KIPPAX

KIPPAX WILLOW Ltd has over 25 years experience of making the finest hand crafted cricket bats using traditional methods and using willow from their own trees.

From planting of willow sets across the UK and maintaining the trees by de-nibbing (pruning off braches) over a period of at least 15 years each tree has been nurtured through to felling. Once felled the tree is cut into rounds and the splitting out process begins. This involves driving wedges into the round to split it into raw clefts. Following a five cut process on the saws the clefts are then waxed at each end to prevent splitting. Stacked in the drying rooms the natural drying process begins.

After six months or until the clefts have dried to the required moisture level the process of making the cricket bat begins. Each cleft has to be cut to size on the saws, then pressed using KIPPAX WILLOW unique pressing technique at four different pressures in both traditional and bow styles. The handle is them fitted, shoulders and toe are cut and then the bat is hand drawn traditionally with drawknives and spokeshaves by the master bat maker Matthew Diodge. Rough and smooth sanding takes the bat to near completion. The handle is then traditionally strung, a rubber grip applied and the final step of a wax finish to ensure that the KIPPAX bat supplies to you, the customer, is the finest traditionally hand made cricket bat available.

KIPPAX have introduced the WAVEX handles on all the adult bats. This is designed to vastly reduce friction and vibration by dampening. This is achieved by the friction/vibration coming up the bat after hitting the ball and hitting the waves in the handle. As energy will run along a straight line (as in a normal handle), it cannot run up and down in repeated waves.