Topic: Fewest amount of grains....? (Read 6418 times)

SouthpawMark · « **Reply #15 on:** October 08, 2019, 03:16:43 PM »

I always assumed that more grains = softer = more pingtasticness, but it�s simply not true.

More grains = looks more expensive and looks like the bats you see being used on the telly.

Wozaboxa · « **Reply #16 on:** October 08, 2019, 04:06:12 PM »

Quote from: SOULMAN1012 on October 07, 2019, 07:15:09 AM

Last years match bat 5/6 grains but was a gun

I have a GM with similar Grains, when it's hit it stays hit! it's just the actually bat on ball part of my game that's letting me down.

play-yourself-in · « **Reply #17 on:** October 09, 2019, 10:37:48 AM »

Best bats i've had are Newbury GT 5 Star got 5 grains and is a great bat, still going strong. Also had a DF Max Power that had 5 grains and went like a train for over a decade. Eventually it disintegrated into dust but it was amazing. I'm all about 5 grains!!!!

SLA · « **Reply #18 on:** October 09, 2019, 10:51:23 AM »

Quote from: Sitonit on October 08, 2019, 02:02:43 PM

Seriously, many of us all are just too fussy and uselessly obsessed with grains and looks and all that jazz to open up our wallets for highly over priced small pieces of timber.

Last weekend we were defending 48 runs in the last 3 overs of a 20 overs game.
Guy comes in at no 8, and hits 7 sixes in two overs to turn the game on it's head.

After the loss, I looked at his bat.
It was a $30 Kookaburra grade 5 Kashmir willow or something. It was one of those cheapest and lowest class bats which are wrapped in some white sheet.

I guess sometimes what holds the truth is, if you know how to swing the bat supported by a great hand-eye coordination, the grains, looks and willow grade doesn't really matter.

Some super-cheap bats are absolute planks without a middle and you will struggle to clear the infield no matter how sweetly you time it.
Others are perfectly fine. I had an ugly sports direct �30 monster as a reserve bat a few years ago and its pickup was horrible but when my main bat broke I scored plenty of runs with it the rest of that season (until it broke).

JK Lewis · « **Reply #19 on:** October 09, 2019, 08:55:05 PM »

Quote from: Whispering Death on October 07, 2019, 08:15:40 AM

Has anyone got a 1 grain Eng Willow bat? Would love to see a pic of that!

It would be cool, but it's never going to happen as willows don't grow that fast. A 1 grain bat would mean the tree grew 4 1/2 inches around, in 2 years. No willow could achieve such growth in such a short time.

If you look through my Wide grain vs Narrow grain thread from last year, in bat making, I put up a couple of photos of a cleft that would be a 3 grain bat. That's the fastest growth I've ever seen and I doubt a willow could grow faster, and still stay upright.

JK Lewis · « **Reply #20 on:** October 09, 2019, 09:07:36 PM »

Quote from: SouthpawMark on October 08, 2019, 03:16:43 PM

I always assumed that more grains = softer = more pingtasticness, but it�s simply not true.

More grains = looks more expensive and looks like the bats you see being used on the telly.

In my experience there's little if any difference in the performance of a bat, be it wide or narrow grain. But, in reality, narrow grain bats should be more expensive simply because the trees have taken so much longer to grow. There's a lot more care, attention and maintenance required for narrow grain trees, due to the time they spend in the ground.

For the farmer though, there's probably more money in wide grain trees, as they can fell and replant over a much shorter cycle.

Whispering Death · « **Reply #21 on:** October 10, 2019, 11:04:40 AM »

How long does it take from planting a tree to being able to make a bat from it on average?

Buzz · « **Reply #22 on:** October 10, 2019, 12:06:47 PM »

12+ years

Whispering Death · « **Reply #23 on:** October 10, 2019, 12:32:18 PM »

That's a lot longer than I expected!

SurreySam · « **Reply #24 on:** October 16, 2019, 03:01:57 PM »

Ben Foakes best were 4 grains apparently, although his comment about 2 tone wood left you with a 'pinch of salt' feeling.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1gbsn8r-ftI

SouthpawMark · « **Reply #25 on:** October 16, 2019, 03:15:41 PM »

I don�t think I�ve ever seen a pro grade bat with less than 7 or 8 grains. I�d be amazed if a bat manufacturer sent out a bat to one of their sponsored players with 4 grains.

JK Lewis · « **Reply #26 on:** October 16, 2019, 04:18:09 PM »

Quote from: SouthpawMark on October 16, 2019, 03:15:41 PM

I don�t think I�ve ever seen a pro grade bat with less than 7 or 8 grains. I�d be amazed if a bat manufacturer sent out a bat to one of their sponsored players with 4 grains.

A 4 grain cleft would officially be grade 4, if we use the Wrights grading system which is the de facto standard for the industry. So I think you're right, very few batmakers would use such clefts for their sponsored players and run the risk of being seen as low quality. But players do have their own opinions, so it could be the case that Foakes just prefers wider grain bats, and requests them from his supplier.

Wazza08 · « **Reply #27 on:** October 16, 2019, 05:19:13 PM »

Quote from: JK Lewis on October 16, 2019, 04:18:09 PM

A 4 grain cleft would officially be grade 4, if we use the Wrights grading system which is the de facto standard for the industry. So I think you're right, very few batmakers would use such clefts for their sponsored players and run the risk of being seen as low quality. But players do have their own opinions, so it could be the case that Foakes just prefers wider grain bats, and requests them from his supplier.

Although the one on the video looks more like it has 14 than 4 so probably just not that picky, and as he likes to use them without knocking in now i would imagine the supplier gives him a few extra grains to help him out from the off!

JK Lewis · « **Reply #28 on:** October 16, 2019, 06:29:22 PM »

So here's the 3 grain cleft I was talking about, pretty unusual to see such fast growth. The tree grew very close to a stream and at the bottom of a downslope, so benefitted from a very consistent water supply in 2 directions. It will make a very interesting looking bat, but I do wonder about the structural integrity of the timber. Only one way to find out...

edge · « **Reply #29 on:** October 16, 2019, 06:55:06 PM »

@JK Lewis that looks like it'll be a belter to me! Couldn't explain why very well, but those grains look great - I've had a few similar looking sticks from different sources that have been exceptional.

Author Topic: Fewest amount of grains....? (Read 6418 times)

SouthpawMark

Re: Fewest amount of grains....?

Wozaboxa

Re: Fewest amount of grains....?

play-yourself-in

Re: Fewest amount of grains....?

SLA

Re: Fewest amount of grains....?

JK Lewis

Re: Fewest amount of grains....?

JK Lewis

Re: Fewest amount of grains....?

Whispering Death

Re: Fewest amount of grains....?

Buzz

Re: Fewest amount of grains....?

Whispering Death

Re: Fewest amount of grains....?

SurreySam

Re: Fewest amount of grains....?

SouthpawMark

Re: Fewest amount of grains....?

JK Lewis

Re: Fewest amount of grains....?

Wazza08

Re: Fewest amount of grains....?

JK Lewis

Re: Fewest amount of grains....?

edge

Re: Fewest amount of grains....?