Our Process

This 200 year old family recipe is used to hand craft the finest bat possible for you. Let us take some time to explore the story of its making.

Preparation

The timber is selected from the finest cuts of Essex willow supplies (including the special 'butterfly' willow). These 'clefts' as they are known are the raw basis from which the blade will be crafted.

Each cleft is then inspected to establish the best use for the timber. For example, timber with a close strong grain on the right will be used for a right handed bat, avaiding splits on outside edging that might otherwise occur (the opposite is true for left handed bats). The wood is then shaped down to a near finished size. Great care is taken to shape around the best part of the timber, keeping it as the 'sweet spot' of the hitting surface and then the shoulder is turned on a craftsman's lathe. The blade, as it is now known then goes on to the next process.

An important stage is now reached when the bat is pressed to the required pressure. This will vary from wood piece to wood piece. Our years of experience in pressing allows the Willow Wood's natural spring to be maintained. The natural air pockets in the wood are kept and not over-pressed out of the timber which would causes the bat to feel dead and to vibrate though its length. Too little would also be undesireable causing splinters and splits to occur. Our expertise lies in the great care and judgement required for the hand pressing of each bat to perfection. The shoulders are then hand turned on the bat ready for joining to the handle.

Handle Selection

The handles are made from Rattan Cane which is imported from the world's main centre of supply in Malaysia. Unlike some bat maker's, we import full lengths of cane and do not take not pre-cut or pre-spliced handles. These lengths of cane are then inspected to cut a piece of timber that has a strong feel to it and not what is known a 'pudding' type feel. This piece is then spliced and joined with as many rubber inlays as you request although two are normally supplied.

Our secret formula glue, much like Aunt Bessie's cooking, is a magic ingredient to make the ideal, non-vibrating-type feel of the handle when used in earnest. This is used to join the spliced pieces with the rubber as well as the application of the twine to the handles. The handle is turned and shaped prior to the twining process and is shaped to your own need i.e. fat, thin, 4, 5, 6, Harrow and Short, Medium or Long handled; not forgetting the normal oval shape that is so useful for maintaining a firm grip under the pressure of a shot. Various weights and balances are produced and bats can also be made to a one-one matched specification on request.

Finishing

The Blades are then formed to a near finished size and kept to the maximum legal size of (e.g. 4 ¼" wide).
The finishing of the bat is now performed with the multi abrasive machines bringing the surface to size and finish. During this process a special piece of wood called 'lignum vitae', known as the wood of life, is used to produce a natural resin final polished protective finish and then it is then passed to the next process.

The blade's V is then cut, taking care for left and right-handed bats and the V's are cut and shaped to match each bats and handle to and individually perfect fit. This is then also glued with the secret formula glue. The handle is fitted at a slight angle (look down the face of the blade and you will see it is raised up at the handle to produce a better angle of approach to the ball. (Remember this and don't stand bats against a wall or worse a radiator - they're best kept in the shed).

Branding

Now the Wasop-Stebbing hand made bats logo is applied. You can even have your personal name incorporated into the transfer (see pricelist). The bat is then given a single quality grip or 2 grips if you feel its required. At this point the bat is 'boned' on the edges. This is done by dragging the edges of the bat along a strong piece of wood such as 'ebony' to take the sharp edge off the bat. A variety of protection can now be applied (at little extra cost) from edging tape(foc), through toe caps to full-face poly anti-scuff surface protectors.

The bat is then put in the complimentary bat cover (not hat/cap) and dispatched as requested. Visitors to the factory are always welcome and a factory shop is there for you to pick and feel the bat to see it suits you before purchase. We are also known for our quality accessories such as hats, helmets, shoes and clothing as well as bags, gloves and pads.