knocking in question

[qw121212]

Have just purchased a gunne and moore purist original and have a question about knocking it in
I have purchased a mallet for knocking it in
I have read that it should take approx 6 hours to knock the bat in fully.
i have a list of questions so here goes

1) how hard to i start hitting it when i first start i imagine it is just letting the mallet fall onto the bat without any force
2) how long do i do that for
3) how many stages are there of knocking the bat in
4) towards the end of the 6 hours am i hitting the bat with some force
5) do i need to be hitting all the bat e.g edges or should i be concentrating on the middle.
6) and final question until i can think of another one, do i need to oil the bat before the knocking in process begins or wait till i have finished

Sorry if you think some of these questions are dumb but i really want to look after the bat and thought i would come to the experts first

cheers

 

[dazza1974]

http://www.laverwood.co.nz/html/batcare/knockingin.htm

This link should help mate

 

[Radaga]

My advice is to do it longer than 6 hours, sometimes it is not fully finished by that time, so it is better to be sure.

Also if you go to a cricketing shop they may have a special machine which nearly fully knocks it in for you, but i think you still have to do a little bit afterwards. Just ask around about it.

 

[dayne]

the link from dazza was good, refer to that. the only advice i can give is dont only knock the bat with the mullet, use an old leather ball too if you have one.. i tend to feel as though they work a bit better. also, then you can pop the bat's handle under your armpit and bounce the old ball several times of the face. try it..