Services

Laver & Wood offers a range of services for your new and old favorites. We can provide these services to our bats and other brands of bat.  More detail of these services are available by clicking below. Once you have identified the services required please get in touch with us at [email protected].

We will send you a total cost including shipping for the work, then you just need to ship your bat to us.

Rebalancing

Laver & Wood also specialise in re-balancing your bat if it is feeling a bit heavy or not as well balanced as you would like. We can generally take out up to 4 ozs of weight by removing the labels and completely re-working the bat. By sanding and polishing the bat to finish we ensure that our exceedingly high standards are kept. We would also include a rebind of the handle. Please be aware that labels are discarded due to damage upon removal.

Estimated cost of this service is NZD $100 + shipping.  Total cost will calculated before work starts.

Rehandling

Our high quality handles are produced using Manau cane harvested from the jungles of Sumatra along with Malaysian Sarawak cane. The 3 metre canes are initially boiled in oil and dried in the sun for several weeks before being graded according to size. They are then cut to the right length and split. Then the faces are planed to ensure a good gluing surface. The planed pieces of cane are then glued together with three cork / rubber laminations to assist with shock absorption.

Estimated cost of this service is NZD $100 + shipping.  Total cost will calculated before work starts.

At Laver & Wood we usually make our bats with an oval shape at the base of the handle. We use this shape as it provides more strength to the handle and helps to diffuse the shock waves created from the ball meeting the blade.

The oval shape in the lower handle also gives the bat a better directional feel. It is difficult to grip the bat too hard with the bottom hand. One only needs to hold the handle with one’s thumb and forefinger and this encourages the top hand to control the shot.

The oval shape improves the pickup due to having a larger mass nearer to your body. Most batsmen that use our oval handle will never revert back to a round one. The round handle is best suited to those who like to use their bottom hand to hit the ball hard and lift it.

The size of a batsman’s hands can alter the specification of the handle. This is changed by either applying extra rubber grips or, where a thinner handle is required, specifying that you have small hands when you place your order.

We can provide a standard round handle on request, but recommend the oval handle for anyone who wants to bat technically correctly.

This can be done if you send your bat back to us. Shipping is extra and can be quoted on request.

Repairs

Laver & Wood can repair your badly damaged bat and return it to a playing state. Examples of repairs are damaged handle replacement, edge damage repair, shoulder repair, delamination repair and toe repair. Repairs can also take the form of refurbishment, this service gives your bat a good tidy up before, after or during the season.  Repair work is attended to and the whole bat can be done or just the playing surface to preserve the labels. A whole bat refurbish comes back clean with no labels unless it is a L&W bat.

The photos above show some of our repairs completed lately. We are happy to quote the cost of this work if you can send us a photo of the damage. While the bat is in the workshop it maybe a good time to refurbish tired hand grips or damaged labels. We happy to work with all brands of bats.

Refurbish Small – NZ$50
​Refurbish Full – NZ$100
Repair – NZ$25 – NZ$100 – We will Quote

Send your request through the Order this service link below.

Knocking In

Knocking in provides a hard protective surface to the blade and edges of the bat, and all bats need to be knocked in before use. Laver & Wood offer a knocking in service for our own bats and other brands bats.

Estimated cost of this service is NZD $80 + shipping.  Total cost will calculated before work starts.

 

There are different ways of preparing your bat for the knocking in process, but we recommend the following process as repeated trials in bat factories have shown us that this works far better than all other methods.

Raw linseed oil should be used to moisten the surface of the bat and enable the fibres to become supple. This helps them knit together, thus forming an elastic surface. This is more likely to stretch on impact, rather than crack. Raw linseed is used, as it stays moist for longer than boiled linseed. About a teaspoonful should be applied to the surface of the bat.

We recommend that oil should be applied once (3 times if not one of our bats) before the process of compressing the face begins. Each coat of oil should be about one teaspoon full. Spread the oil over the face of the bat using your fingers. Spread the leftover linseed oil over the edges and toe of the bat. Let each coat of oil soak in overnight and repeat the process before starting the knocking in with the mallet.

