Handle shapes: FL, ST, AN, Chinese and Japanese penhold
The shape of the handle is not a cosmetic detail. It is the interface between the player's hand and the rest of the system, and it conditions freedom of the wrist, stability of the grip and comfort over hours of play. The shapes the market offers today answer to two grip philosophies — shakehand and penhold, compared in 1.7 — and within each there are variants with their own mechanical logic.
Concave (FL, from the English flared). This is the dominant handle of the modern shakehand game. Seen from above, the scale starts narrow next to the neck and widens towards the end, with a slightly more voluminous finish that works as a natural stop against the palm. The player can grip firmly without closing the fist: the fingers hold from the front and the base of the palm rests on the widening. It accommodates most attacking strokes — loop, block, counter — without imposing rigidity on the grip. Its drawback is that small hands may find the finish takes up too much space to rotate the bat freely between forehand and backhand.
Straight (ST). Parallel sides, with neither widening nor narrowing. With no stop, the player can slide the hand forward or back along the handle according to the situation, useful for defenders and choppers who change distance and need to reposition the grip between strokes. The price: the ST does not hold the bat by itself; maintaining the grip demands somewhat more sustained muscular effort. Outside defensive play, it is a minority choice.
Anatomic (AN). A variant of the concave with an intermediate wave: the scale narrows next to the neck, bulges in the centre to accommodate the natural curve of the closed fingers, and widens again at the end. It works well when the player's hand matches the average hand the manufacturer assumed when designing the curve; it stops working if it departs from that standard. It has devotees and detractors in equal measure: it is worth trying before committing.
The three shapes — FL, ST, AN — are shakehand variants. The same commercial model is usually offered with any of the three handles; the wood of the head is identical and only the scale changes.
Chinese penhold (C-pen). A short handle — 5 or 6 centimetres against the 9 or 10 of the shakehand — flat front and back, with an oval section. It is designed to be pinched between thumb and index finger without entering the palm; the three remaining fingers rest behind the head. The classic Chinese bat was played with rubber on one face only, but the rise of the reverse backhand (RPB, covered in 16.3) has normalised play with rubber on both faces, and manufacturers have slightly adjusted the profile so that the rear fingers rest on rubber.
Japanese penhold (J-pen). Also short, but more voluminous than the Chinese. It includes a raised block on the front face, usually of cork — a small platform to rest the index finger — and another piece of cork on the back, where the fingers behind the blade rest; thumb and index finger both work from the front. The head tends to be rectangular and the bat is usually solid hinoki, without plies. That concentrates the mass towards the tip and produces a feel very different from the shakehand, in keeping with an attacking style close to the table. Today it is a minority variant, sustained by one particular technical school, but it is still manufactured.
The variables of scale thickness, handle weight and the possibility of craft modification — which also influence the feel — are addressed in detail in 8.3. When choosing between shapes, what is decisive is holding each one long enough for the hand to declare itself: reviews are no substitute for that test. The difference between shakehand and penhold as grip philosophies is the subject of the next section.