So, as an early Christmas present, i got given money towards a new stick. Having never tried a B3 but loved their process and ideas I got in touch with Rich and started the ball rolling. I agreed to go up yesterday and have a look and play with some bats. Upon arrival, rich was there, took me through to the store room and we started chatting anything and everything cricket.
Eventually after an hour and a half of cricket chat and discussing shapes, I decided I'd like a replica of the Joe Root shape (slightly different from the root based shape b3 usually sell) rich said I'd need to have a crown to get that shape anywhere near a useable weight, so through to the factory we went in search of a crown.
There were 3 crowns available, all of which were stunning. I had my heart set on 1. Rich then got talking about what low density wood actually meant, and essentially it means there is more air in the wood and less structure. This means that low density wood as a general rule has less life expectancy. With this in mind, I started thinking about a net bat to go with the crown (my bank balance wouldn't have thanked me). rich took me round the other side of the rack and I spied 2 clefts that were circa 350 density (the density required) and were a 2 stripe and a 1 stripe. So I decided to get both. Rich said the 2 stripe could have been a crown but for the presence of a slight wonk to the grains and a couple of small blemishes. The 1 stripe is very ugly, no doubt, but as a net bat I cant complain.
Overall I'm very pleased with the two clefts and very happy with the whole process. Rich was brilliant and the setup is class. I now cant wait to get the bats.
Pics to follow