At L&W, we strongly recommend having your bat knocked in professionally when you purchase it. This helps get a better performance and also helps extend the life of the bat. It also relieves you and your family members of a time consuming, noisy and monotonous process.

Please Note: Damage can never be totally eliminated due to the hard nature of the ball and the speed of contact with the bat. A good bat correctly knocked in ideally would last about 1000 runs including net use.

Lamitoe

We, at Laver & Wood, have pioneered the LAMITOE. This is inserted into the toe of the bat and helps prevents toe damage by strengthening the vulnerable toe area of your bat.

The Lamitoe addition technically turns the bat into a Grade B bat. This means that it would not be allowed to be used in First Class cricket.

Estimated cost of this service is NZD $40 + shipping.  Total cost will calculated before work starts.

 

Give your old favourites a new lease on life. Re-handle them using the CARBOCANE and LAMITOE technology. You will be pleasantly surprised with the results.

The round handle is best suited to those who like to use their bottom hand to hit the ball hard and lift it.

The size of a batsman’s hands can alter the specification of the handle. This is changed by either applying extra rubber grips or, where a thinner handle is required, specifying that you have small hands when you place your order.

We can provide a standard round handle on request, but recommend the oval handle for anyone who wants to bat technically correctly.

This can be done if you send your bat back to us. Shipping is extra and can be quoted on request.

Replication

If you have an old favourite that is past its prime, send it to us or the photos and specs and we can make a perfect replica.

Replication is Laver & Wood taking your favourite bat and copying its shape and design to create a new version. Modifications can be included in the process to make your profile fit changes in your game or physique. Before this process can be started we need to discuss your requirements careful.

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Check Out Our Customer Reviews on Google!

Bhavesh Shura
Bhavesh Shura
2023-06-20
One of the best cricket bat makers in the world. Ordered many bats so far, and never had problem with ordering or the quality of cricket bats Response: Always prompt response Service: Open to fulfill all your needs for cricket bats Craftmanship: Kudos
Josh Deniet
Josh Deniet
2022-12-11
Best quality bats and great customer service. Purchased my frist reserve grade 9 years ago and have only just had the need to replace, didnt hesitate in ordering again.
Wayne Baird
Wayne Baird
2022-10-20
The team at Laver and Wood are amazing. We put in an order with a very short timeframe on it and they delivered an outstanding cricket bat for games over labour weekend. Highly recommend them for their great comms, awesome customer experience and a World class product.
H S
H S
2022-02-14
I received the bat today and it is exactly how I wanted. Their lowest Quality I felt is the best Quality. The quality and the bat is the best than you buy in shops.
T C
T C
2021-12-22
This review is a bit of a belated one so apologies, I attended your head quarters when it was based in Otane way back in 2000/ 2001 for a bat sizing and got a custom bat made. It wasnt long after that I relocated to NSW and used that bat for a season or two here in Aus. What I remember was the service was fantastic and that willow from the private bin range provided many great memories. Think I first saw you at a test match or a ODI between AUS and NZ at McLean park you had a tent setup showcasing bat making... good to see your still plying the craft, Thanks James
Goodex Trading
Goodex Trading
2021-12-22
Outstanding service. If you want a quality bat with great service look no further. Highly recommend
Alex Gibbons (Gibs)
Alex Gibbons (Gibs)
2021-02-21
James is great to deal with. Onto my second bat with Laver & Wood and both times the process has been smooth. There is a great deal of trust placed in the team to deliver bats that meet the standard agreed on, especially when you are an 'average joe' not a professional cricketer. To date I have not been disappointed and even when things do not go quite to plan the team goes above and beyond to rectify any issues without hassle.
Luke Smillie
Luke Smillie
2020-12-04
Super happy with how me and my brothers laver & wood cricket bats turned out. James is so amazing and knows so much and is super helpful. Would 100% recommend getting a custom bat made through these guys.