J.F. Hillerich & Son Oil Tempered Bat

[John V]

I did some research on this bat a while back, trying to determine if these bats came taped from the factory. I'm still not sure. Today, I ran a magnet all over the tape to see if there were signs of nails, and there is no sign the bat is cracked.
Has anyone ever seen a factory taped bat with the tape in this location, leaving the handle exposed and going up so close to the label? The tape job is extremely neat.
Thanks!

[perezfan]

While it is pretty nifty, I have never seen one taped like that from the factory. I could be wrong, as the tape job is pretty meticulous. But going from personal experience and looking at dozens of Catalogs over the years, I just haven't seen the original tape placed in that location.

Perhaps someone will chime in, who has.

[Huysmans]

There were definitely bats that came with wrapped handles from a number of manufacturers, including Reach. The same can be said about hockey sticks during the era.
But I personally, like Mark, have never seen one taped in this particular fashion, so high up the barrel.
Maybe others can shed more light...


Brent

[John V]

Thanks for your feedback. The tape is coming off.

[John V]

The tape is off and she's all cleaned up. There was a crack after all.
I like it better with all the wood showing.

[ruth-gehrig]

Great looking bat!

[perezfan]

Beautiful, and looks far prettier! Looks like the tape came off with no issues or residue. Great job... that would never happen for me.

[ruth-gehrig]

What's the deal the darker wood area from knob end up about 8 inches? It's as if the bat was originally taped up to that area thus protecting the darker grain and the tape you just removed was much more modern?

[perezfan]

I've seen that two-tone feature on quite a few bats of the era. It was not from tape, but was definitely done at the factory.

[ruth-gehrig]

Interesting. I did not know that. I'm assuming it was done purely for aesthetics?

[John V]

The handle and the barrel patina are actually much closer in color than the photo shows. As for the tape residue, there was a bunch of black stickum. I dipped my finger in a bowl of canola oil and coated the residue. After 10 or 20 minutes, I would wipe/rub with a terry cloth. I was surprised how the oil softened the black residue. I went through this process about 5 or 6 times. Afterwards, I wiped off the remaining oil residue with vinegar. Go figure. Thank you, Google.