Show your spline bats
 

Here are some pics of a few of my spline bats, all of which date from the 1890's and earlier. These are bats made from two or more separate pieces of wood, sometimes of different types. First is a presentation type bat from around 1890 (similar to one pictured in the book by Hauser, Turner, & Gennantonio). Second is a 37" poplar wood bat from around 1880. Third is a bottle type bat from the 1880's.

If you have some, I'd really like to see them.

John

Sorry the pics aren't the best.. Bat is several different woods.

Matt,

That's a beauty. I have about 6 more to post but wanted to see what other folks had. They are actually fairly scarce and are often not recognized for what they are. Here are a couple: a torpedo style bat from the 1870's and a straight taper bat from the 1870's.

John

Here are the others:

1) An unfinished 4 section spline, 37 inches. Possibly 1890's
2) A 4 section spline, 35 inches, poplar wood. 1890's.
3) A 2 section spline, 34 inches, ash wood. 1880-90.
4) A 2 section spline, 35 inches, ash wood. 1880's.

Were these all presentational type bats? Wouldn't repeated contact with a baseball eventually cause separation of the layers?

Michael,

Most of mine show definite signs of game usage, including cleat marks. If they were intended as presentation bats, they somehow wound up being used as game bats. Only two show no signs of game usage other than the unfinished bat.

John

John,
I'm interested in your use of the term 'spline'. I've had a few over the years, all long gone, but always referred to them as 'spliced'. Any background on the nomenclature?
Thanks

I've heard them referred to by several different names, including spline, applique, and laminated. Spliced is a new one for me but would make sense. Spline is a term that, in this case, refers to a bat made from two or more pieces joined together. A spline is a long, thin, strip of wood. Ii can also mean a strip of material inserted into the edges of two boards to join them.

John

What was the purpose or advantage of using a spline bat over a bat made from a solid piece of wood? It seems that making a spline bat would be much more time consuming than a typical bat!

Some of my bats are very early models and I'm positive that some of them were experiments with various bat types, just to see if they worked. Keep in mind that the balls used in the 1860's, 70's and 80's, in many cases, were mushy by today's standards and would not have done the damage in contact that a modern ball would. A couple of my splines are extremely heavy and well constructed, and would likely have held up well back then.

John