Autographing a Game Used Bat - Blue or Black Ink?

[astros*bats]

I remember there being a thread about this a long time ago but I can not find it for the life of me.

I was wondering other forum members thoughts on autographing game used bats. What color ink works the best, blue or black? It seems to me that both colors seem to fade over time. I have seen bats signed in black that have faded to a dull brownish color and bats signed in blue that have faded into a light greenish color.

I have bats signed both in blue and black in my collection, and none of them have faded since the day that I had them signed.

I was just wondering what other collectors thought about it. Thanks!

[sportscentury]

AJ,

I have had bats signed in blue and black. The blue stands out a bit more but the black typically matches the middle and barrel markings better. I have not noticed that one fades any differently than the other, although I don't display my items so that they are exposed to light. Sharpies have worked very well for me (red and green have even worked well). I had a Schmidt gamer once that was signed in red and it looked perfect as it was highlighted by the Adirondack red ring. When I sold the Schmidt, the autograph had not faded at all.

I imagine that the answer to your question depends, in part, as to the coating on the bat. Mike Specht may be able to chime in here as he knows a lot about bat surface coatings.

Good luck,

Reid

[suave1477]

I personally would say to autograph a bat in blue it does stand out more and it has been proven over time the blue will outlast the black. In either case always keep the autograph out of sunlight.

[Swoboda4]

I've got bats signed in blue sharpie from 20 years ago. They've been exposed to regular room light and they're still strong looking (8 out of 10) with the slightest hint of the bottom parts of the signature turning aqua in color .Nothing to panic about. How about those who got bats signed in black sharpie any yellowing?

[kylehess10]

As long as you keep the bat well protected, like in a UV protected bat holder, then the autograph shouldn't fade at all. I only have 2 signed bats and I've kept them both in a UV protected bat holder ever since I first got them back in 2003 and they look the same from the day I first got them.

[stlbats]

I have found that most well known bat collectors prefer black sharpie. I have my bats in black with no fading so far. As noted, any color in a lot of light is gonna fade sooner or later.

I also have some bats signed in silver paint and in silver sharpie. The paint is brighter but the sharpie looks good too.


jason

[MSpecht]

Hi--

Here's a lonk to a blog in Expert's Corner that discusses this topic and has some photo examples:

http://www.gameuseduniverse.com/blog/post.php?topic=147

Overall, I believe that regardless of finish, the display area environmental conditions are the main factor in the long-term quality of the autograph, particularly the exposure (or non-exposure) to light.

Most finishes accept modern writing instruments equally well, with the possible exceptions of a heavy wax finish ( may encourage 'skipping' at the time of the autograph) or an unfinished, "no finish" bat which may promote bleeding from certain writing instruments.

A handy tip is to keep a few 'firewood' type bats around in various finishes and try out different writing instruments on them before getting your favorite Walker Finish (or whatever) bat signed at a shiow for a hundred bucks with your fingers crossed.

Also, preparation of the writing instrument, based on the signer's individual characteristics, as discussed in the above post, will yield great results.

Good Luck.

Mike Jackitout7@aol.com

[astros*bats]

Thanks to all the forum members who have responded! I have enjoyed reading each post and hearing what everyone else's opinion on the subject is. The blog that Mike wrote was great and had awesome pictures of just what I was talking about. I could actually picture Duke Snider getting sprayed with metallic silver pen. . Thanks again for everyone who posted!