I went up to WCW to visit pre-season. I think one of the things that makes them different is that they have their own supply of UK grown willow, which allows them to pick the best for their bats. They aim to make the biggest bat they can from each cleft and are opposed to techniques like over drying and blade narrowing to achieve it, so I'd be surprised if anyone found something like that in one of their bats. They're producing loads of big bats at reasonable weights, so that says something about the quality of the willow, and skill of the batmaker, to me. All the bats I've wafted pick up very well, so even ones with a higher dead weight then I'd usually go for, e.g. 2, 12 felt really nice in the hands. As you'd expect for a handmade set up, they treat each bat as an individual and do what they can to get the best out of it. They were saying that some of the best bats that have left the shop, in their opinion, were in the lower grades.
It's a nice place to go, the people are very welcoming, happy to show you around the workshop and talk about the process. When I was there quite a few people dropped in to chat, including Smeed who came by to pick his clefts for the season. The place was stuffed with clefts and bats in various stages of production it was hard to find one that didn't look good.
The price for their top end stuff is high, no denying that. But it's a good set up: UK grown, UK made, great service and good guys to talk to. They aren't a big operation, really, but I think they're doing very well with their growth strategy. I think the branding, very bold and bright and appealing to youngsters, and sponsorship of key UK players in comps like the hundred, has really helped kick them into the spotlight this year.
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Topic: Keeley vs WCW (Read 8301 times)