@InternalTraining as well as the bats "showing their character " I can see that kind of bat appealing to people who dislike knocking in (which seems to be the majority of cricketers)
Not necessarily knocking but some use
after knocking. Not all "knocked" bats arrive at same level of performance.
I had a club mate from India who used to prepare bats for first-class players there. Basically, these Ranji players would pay club cricketers to get their bats knocked and ready. Those bats would see a lot of net action, as he'd say "gains started opening up". In my opinion, that's quite a "net time"/use but well worth it i.e. a good model. Also, it goes without saying that those bats were handpicked before they went to the hired preppers.
I am thinking about a model where bats are sold after certain amount use (not just "knocking"). It will probably add to the cost but you are getting what you pay for as compared to brand new 600+ bats as
@addu84 reported here.