autographed bats, your opinion
 

I am attending the show in oaks this weekend. Im getting johnny bench on a bat. Im hoping to get some feedback .

Black or blonde bat?
Which color sharpie for either color?
Thoughts on red or gold for the black bat?

Thanks

For a black bat I would use gold or silver.

When I collected autographed bats I always used the regular / blonde bats with a blue sharpie. Red sharpie I would not be sure about since I know it will fade more rapidly than blue or black sharpie on photos and 3x5s over time and with exposure to light . Also silver ink in most cases is not sharpie but a form of "paint " that takes a while to dry when I got it on photos before.
Other bat collectors may know better. I am basing my opinion on collecting hundreds of flats and photos and only 15-20 bats.

Any difference in longevity between gold or silver?

I have found the gold to be more streaky and does fade in my opinion. Always go with silver

For black bats always use silver.

Blue tends to fade on natural bats, too. I think silver on black looks the best and lasts the longest, but you run a bigger risk of smearing.

black sharpie
 

Always use a black sharpie on blonde bats, blue fades really bad over time.

Blonde bat with blue sharpie.

Bench Bat
 

I think Johnny always used a blonde bat, so that's what I'd go with. Blue stands out more on the bats, while black will look more like the etched images that are already on it.

Blonde bat, blue sharpie.

+1

Matt,
I have blonde bats that have been signed for 20-30 years in blue Sharpie that show no fading whatsoever. The key is to not display these items away from direct sunlight and UV light, FWIW...

blue on a blonde bat

Personally unless you get a game model bat, I wouldn't get a bat signed. I don't like the generic Rawlings Big Stick that has block lettering unless it is a team piece. I have even got some player specific store model bats from the 1960's that look great when signed that didn't cost much money.

Agree with the above.
All my black bats are signed with silver sharpie or paint pen and all blond bats signed in blue. I do have an earlier one with black signatures but find the blue stands out much better.