Competition Croquet Mallet

The Banjou mallet was originally produced to replicate the qualities of the amazingly successful Solomon model, when high quality heartwood lignum vitae became more and more difficult to obtain. The Banjou timber has almost identical properties to lignum vitae, and is, in fact, a little more resistant to miss-hit strokes. Remember that 3inch hardwood mallet blanks require 3 years seasoning before being made into mallets. Steam seasoning is only partially successful with many hardwoods. Over the years we have experimented with several other materials, other than timber, for the manufacture of mallets, in an attempt to improve performance and avoid the long seasoning time. Steel, aluminium alloy, plastics, carbon and glass fibre have all been tried, but we have found no material which produces the natural feel and performance in play of natural timber. It rather repeats the experience of cricket, where aluminium and plastic bats have been famously tried and discarded, a craftsman built wooden bat proving infinitely superior in play. The Banjou mallet has an overall weight of approximately 3lb and is fitted with polished solid brass rings on each end, around concentrically scored faces which help impart ‘grip’ on the ball, especially when playing ‘stop’ shots. The handle of this mallet matches the Solomon model, being turned and octagonally shaped from natural polished hickory, a wonderfully reactive timber for handles of all sorts. It is fitted with a wind on luxury soft feel Takair grip. Banjou mallets generally weigh in at a little over 3lb, but all model mallets will vary a little in weight due to slight variations in the density of the timber. An approximate required weight can be specified when ordering.