Restore these bats??

[earlywynnfan]

I'm looking for opinions from vintage bat collectors. Usually, I'm of the opinion that gamers should stay the way they are. However, I have 2 bats in my collection that fall more into the realm of "abuse." Splitting, severe knob chipping, stamping loss (Torre), dry rot (Rousch), etc.

These are for me to keep, although if I ever sell I'd of course disclose the repairs. Do you think restoring these would actually hurt the value?

So what would you do?

Thanks, Ken
earlywynnfan5@hotmail.com

[GoTigers]

Re: Restore these bats??

If I were to have a bat repaired I'd do the most minimal repair possible to affect th appearance of the bat. For example, I'd just fix the split in Rouch and maybe the water damage on the Torre. The chips and dings don't bother me at all. I never saw the point in restoring a bat to "like new" when it's 80-40 years old, and seen battle damage. Getting the lettering restored on the Torre would be tempting. I wonder if it could be restored to match the current condition of the centerbrand, not new but chipped up a little. Just a thought.

[corsairs25]

Re: Restore these bats??

What would it take to repair the Roush? Some glue in the cracks and a long session with some clamps? If that's all you do, I don't see any harm in it. As for the Torre, I would have qualms about a bat whose stampings were restored. But that is just me.