Imperfections in willow
There are many imperfections found in the English Willow Tree that go on to still be present in the finished bat. These are purely cosmetic and have no impact on the performance of the bat, but here are a few examples of what we sometimes see.
Pin Knot
Probably the most common imperfection found is the small knot or “pin knot”. These are generally up to 10 mm in diameter and are still living. Normally they will be present in the edge and/or back of the bat, although sometimes they are visible on the face. They will not affect the playing of the bat at all.
Speck
This mark was examined using light microscopy and it was determined that each speck was in fact a small cavity running longitudinally and following the grain in a radial direction. Dark fibrous material was present in the cavity, but no sand, gravel or mineral-like deposits were observed.
The specks are consistent with damage caused to the growing tree by small flies in the family Agromyzidae of the Diptera order. Adult flies lay eggs inside the bark, and the larvae feed on the nutrients in the Cambium (the layer between the bark and the wood). The larvae then leave the tree and pupate in the soil. Wound tissue forms over the tunnels, and this is eventually included in the timber, forming the speck.
The speck is purely cosmetic and does not have any detrimental effect on the bat.
Butterfly Stain
This is “Butterfly Stain”, so called as it resembles the wings and body of a butterfly. It is attributed to pruning and frost damage, especially by hard pruning of larger branches that causes scarring in the timber (found in our own research and confirmed by the Forestry Commission). Although most people do not understand the butterfly stain, it adds strength to the finished bat, giving longer life of the bat with much lower likelihood of the bats breaking.
Bar Stain
This is a worse form of butterfly stain, commonly named “Bar Stain” or “Tiger Stain”. It is formed the same way as butterfly stain, but there is so much stain it adds weight to the blade as well. The stains are close together and there will be many of them over the blade.
False Growth
A very common imperfection is the “False Growth”. This is caused when for some reason the tree has stopped growing for maybe one season. It can be caused by drought, fire or weed killer. Nine times out of ten there is no weakness in the bat and they will certainly not break along the False Growth. It will normally run parallel to the normal grains.
Dead Knot
This is a “dead knot”. The tree has been trimmed up very late and the resulting branch has been left to grow for many years. Before this can be used to make a bat the knot is drilled out and filled. As long as it is not on the face of the bat it will have very little detrimental effect on the playability.
Storm Damage ( also known as Wind Damage)
This is when the tree has been affected by very strong winds which has blown the tree from side to side in a very aggresive manor and has broken the cell structure of the willow, it will happen more in the tops of the tree which get whipped around more and therefore it is also more prevalent in narrow grain bats (the grains of a bat are always narrower in the top of the tree than the bottom). If you imagine the cell structure of a willow tree running from top to bottom, if there is lateral movement to excess these cells will break and cause a weakness.
This wind damage is a natural occurrence and there is absolutely nothing we or the bat manufacturer can do about it. The majority of these bats are found when they are in the manufacturing process but some will still get through to the customer. They will not always break, but if slightly misused or they catch a fast Yorker on the toe with perhaps a poor quality ball they are more likely to break. A good way to reduce the chances of this are by having extra toe protection on the bat.
Bleached Bats
The public generally want a bat that looks good, which means they want top grade willow with no knots or blemishes and no red wood ( or very little). In the 1970s and 1980s bats were bleached, this hid any imperfections and colour although it did look unnatural.
Due to modern farming methods and the lack of labour on our farms it is harder and harder to find large numbers of Grade 1 and Grade 2 willow, therefore the bleaching has started to re appear to make the Grade 3 and below willow look more pleasing to the eye. This has no detrimental effect on the bat and is purely cosmetic.