Types of Wood

Ho (Japanese Magnolia) – Northern Japan *Diffuse Porous Wood

Ho has been used to make fungo bats for a long time, because of its light and flexible characteristics. It is also used for composite fungo(for the core). Due to its softness however, it tends to indent at impact.
During the SAMURAI period, this traditional wood has been used as a scabbard for the Japanese sword!!

Bamboo – Taiwan *Diffuse Porous Wood

Bamboo is also one of the popular materials used to make bats. It is cut and glued together and shaped into a baseball bat. Bamboo is very hard to break and it is often used with Maple to make composite bats combined.

Hard Maple – Northern America *Diffuse Porous Wood

North-Eastern part of the U.S. and Eastern Canada provides good materials of Maples. Sam Bat company was first to use Maple for baseball bats. Barry Bonds, the home run king, used it and made the use of Maple famous.

Now, most players around the world are using Maple. We think that Maple bats made “Fly Ball Revolution” possible.

Birch – North America *Diffuse Porous Wood

It is a new material with similar characteristics of Tamo and Ash. Birch is suitable for players who hit the balls in the direction they want. Good material for a GAP HITTER.

About 2005, MLB has officially permitted Birch as a new material for baseball bat.

White Ash – North America *Ring Porous Wood

It is been used for many years and is the oldest materials. The texture of White Ash is fragile and easy to break, but the resilience of the bat is great after impact. Wood warping is unusual compare to Maple.

Yachi – Northern Japan *Ring Porous Wood

Having coarse grain compared to other materials, it was painted with resins and compressed to avoid cracks. Sadaharu Oh, ex-Japanese Pro-ball player was a fan of this Yachi wood. For some reason, this compressed bat processing was banned officially in the NPB (Nippon Professional Baseball Organization).

Hakusoh made it possible for little league and college players to use this material with the 70 years of bat production history.

Tamo - Northern Japan *Ring Porous Wood

80% of Tamo is concentrated in Hokkaido. The materials found in Mt. Hidaka, Hokkaido is the best in the world. Tamo resembles the White Ash, but the grain is more suited for baseball bats than White Ash. It is more flexible and stronger at an impact. It’s unbreakable because of its supreme flexibility compare to other woods.

Until the year of 2000, 90% of the bat used among Japanese players was made of Tamo. But due to the deforestation, Tamo is now very rare species. The usage of the materials has changed from Tamo to Maple.

We at Hakusoh, (compared to other companies) still have enough stocks of the rare Tamo woods to supply the pro-ball players in Japan, SHOHEI OHTANI being one of them!!!