Grip materials

[Beloit Fencer of Old]

Originally Posted by Rockstar44

You can paint it onto your glove as well (palm side) and the combination is very grippy. It will make the glove a little stiff, though. I don't like it on the glove, but I see people do it.

That's why I use a medicine dropper and apply it in dots and lines on the glove...I don't lose ANY flexibility that way. By the way...the Plasti-dip lasts much much longer on your glove than the stickies they have on the Gripstar glove.

[Villadsen]

I'm not kidding by this remark, i used a foil that had this treatment done. Spray-on truck bed lining. It dried textured, black(dont know if there are other colors), looks great and is very grippy. Home Depo or Lowes should have it.

[jkdjeff]

I ended up wrapping my metal Visconti grip with racquetball grip tape.

It might make me look a little scrubby, but it gives me good grip while not being so tacky that I can't do actions with my fingers.

[HDG]

Originally Posted by jkdjeff

I ended up wrapping my metal Visconti grip with racquetball grip tape.

It might make me look a little scrubby, but it gives me good grip while not being so tacky that I can't do actions with my fingers.

This isn't for epee, right (m.4.3)?

[jkdjeff]

Oh, sorry, no. Foil is all I fence, so far.

[fencerbill]

Originally Posted by Villadsen

I'm not kidding by this remark, i used a foil that had this treatment done. Spray-on truck bed lining. It dried textured, black(dont know if there are other colors), looks great and is very grippy. Home Depo or Lowes should have it.

Or any auto parts store.

[Tomas N]

For those of you who use plasti dip, do you get the spray on version or the dip version? Do you mix sand in there to give it a rougher texture?

Tomas

[schlager7]

I was at a gun show and a guy was selling staghorn, people use it for knife handles, etc. I found a couple that matched the slight contours on my French grips (epee). I pick up a couple and drilled them out. Works great. Good grip.

Warning to those who try it... drilling out staghorn smells just like burning hair.

[parrythis]

Originally Posted by schlager7

I was at a gun show and a guy was selling staghorn, ... I found a couple that matched the slight contours on my French grips (epee). I pick up a couple and drilled them out.

Very innovative!!

[Beloit Fencer of Old]

OK...this past weekend, I used a new grip...the only one on which I have NOT used Plasti Dip. Instead, I picked up a can of textured faux-granite spray paint at wal mart. It adhered really well, and the grit felt VERY secure in my hand. Oh...and I now have a medium visconte grip which looks like it's made out of granite. Way cool.

[Pescados666]

Good idea, I might do that with my spare, bare aluminum viscounti I don't use any more.

[the reluctant fencer]

This is a grip that I built a few years ago. The base started as a Medium Uhlmann Visconte gip that I loved until it became too small.
I extended the grip 10mm in the thumb area, cut off the prong that goes between your pointing finger and thumb with one from a "baby Russian" and rotated it to curve rearward on my hand. The third prong that sits lower is also from the "Baby Russian".
The grip was worked over with a Miller Dynasty 200DX TIG welder. This aluminum used in grips is a very low quality and welds VERY poorly.
I would be more inclined to cast newer grips out of aluminum that I would get by melting down automotive cylinder heads(I like Nissan's aluminum choices) for their very high quality alloy.

These photos are before polishing to a near mirror finish. Surfaces where the grip contacts the glove stayed with a some-what rough surface.

Pic 1
Pic 2

[Beloit Fencer of Old]

Originally Posted by the reluctant fencer

This is a grip that I built a few years ago. The base started as a Medium Uhlmann Visconte gip that I loved until it became too small.
I extended the grip 10mm in the thumb area, cut off the prong that goes between your pointing finger and thumb with one from a "baby Russian" and rotated it to curve rearward on my hand. The third prong that sits lower is also from the "Baby Russian".
The grip was worked over with a Miller Dynasty 200DX TIG welder. This aluminum used in grips is a very low quality and welds VERY poorly.
I would be more inclined to cast newer grips out of aluminum that I would get by melting down automotive cylinder heads(I like Nissan's aluminum choices) for their very high quality alloy.

