Nice little off-topic thread...
I also collect old baseball equipment, but the majority of my collection is old gloves. Have about 300 dating from the early 1900's to present day.
I have a full-size Louisville Slugger "Nelson Fox" bat that feels like it weighs about 40 ounces! Picked it up at a flea market for a couple bucks.
I also have a "Crackerjack" bat. It isn't in the best of shape. There is a piece out of the knob, some grain separation and the wood is a faded gray color. The "Crackerjack" logo is in great shape and easily read. The logo seems to have a light bluish color (paint?).
A couple of questions for PIAA Ump:
Do you know if this coloring to the logo is original, or something that a previous owner might have added?
Even if a bat is faded gray, with no finish remaining, is sanding and re-finishing a good option? What kind of results could I expect?
Do you ever do anything to enhance logos that are faded? Can you add paint to these stampings, then sand over the "high spots" to get the logos looking more like new?
Here is a link for a guy I've dealt with before that does bat restoration. I've never had him do a bat for me, but both he and his son also restore and sell some great old gloves.
http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip...batrepair.html