Can You Use Boiled Linseed Oil On Cricket Bats?

In sports, it is important for you to make sure that you take care of your equipment because proper equipment maintenance can affect their performance. The same can be said of your cricket bats because you need to take good care of them if you want them to be as effective as they should be. In line with that, there are some who use boiled linseed oil to take care of their cricket bats. So, can you really use boiled linseed oil on cricket bats?

You can use boiled linseed oil on cricket bats, but it isn’t the best to use. Boiled linseed oil can give your bat a varnish tint because of how it acts as a polish. However, it will not seep into the bat’s fibers and will not help improve its performance, unlike raw linseed oil.

You might think that there are no differences between boiled linseed oil and raw linseed oil. But the fact of the matter is that the boiling process can change the properties of the oil and will make its effect different. As such, you have to know which between boiled or raw is better for your cricket bat so that you would know how to best take care of your equipment.

Can you use boiled linseed oil on cricket bats?

There are sports that require you to make sure that you take good care of your equipment because the condition of the equipment can make or break your performance. This is quite common among sports that make use of bats as there is a need to properly maintain bats that are made from wood, which is an organic material that will eventually wear down faster than most other materials.

That said, when it comes to cricket, there is a need for batsmen to take good care of their bats because of how this can affect their overall performance. No matter how talented the batsman might be, he won’t be able to properly compete with a bat that’s in poor condition. That’s why, when it comes to cricket, there is a need to properly maintain a bat by oiling it.

In most cases, linseed oil has become one of the best types of oil that you can polish on your bat to keep it in good shape and to make sure that it retains its natural luster and performance. However, there are those who are wondering if you can actually use boiled linseed oil on your cricket bat.

Boiled linseed oil is simply boiled oil that’s extracted from flaxseed. There are no additives or preservatives as that will ruin the organic nature of the boiled linseed oil. As such, you don’t have to worry about the additives or preservatives damaging your bat when you do use boiled linseed oil on it. But can you actually use boiled linseed oil on your bat?

Yes, you can use boiled linseed oil on your cricket bat. There are plenty of different oils that you can use on your cricket bat, and boiled linseed oil is one of them. And the good thing about using boiled linseed oil is that it makes your cricket bat look better.

Like many other oils, boiled linseed oil can make your bat look good because it acts as a polish that is capable of bringing back the natural luster of the wood that’s used to construct your cricket bat.

Think of boiled linseed oil as a varnish that makes your cricket bat look spectacular. This is quite similar to how you use varnish on a wooden chair to make it as good as new. Then again, just because boiled linseed oil makes your cricket bat look good, it doesn’t mean that it’s the best oil to use.

Should I use raw or boiled linseed oil?

So, now that we have established that you can use boiled linseed oil on your cricket bat, this begs the question of whether or not it is the best type of linseed oil to use for your bat. After all, there is also a second type of linseed oil, which is the raw variant. Now, which between raw or boiled, is better for your cricket bat?

Going back to boiled linseed oil, while you can use it on your cricket bat to make it look better, the problem is that the effects of boiled linseed oil are only skin-deep. That means that the oil will only stay on the surface and make the bat look good. 

Other than that, boiled linseed oil does nothing else for the performance of your cricket bat because of the fact that the boiling process takes away its ability to seep into the wood of your cricket bat. As such, because the oil cannot penetrate the bat’s wooden material, it won’t be able to improve the bat’s performance.

So, in that regard, the obvious answer here is that raw linseed oil is the better choice for your cricket bat because it is capable of penetrating the wood. This means that raw linseed oil is better at improving the performance of your cricket bat, and that’s something that boiled linseed oil is incapable of doing as it merely stays on the surface of the bat.

Probably the only downside of raw linseed oil is that it may end up giving your bat a reddish look. That’s why some batsmen mix raw linseed oil with beeswax to reduce the chances of it leaving a reddish look on your bat. Then again, this reddish look will not affect the bat’s performance.

That said, if you are looking for a good linseed oil to use on your bat, we recommend that you go with LinSheen Raw Linseed Oil as it is not only effective on cricket bats but on all types of wood. This product will allow your cricket bat’s performance to improve.

How to oil your cricket bat

If you want to know how to oil your cricket bat, here’s how you do it:

• The blade of your cricket bat is made of natural wood, and that means that it is best for it to have two light coats instead of one thick coat. Apply the linseed oil coating using a soft rag so as to make sure that it does not reach the handle. If the oil reaches the handle, this may affect your grip. 
• After applying the first coat, make sure that you wait for it to dry before applying the second coat of raw linseed oil.
• For maintenance purposes, it is best to rub your cricket bat with fine sandpaper every 3 to 4 weeks. After that, you should now apply a light oil coating to it.

Make sure that your bat is not drenched in oil because this can affect the performance of the blade. Instead, it is best to make sure that you only lightly apply the oil as this usually gives the best results.

It is more dangerous for a cricket bat to be over-oiled than under-oiled. This is why you need to be careful when applying raw linseed oil to your bat, as you might end up applying too much oil. Over-oiling the bat can make it heavier, and this can affect the pick-up or the balance of the bat.