Bat Finishes

[karamaxjoe]

If possible could Mike, Jim or someone else give me a general description or picture of the differnt bat finishes? Specifically I would like, Black, Galen, Hickory, Hornsby and Natural. Thanks

Mike

[MSpecht]

Hi Mike--

Here are the finishes most often found in the H & B shipping records.

Black Finish-- an all black finish covering the entire bat. A slight variation is the "Smith Finish" where a Black Finish bat is dipped into urethane, sometimes several times (see Ken Griffey Jr bats for samples of a Smith Finish)

Flame Treated/Burned Finish- the bat is briefly placed into fire to seal the grain which results in a darkening of the grain and often dramatic contrasts throughout the bat. The bat is then dipped in natural lacquer

Calen Finish -- a finish covering the entire bat that results in a pale rose colored hue

Gwynn Finish -- a bat that has a black finish on the barrel with an unfinished (no finish) handle

Hickory Finish -- a brown finish covering the entire bat, often very dark brown, near black, in color

Hornsby Finish -- another all brown finish, generally a lighter brown than the typical Hickory Finish

Natural Finish -- a finish resulting from an unfinished (no finish) bat being dipped into natural lacquer. This is the typical finish applied if the player has not ordered a specific finish.

No Finish -- no finish is applied to the bat after manufacture (often used by Brett, Ripken, and Boggs.

Van Slyke Finish -- a white handle and a pale rose hued barrel

Walker Finish -- a natural finish handle with a hickory finished barrel

Good Luck in future collecting.

Mike Jackitout7@aol.com

[karamaxjoe]

Thanks Mike

[DGRROSEN]

Mike -- That bat finish info was very helpful in helping me understand the "bat finish" column in my Mo Vaughn bat records. There are 4 finish abbreviations which are still not clear to me: SMITHB; SFT; SNAT; and SBLK. Thank you. David

[Birdbats]

Mike -- That bat finish info was very helpful in helping me understand the "bat finish" column in my Mo Vaughn bat records. There are 4 finish abbreviations which are still not clear to me: SMITHB; SFT; SNAT; and SBLK. Thank you. David

David,

If I'm not mistaken, all four make reference to "Smith," which means it's double or triple dipped in urethane.

SMITHB is Smith Black;
SBLK is the same;
SFT is Smith Flame Treated;
SNAT is Smith Natural.

The finish that confuses me on H&B shipping records is "JACK." I think it may be a bat with a black handle and a galen barel, but nobody has ever confirmed this for me.

Jeff
http://www.birdbats.com

[DGRROSEN]

Jeff -- Thank you for the info. It helps me to understand the different bat finishes that Mo Vaughn used. David

[JimCaravello]

Hello GUU Members - a member recently e-mailed Mike Specht and mentioned that it might be a good idea to post pictures of the various finishes Mike has discussed in this thread. I told Mike I would handle that and I have posted a short new Blog under the Expert's Corner section of the site, which includes Mike's thread and pictures I have inserted below each description. If anyone has any questions or comments, please don't hesitate to contact me.

Jim

[Birdbats]

Jim,

Thanks for posting the photos. However, I think we have different definitions on a couple finishes. The bat you've identified as Galen is, I believe, a Hornsby finish. Galen is much lighter, similar to the barrel end of the Van Slyke.

I'm sure you have "Crack of the Bat" by Bob Hill. There's a good shot on page 127 of the different finishes.

I have a bat of Larry Walker from 2004 that has the same finish as the bat you've identified as Galen. On his order records, it says it's a Hornsby. It's his only order of M9 Hornsby finish bats and was his last shipment as a member of the Rockies before the trade to St. Louis.

When H&B first started using the Galen finish, it wasn't much different than a natural finish, just slightly darker. It was in 1992 or '93, I think, when it took on more of a wine or rose color. The Manny Ramirez bat discussed in this thread is a good example of a Galen finish: http://www.gameuseduniverse.com/vb_f...ead.php?t=4260

Maybe it's just the lighting of the photo, but...

Jeff
http://www.birdbats.com

[JimCaravello]

Hi Jeff - thanks for posting those additional comments. You may be right regarding the Galen and unfortunately I do not have the Wilson bat pictured anymore. I think the photo is fairly dark, as the bat was much lighter if I remember correctly. I have also seen this bat referred to as Rosewood - not in the records, but by collectors and dealers. The old Hornsby finish was a light brown and that may have changed too with modern bats. Thanks for the reply. If you have a good pic of a Galen finish, please send and I'll post in the blog. Thanks, Jim

[Birdbats]

Jim,

I've attached photos to show the Galen finish compared to the Hornsby. The first bat shows the Galen finish as it looked in the early 1990s. Often on these bats, the barrel is lighter than the handle because, apparently, the stain channeled around the oval trademark brand. Notice how the bat is darker left of the oval than on the right. The middle bat is a recent example of the Galen finish. It's slightly darker/redder than the first bat. The bottom bat is a Hornsby finish from 2004. I unfortunately don't have an example of a 1980s Galen finish. It was so light that it was difficult to distinguish it from a natural finish.





http://webpages.charter.net/jeffscott/54/Galen.JPG

If you click the link, you'll find a shot of the Galen bat by itself -- you can copy it and use it in your blog if you'd like.

Jeff