Morning,,,,definitely the off season,,peeing it down here,and freezing cold.
For me,,it’s dropping the edges/big spines and getting my bats a lot fuller whilst keeping the thick Oxfordshire toe.
At the end of the day, I can only work with the willow I’m supplied, and this is where I won’t compromise,,,I still hand pick every piece,,generally based on initial performance,(I’m only working from part mades).
I’ve been lucky to have quite a few pro bats through my hands this year for refurbs/weight reductions etc and most if not all,are pretty similar in shape and profiles, which is pretty obvious really,(if it works,why change it),,,
I’ve tweaked my handles/shoulders slightly,,not done as many short blades ,,toned down the sanding grades a little,,,oil all my bats now before releasing them.
Done a few butterfly grade bats, which have all been lovely,(was stupid to sell a couple of them as they were perfect for me and I feel guilty using a pro grade),,
Don’t really think I’ve changed that much to be honest, I know it’s virtually impossible to make money in this game, so I’ve tried to stick to creating the best bat possible from each piece, and not taking the mick with prices.
A big thing for me this year has been referrals from local players, which has kept me very busy, and is what I wanted from the beginning as I enjoy the interaction between customers visiting and discussing what they want,,a big part of that, is understanding the wickets they play on etc and the bowling they face, and being able to tailor the bats to that..
It’s a shame the forum has gotten a little quiet these days, I find it quite funny when I post a bat picture, and get absolutely zero interactions
I used to love looking at pictures of bats on here, whether it was Andy,saf,,Matth4l,,paul aldred,,Ryan kelsall,,etc etc and the threads detailing the processes of crafting bats, but I suppose that’s today’s world.
Mark@oxbats
Author
Topic: Northern monkey batmaking (Read 174714 times)