and then took it to a few matches.  She's become a team whore now. 

[manno]

I had a screaming cat put through the pressing machine at Greg Chappell in Melbourne

Didn't hardly do anything at all but they scuffed and told me good to go..

It seriously wasn't

Do they even bother to have different shaped rollers to try and match the face profile on different bats or not?

[procricket]

it was 2008 they had two I think then it was a blue roller type contraption

[Wickets-then-runs]

Do they even bother to have different shaped rollers to try and match the face profile on different bats or not?

no, there is only one profile which is of a rounded face. They still put flat faced bats through from what ive seen...

[sachin200]

Someone more knowledgeable can correct me but both "pressing" and "knocking in" are trying to do the same thing- put a protective crust on spongy bouncy willow to lengthen the life of the material. Doesn't really matter how you get there.

Don't take my advice, but bats seem fairly robust albeit for a short overall lifetime nowadays...
Buy bat from a shop you trust to look after you so long as you don't take the p1ss
Have shop knock it in
Get impatient to use it and have an hour or two on the bowling machine
Probably get even more impatient and hit some proper balls earlier than you *should*
Use bat until it dies
Repair for a second life if it was dear to you and like close family
Buy something else if not and enjoy a new bat

Hi @DorsetDan. I think when you are knocking in with a mallet, you tend to compact surface fibres in the willow whereas when you are pressing the bat, it will compress the whole willow across the cross section so in my opinion, there is a difference. When you hit the bat with a mallet, it is free to swing back to certain extent and it is only one way impact force you are applying to the surface (same thing happens when you are playing against a cricket ball) but when the bat is pressed, the cleft is pressed against a hard surface so the compression happens all the way through!

Other members, please correct me if I am wrong here!

[Seniorplayer]

Rather than the compress all of  the cleft When we knock our bats  in using  a mallet we are trying to achieve a further 3 to 5 cm face compression

[WalkingWicket37]

Rather than the compress all of  the cleft When we knock our bats  in using  a mallet we are trying to achieve a further 3 to 5 cm face compression

3 to 5 cm, how hard are you hitting it?
That's one way to make these bats with monster edges "legal" once the new regulations come in, I suppose

[nudgemaster]

I hope the 3-5cm is a typo!!

[shax12]

https://youtu.be/Hb90RsgbPI4

Pressing vs Knocking in. Short video by Whack Sports.

[Seniorplayer]

3 to 5 cm, how hard are you hitting it?
That's one way to make these bats with monster edges "legal" once the new regulations come in, I suppose

Manufactures recommendation Cam 3 to 5 mil.