The handle: types, weights, attachment
The handle shapes — flared, straight, anatomic, Chinese and Japanese penhold — were described in 1.6. What matters here is what lies beneath the shape: how the handle is built, what it is made of, how much it weighs and how it joins the body of the bat. These are questions of manufacture, but with direct consequences for the balance and the feel in play.
The shakehand handle is made up of three pieces. The central one is an extension of the blade itself: the same laminated structure as the head narrows and continues downwards, forming a tongue that occupies the axis of the handle. On either side of that tongue the handle scales are glued, two shaped blocks of wood that give the handle its volume, its profile and its final form. The assembly is glued under pressure and sanded until the transition between head and handle feels continuous to the touch.
The handle scales determine much of the weight of the handle. On light mid-range blades they are usually of soft wood — frequently the same species as the core of the blade, such as ayous or kiri — which keeps the weight down but produces a handle of low density. On high-end models it is common to find scales of denser woods — ebony, rosewood or wenge — or finishes with pressed cork on the outside. The choice of material is not decorative: a heavier scale shifts mass towards the hand and pulls the balance back towards the handle, whereas a light scale lets the weight concentrate in the head. The effect on the swingweight — how much it costs to accelerate the bat through the stroke — is dealt with in 2.7.
The weight of the handle ranges between 15 and 30 g on most shakehand models, which, for bare blades of 75 to 100 g, represents roughly between 15% and 40% of their total weight. At first sight that band looks narrow, but a sensitive player distinguishes differences of 5 g in the hand. Some manufacturers offer the same model with handles of differing weight, precisely so that the player can adjust the balance without changing blade. Others hollow out internal cavities in the scales — voids invisible from outside — to lighten them without reducing the external volume.
Penhold handles are structurally simpler. The Chinese one dispenses in many cases with separate scales: the blade is cut directly into the shape of a short handle, and the profile is rounded off with sandpaper. The Japanese one, by contrast, carries added pieces, usually of cork: a raised block on the front face, where the index finger rests, and a plate on the back, where the fingers behind the blade rest. In both, the total mass of the handle is smaller than on a shakehand — the handle is half as long — which shifts the balance towards the head naturally.
The attachment of the handle to the body of the bat is not usually a mechanical weak point, but it is an area sensitive to ageing. The join depends on the adhesive and on the contact surface between tongue and scales. When the glue ages or the wood works with changes of humidity, small gaps can appear that generate parasitic vibration and a sense of insecurity in the hand. Repairs of this kind are addressed in 13.9. It is also worth knowing that the rubber glued to the head indirectly reinforces the structure of the whole: a bat without rubbers is more fragile than its apparent stiffness suggests.
When it comes to choosing, the thickness and volume of the handle deserve as much attention as the shape. A thick handle fills the palm and gives a sense of control on powerful strokes, but tires the hand over long sessions and limits the mobility of the wrist. A slim one eases fast rotations and changes of angle, but can slip under pressure. There is no optimum standard: what exists is a particular hand that needs a particular handle, and the only way to know is to hold the bat.