How to read manufacturers’ spec sheets
The spec sheet of a blade promises more than it delivers. It looks like an objective document — data, figures, specifications — but it mixes solid information with the manufacturer's internal estimates, and the two are worth separating before taking decisions.
The most reliable part of a spec sheet is the structural. The number of plies, the composition (which wood species, whether there is composite and of what type), the thickness of the blade and the handle types available are verifiable data, constant between units. A player reading “5+2 ALC, kiri core, koto outers, 5.7 mm thick” knows exactly which construction is in front of them. That information, combined with what was explained in 8.1 and 8.2, makes it possible to anticipate the general character of the blade before touching it.
Weight is usually expressed as a range — “85 ± 5 g” — and there the first grey area appears. The spread of weight between units of the same model is real and sometimes exceeds the declared margins, because wood is a natural material with variations of density between pieces. The published range gives a bearing, but the exact weight is known only with the unit in hand. For anyone to whom weight is a critical factor — and according to 8.5 it should be so for more players than treat it that way — the scales matter more than the catalogue.
Speed classification is where the spec sheet becomes least reliable. Manufacturers assign categories — DEF, ALL, OFF-, OFF, OFF+ — or numerical figures on a scale of their own. The general problem with these scales was dealt with in 2.8 and applies here with the same vices: each brand defines its own internal reference, no standard exists, and the figures are not comparable between catalogues. But with blades there is an additional aggravation. The speed the manufacturer measures corresponds to the bare blade — without rubbers — and as explained in 8.5, that speed does not predict the speed of the assembled bat. An OFF- blade with a fast tensor can play quicker than an OFF blade with a control rubber. The classification helps to place a model within its own brand's range; it does not serve to predict how the complete bat will play. That prediction depends on the combination, and is the territory of chapter 11.
More revealing than the declared speed is a figure many spec sheets omit: stiffness. Some manufacturers express it as “stiff”, “medium” or “flexible”; others do not mention it. And yet stiffness governs the feeling and the type of game as much as speed does, or more. A blade labelled stiff OFF- plays completely differently from a flexible OFF-, even though both share a category. Where the sheet includes that figure, it is worth reading attentively. Where it omits it, the only alternative is to look for reviews or try the blade.
There is also information the sheets never give: the exact balance between head and handle, the swingweight, the vibration frequency. These are properties that influence the playing experience — as detailed in 8.5 and in 2.7 — but that require instrumentation or, at the least, a trained perception. The manufacturer does not publish them because they are hard to measure in a standardised way and because they vary with the weight of the handle chosen.
The operative reading is this: the spec sheet of a blade serves to understand what it has inside and to rule out models that do not fit what is being sought. It does not serve to choose between two close models, nor to anticipate how the bat will feel once assembled. For that, context is needed — chapter 9 or 10 according to the type of blade — and, in the end, one's own hand.