Handles and grips for Staffs

hello mr and mrs online comunity,

I recon leather would be the one, but I havent tried it, should absorb impacts and fueal, be grippy but also slide around when you want (specially if its shiny side out).

Monsoir Charles, I got callouses between thumb and hand from stick, friction burns no prob.

Love,

N

hmmm...well i don't have a staff but i am in the process of deciding what kind of wrapping tape to use on my fan rods. for me the biggest thing is that i hate is how my hands feel after handling steel for any length of time and i want a better surface for a variety of gripping styles. right now i am opting for leather bicycle tape or something similiar to that.

things i've tried recently (in the past week)

black bandanas knotted in patterns on the ends

black tape

flourescent tape for blacklights

screwing eyerings into the ends of my staff and hooking up photons - haven't done this yet, haven't bought my photons, but i got everything else rearing to go...

but grip, i still just like electrical tape, it's slippery enough to slide and not thick enough to hinder anything... i've tried cushioned ones... just don't like them...

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~ Tiger, Tiger, burning bright... ~

i use clear rubber tubing which I heat up in hot water and then slide over my aluminium staves. When it cools it stays put. Very easy. This handle is good cos it provides grip without being to grippy or bulky. It is also nice and cushy so if you mess up a catch off a big throw you won't be penalised too harshly! Also, these handles are very slippery when wet so palm spins shouldn't be a prob.

The rubber tubing is cheap (cost me AU$2 for two handles worth of tube). It doesn't easily get dirty, and since it is clear, I was thinking of painting some sort of design on the aluminium, and then pulling the rubber handle over it. Or you could just paint it a plain colour to act as a marker for centre.

What more could you ask for?
Cheers. J4play.

My glowstaffs don't have handles yet. I may not bother. They seem to be fine without.

dreavon, in response to palm spins with tennis racket handles. i have the same kind of handle grip and do a lot of palm spinning, back spins, shoulder spins, leg spins anything. i find that it actually helps to keep the staff "stuck" in one single area.

just thought i would field that one for you josh...

well, by handles i thought you meant a little sticky outy bit like a door handle or a cupboard handle onto wich you hold withone hand and wave about making your staff do circles. my mistake.

All these posts about staff grips and you missed out the most obvious and the best.

I use self amalgamating tape. This stuff is really good as it provides a none slippery grip, a small amount of cushioning and also once applied it bonds to become one piece so that you cannot peel it off again you have to cut it away. So therefore you do not get the wear and tear associated with using other grips.

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'Never argue with an idiot. They drag you down to their level, then beat you with experience'

it's not much for slipping - but i tried covering a clear (not tinted like mine) plexiglass staff in mesh nylon - it looks like a big scrawny fishnet stocking covered leg, but it grips REALLY nice - just get the type that doesn't rip easy

Just making some new staffs at the minute including a big 'un to start learning some contact. I'm intending using tennis racket type grip for a handle cause I find it really nice and comfy. Would such a grip be ok for contact? Is there something better to use? I'm not sure what kind on gripiness is good / necessary for contact. Any help or suggestions would be appreciated.

I use tennis racket grip at the moment. Actually my staff has two layers of tennis racket grip on it cause I wanted a really REALLY wide staff for contact work. The tennis rackter grip that you need to stretch a little as you put it on (Don't know what this is called) is my favorite. I pick it up at Walmart.

Self amalgamating tape... Interesting... I'll have to evaluate this, as I may be redoing the handle on my staff soon.

For contact...It is usually best to have th ehandle flush with the rest of the staff.

That way, when it rolls along the axis and the length, it's less likely to 'bump' up and off when the surface changes.

BUT, it's much easier just to get better at ocntact with what you like first. I'd have to say its more important to have the ends of the staff (wick usually) a bit heavier than some designs have, than anything you could do with the handle...just my 2 cents...

I've found old bike tubes to be an invaluable resource for making juggling and twirling gear. Much cheaper than tennis racket grip, nice and grippy, and good for the environment (recycle!).

just cut through an old tube, lay it out on an old piece of wood (or your polished floorboards if your renting - joking ) then use a really sharp knive to cut out a long strip a few centimeters wide. Might take a bit of practice to be able to cut straight.

Then, wrap strips around staff, secure at ends with electrical tape, and Whammo - bob's your uncle!

but...fallout.. how do you put the tyres back on the wheel?!?!
who's looking out for the tyres?

Ah, i hear ya man. Every time an angel sings, an old bike-tube gets his wings. Or something along those lines. *mumbles off on some irrelivant tangent*

But ultimately, you shouldn't have any wheels left anyway - having been pulled off long ago to construct a set of 360˚ fire-fans.

Waste not want not.

And here I was, thinking this thread was about handles and grips.

Sometimes i'm am so naive...

I have a friend that uses rubber tubing for all his staffs,
I don't like them because where the rubber overlaps it creates a very uneven surface, of course he's used to it and can handle them pretty well. next time I make up a pair I think I will try to find something like tennis racket grip ,maybe something less slippery, sort of a thin foam would be good for throws..

errmmmmm..... Looks like I put the most effort into my handles then again I sell the fire staves I make. hehe I'm Malcom's compatition in this area. lol yah right.

my handles are centered on the middle of the staff and are about 1/2 the length of the staff. layered like this:

- metal pipe
- hemp tightly wraped sold
- layer of hock tape (Renfrew made in Canada because we canucks know what hockey is)
- hemp criss crosed to form grip pattern
- another layer of hock tape

I think you make the most effort of any single individual too, but not perhaps the MOST effort.

That has to go to the InnerCore staff guys, surely...

so we have to get technical now do we....
yes the innercore guys probably do put the most effort in