Improved Handles for Cricket Bats.
Year: 1892

page_text: Date of Application, 21st May, 1892
Complete Specification Left, 21st Mar., 1893-Accepted, 22nd Apr., 1893
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improved Handles for Cricket Bats.
CLAUDE ARTHUR PAGET Brantham Works, near Manningtree, Essex,
Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
To make tubular handles for cricket bats of xylonite or celluloid, or of any
other material that will act in its stead, & we claim that handles made in this form
have greater driving power & durability & do not jar or sting the hands when in
These handles are impervious to moisture & will not warp. They can be
covered with the ordinary twine or not as desired.
use.
In making these handles we find it now convenient to use xylonite tube, moulded,
or shaped in one tube, like the splice & handle of an ordinary cricket bat, & we
fix it to the blade with any solvent of xylonite or anything else, that will adhere to
the wood.
The handle when shaped is fixed to the blade under pressure & then capped with
sheet xylonite or celluloid &c.
Dated this 22nd day of July 1900
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improved Handles for Cricket Bats.
I CLAUDE ARTHUR PAGET, Manager of The British Xylonite Co. Ld. of
124 High Street, Homerton, in the County of London, and Brantham Works,
near Manningtree, in the County of Essex, Manufacturers, do hereby declare the
nature of this invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be
particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement :-
The object of this invention is to manufacture cricket bat handles of a hollow or
tubular form or shape. Cricket bats furnished with tubular handles will have
greater driving power and durability than bats with ordinary solid handles and as
there is the smallest practicable amount of material in the handle to vibrate when
the ball is smartly struck by the bat, the jar or sting caused by the concussion will
be reduced to a minimum.
In carrying out this invention I use any material which is capable of being
formed or moulded into a tubular shape and which from its nature or composition
is adapted as a suitable material to be used for cricket bat handles. A material
admirably adapted for the purpose of making tubular handles for cricket bats, and
which I prefer to use, is xylonite or celluloid, which besides being light, strong, and
capable of being moulded, is impervious to and unaffected by moisture, and does
not warp.
When manufacturing hollow or tubular handles for cricket bats from
xylonite or celluloid, I find it convenient to use xylonite tubes, which I work up in
the following manner :-I take a tube of suitable size, and soften it by steam or
hot water and then push it on to a mandrel or core of the shape of the handle and
splice of a cricket bat. I then place the tube, with the mandrel or core inside it,
into a mould which has been previously heated, of the same shape as the
mandrel, and put them under pressure to cool down. When taken out of the
mould and the mandrel or core withdrawn, the tube is of the desired shape and is
ready to be fitted to the blade of the bat to which it is caused to adhere by means
of a suitable solvent of xylonite or a cement, glue, or other adhesive substance.
The handle when shaped, is fixed to the blade under pressure, and the upper end is
then capped with sheet xylonite or celluloid.

page_text: By way of example, I have described the manner in which tubular handles for
cricket bats may be made from xylonite or celluloid, but I wish it to be understood
that I do not confine myself to this material, as any material which is analogous in
its character or properties to xylonite or celluloid, or which is capable of being
moulded and is suitable for the manufacture of cricket bat handles therefrom, may
be used with equal advantage. Nor do I confine myself to the formation of the
interior of the handle of any particular shape, as so long as it is hollow or tubular,
the handle will offer only a small amount of material to vibrate under concussion,
and its interior conformation is of no consequence.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
The manufacture and use of cricket bat handles of a hollow or tubular form or
shape made from xylonite or celluloid, or other material which can be moulded and
is suitable for the purpose as herein described.
Dated this 21st day of March 1893.
F. W. GOLBY,
36, Chancery Lane, London, W.C., Patent Agent for the Applicant.