These photos are before polishing to a near mirror finish. Surfaces where the grip contacts the glove stayed with a some-what rough surface.

Pic 1
Pic 2

That's just messed up.

[the reluctant fencer]

Originally Posted by Beloit Fencer of Old

That's just messed up.

Why? It looks like an alien hand but... EVERYONE that is highly competitive or not said that they like it when they held it. The lower part provides more surface area for your wrist's support. It matches many hands much better than any other grip that I have seen.
The shortened "tang" area allows more evasive manuvers when in close-combat without giving up much support at all because of the added lower support.

I was at one time "highly competitive" but now enjoy tinkering with the weapons as much as the fencing. My blades are also mirror polished to eleminate any stress risers...

TRF

[Beloit Fencer of Old]

Originally Posted by the reluctant fencer

Why? It looks like an alien hand but... EVERYONE that is highly competitive or not said that they like it when they held it. The lower part provides more surface area for your wrist's support. It matches many hands much better than any other grip that I have seen.
The shortened "tang" area allows more evasive manuvers when in close-combat without giving up much support at all because of the added lower support.

I was at one time "highly competitive" but now enjoy tinkering with the weapons as much as the fencing. My blades are also mirror polished to eleminate any stress risers...

TRF

To each his own, but I know more people who cut OFF protuberances, rather than adding them. The reason is that you have one more thing to dig into your wrist and prevent you from moving the weapon in one direction when you're infighting.

[the reluctant fencer]

Originally Posted by Beloit Fencer of Old

To each his own, but I know more people who cut OFF protuberances, rather than adding them. The reason is that you have one more thing to dig into your wrist and prevent you from moving the weapon in one direction when you're infighting.

I have FULL articulation of my wrist with this grip, as well as greater torque that I can apply to the opponets blade, thus reducing the digging into the wrist.
Take it this way,
A 100 pound girl wearing high heels is going to put a much higher PSI on the ground than an elephant will. This is beacuse of the surface area in contact when related to overall weight. This is why one wearing high heels can not walk on dirt but an elephant can and not leave much of a print.

The PSI is what causes pain in the wrist. With the second prong torque is increased and articulation is also increased because of its short length.
With no protrusions there is much greater force on your wrist which requires that you have a very strong wrist to have the same applied torque to an opponets blade. Increased forces can cause durability problems with your wrist...which can be painful and cost lots of money for somebody.

TRF

[fleshbroiler]

Originally Posted by Villadsen

Spray-on truck bed lining. ...looks great and is very grippy.

Good call! This treatment works really well.

[Pescados666]

Originally Posted by Beloit Fencer of Old

OK...this past weekend, I used a new grip...the only one on which I have NOT used Plasti Dip. Instead, I picked up a can of textured faux-granite spray paint at wal mart. It adhered really well, and the grit felt VERY secure in my hand. Oh...and I now have a medium visconte grip which looks like it's made out of granite. Way cool.

I went to Wal-Mart to try and get some of this but all they had was the plasti-kote stone paint. I filed the aluminum a bit to give the paint a surface to grip. It worked nicely so far, and looks really awesome, like it's made of stone. I'll take pics and post them eventually.

[Beloit Fencer of Old]

Originally Posted by Pescados666

I went to Wal-Mart to try and get some of this but all they had was the plasti-kote stone paint. I filed the aluminum a bit to give the paint a surface to grip. It worked nicely so far, and looks really awesome, like it's made of stone. I'll take pics and post them eventually.

Sweet! I was going to buy more this weekend...I forgot to. I'm glad someone else is having luck with this as well!

[migopod]

Originally Posted by the reluctant fencer

....
The grip was worked over with a Miller Dynasty 200DX TIG welder. This aluminum used in grips is a very low quality and welds VERY poorly.....

I'm curious about the welding properties of grip aluminum. When you say that it welds poorly, does it do that thing where little pockets of impurity float up and leave you with
really porous welds, or is it just not particularly fluid during welding?