Leather wrapping waster hilt

[Derek Shannon]

Do any of you leather wrap the hilt of your wooden waster? The bare wood seems a little slippery when using gloves. I'm wondering if this is a good idea & if so, what is the best way to do it?

[Brent Lambell]

I had the same problem, but I fixed it in another way: I stopped wearing gloves when I practice. I get warm fast when I exercise, so warmth is not an issue for me. And when I look at the manuals, I see bare hands every time, well, every time that comes to memory. I say ditch the gloves and just make sure to practice protecting your hands for free play. It seems more historically founded and it will solve a host of issues in the long run.

[Jason Taylor]

I had the same problem, but I fixed it in another way: I stopped wearing gloves when I practice. I get warm fast when I exercise, so warmth is not an issue for me. And when I look at the manuals, I see bare hands every time, well, every time that comes to memory. I say ditch the gloves and just make sure to practice protecting your hands for free play. It seems more historically founded and it will solve a host of issues in the long run.

I understand the utility of this for many, but not all of us can go that way. I have had a severe finger injury I won't go into again (check any thread on here about Cold Steel) and I was told flat out that if I break my finger and/or have to immobilize it for that or any other injury it will probably never bend again--something to do with the buildup of scar tissue on top of what I already have in there. So for me, I can't take a chance. Some of my friends are musicians--they can't take a chance, either, because a broken finger puts them out of commission for six weeks or so. No fingers = no income.

Also, I personally view this issue as somewhat experience-dependent. When you're quite good, you can make the argument that you'll learn how to protect your fingers faster and therefore avoid injuries if you don't use gloves. When you're mediocre, you might still be able to make the claim, but I think the chance of suffering a fairly severe finger injury in the process is much higher. If you're a flat-out beginner, I think the danger of hand damage would just be too high for me, even if I didn't have a hand injury to protect. Others feel differently, I know, and that works for them, so great. But many of those who seem to prefer this method just seem to be more capable than I am, and I think that provides an added level of protection that should be taken into account in analyzing the effects of sparring without gloves.

Control is only a partially effective guard against this, also, again because of inexperience. Even if my opponent is pretty good, and very, very unlikely to hurt me, if I'm just a raw beginner, I can still break my hands on his waster by blocking with my fingers, especially if it was a swing that was already going to miss--a lot of beginners tend to "reach to block" attacks they don't have to, possibly creating hazards for themselves.

Additionally, I know that for me, if my opponents aren't wearing gloves, I just don't attack there. It's not usually a conscious choice; I just don't do it, and I have to work hard to remember to target them. I don't feel totally secure in my control level with a waster yet (for freeplay, that is) so I think I just semi-consciously don't attack targets I don't feel I can safely strike to. Again, those much more experienced than I probably have gotten past this problem--but I'm sure I'm not the only one who experiences it.

As for wrapping the handle of your waster, I have done this, but the leather wrap is often thick and a bit expensive for my tastes (I've used the cord type). I like to use Flex Rex, one of the synthetic versions, but be careful, because you don't want to use the slick-looking plastic type. The dull-finish stuff looks good, feels about right, and goes for between 85 cents and a dollar twenty for more than you need for one handle, so I like that one. Another options is plain old hockey tape.

Hope that helps,

Jason

[Benjamin Smith]

I've never done it, but there is no reason why you couldn't if you know how to make the leather stick.

[Jason Taylor]

I've never done it, but there is no reason why you couldn't if you know how to make the leather stick.

When I did it, I used crafting glue, and wrapped the lead and end tips under the wrap itself. That seems to work fine.

[kyle cook]

I Leather wrap all my Waster Handle. This helps in the waster not sliding in your hands when training and sparring. I start wrapping the handle starting at the guard. I dog ear the leather strip and start wrapping over the dog ear and go down the handle. I also use contact cement to put this on. It can be taken off easy if you need too. After i finish wrapping the handle, i hold the tail in with a small brass brad.


Kyle Cook
ARMA North Houston

[Derek Shannon]

Thanks for the responses. I appreciate the philosophy of minimal protection to force you to learn proper technique faster, but I also don't want to deal with the possible 4-6 wk inconvenience of a broken finger. I've broken fingers before & it's not much fun.

The tape idea sounded like a good place to start so I picked up some baseball bat tape . I just tried it out & that helped a lot.

[Derek Noble]

I was thinking of twsted wire wraping my grip like the picture below, any opinons?

[Jaron Bernstein]

I was thinking of twsted wire wraping my grip like the picture below, any opinons?

It sure looks pretty! Tennis racket grip tape comes off pretty fast. My Albion blunts have a cord wrap on the handle and that has stayed intact through much abuse.

[Jason Taylor]

I was thinking of twsted wire wraping my grip like the picture below, any opinons?

I've done this before, but I never tried twisted wire. Stainless steel was too slippery when all was said and done. I also tried rebar wire (please note...do not use rebar wire. It is the dirtiest, roughest wire you can imagine. It tore a 3/4" patch of skin right off my finger after about a half-hour of working with it. Plus my hands smelled like old oil filters for days.) Anyway, the twisted wire looks like it might be malleable enough while still providing you with a grip. My only concern with wire-wrapping a waster is longevity; since it's a pretty time-consuming process to wire-wrap, you want to make sure it'll be a nice long time before that waster wears out.

Jason

[Peter Goranov]

Can any of the scholars tell us what was used as wrapping material in the good old days? I have always thought it was leather.

[CalebSlagle]

My Albion blunts have a cord wrap on the handle and that has stayed intact through much abuse.

What is that stuff they add to the cord that gives it that solid feel? Its like poxy or something.

[Sal Bertucci]

Probably. My dad put glue on some thread that he used on a dagger grip he made me, and it works great.

[Alan Forbes]

I leather wrap the handles for both my wooden waster and my steel blunt. It keeps them from slipping as much when I'm doing handwork and/or as I get tired. The best way to to this is to wet the leather then wrap it very tightly stretching the leather around the handle as you wrap. Tie it off by sliding the end back under the last wrap at the cross. As the leather dries, it shrinks making it tight and very secure. That way you don't have to use glue or sticky tennis racket tape.