Summary:
- Gives you a stronger grip with less effort
- Leaves more muscle energy for accelerating the bat through the zone
- Oval bottom and round top let your hands move independently during the swing
- Angle of bottom matches the natural angle of your wrist and palm
- Flush back side eliminates pressure points caused by the round knob
1. The bottom hand is on an oval shape
Why is oval better? The bottom handle oval shape keeps the handle in the fingertips, allows you to have the maximum amount of grip with the least amount of tension in your forearms and hands.
What does that do for your swing? It means you are spending less energy and strength gripping the bat, and you have more strength available for swinging the bat and accelerating the barrel through the zone.
2. Top hand is independent
Why is this important? We understood that your hands have to move independently of each other through the swing. You don't want your hands locked into the same position. They need to be able to dynamically move.
What does it do for your swing? This allows you to get dynamic power transfer from the bottom of your feet all the way through your body, palms of your hand, out to the point on the barrel where you're impacting the ball.
3. Angled bottom design
Why is this important? If you look at the way your hand is when your wrist is in a neutral position, it's not perpendicular to the rest of your arm. It has a slight angle. We've matched that angle with the bottom of the Axe Handle.
What does it do for your swing? That puts your wrist in a more neutral position, allowing for greater in-plane rotation and more power transfer.
4. Flush backside design
Why is this important? If you look at the back of the Axe Bat, it is almost a less restrictive line from the top of the grip to the end of the bat.
What does it do for your swing? This allows the Axe Handle to create a contiguous contact between your hand and the bat. This takes away the impingement and the stress risers that a round-knob bat put in your hand -- and, again, allow you to grip the bat less tightly, but still generate more power, which translates to more power transfer out at the end of the bat.
Transcript:
"Let me explain what attributes of the Axe Handle give it such superior performance over a round-knob bat.
There are really four attributes to the design that give it all of its benefits.
The first is that the bottom hand is on an oval shape that extends out into the pinky. We did a lot of research on grip strength and what's going to give you the greatest amount of grip strength with the least amount of muscle tension.
This is really pivotal for how the Axe Handle gives you better performance. The shape of the offset oval that pushes out into that pinky, and keeps the handle in the fingertips, allows you to have the maximum amount of grip with the least amount of tension in your forearms and hands.
That means you're spending less energy and strength gripping the bat, and you have more strength available for swinging the bat and accelerating the barrel through the zone.
Another key point we understood is that your hands have to move independently of each other through the swing. You don't want your hands locked into the same position. They need to be able to dynamically move.
This is what allows you to get that dynamic power transfer from the bottom of your feet all the way through your body, palms of your hand, out to the point on the barrel where you're impacting the ball.
The next attribute is the angle of the bottom. If you look at the way your hand is when your wrist is in a neutral position, it's not perpendicular to the rest of your arm. It has a slight angle. We've matched that angle with the bottom of the Axe Handle.
That puts your wrist in a more neutral position, allowing for greater in-plane rotation and more power transfer.
The last and possibly most significant part of the Axe Handle is its flush back side. If you look at the back of the Axe Bat, it is almost a straight line from the top of the grip all the way off to the end of the bat.
That allows the Axe Handle to create a contiguous contact between your hand and the bat. This takes away the impingement and the stress risers that a round-knob bat put in your hand -- and, again, allow you to grip the bat less tightly, but still generate more power, which translates to more power transfer out at the end of the bat."
WANT MORE? Read The Groundbreaking UCLA Axe Handle Study Here >