Good grip "tape" for the hawks

A

Ad

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Mar 9, 2000
Messages
752
I recently wrapped my ATC Vietnam hawk with tennis racket "tape." It offers a VERY grippy surface. I finally settled on this stuff after checking out all the companies that sell gardening tape, etc. This stuff really works. I am awaiting an RMJ talon hawk with micarta slabs and, all depending on the grip I get, I may wrap this hawk as well. The stuff is easy to take on and off and it doesn't leave a sticky residue like most tapes do.
 
I agree. I've used it on some batons and it provides very positive grip retention. I thought about using it on my Two Hawks Longhunter (to replace the paracord I was testing), but I think I'll go with a leather wrap to return it to a more traditional look. However, I agree that it would be great for the modern style fighting hawks.
 
Thanks for the tip, AD, I'll have to look for it. I tried using a replacement leather handle wrap on aViking battle axe a few years ago. After searching several shops to find one without a company logo and without a look that screamed tennis racket or golf club, I thought I found the perfect match. Midway down the wrap "Genuine Leather" was embossed & gold leafed into the leather. Arghhh! What moron thought that would be an attractive feature?
 
While I did look into it as a handle wrap once, I haven't actually used AGrip tape from Brooks Tactical due to the relativly high cost of it. However, it does look like it'd be useful for wrapping handles (gun, knife, or hawk) for critical situations.
http://www.brookstactical.com/
 
hmmm... grip tape for racquets huh? I have had problems with them before.

Initially they go on great... but with use, heat and humidity, the glue starts... well getting gluey. the tape starts slipping and peeling it off leaves a gooey mess. I had applied it to my sai. I live in a tropical country and the heat and humidity may have something to do with it... but the tape lasted barely a year... the brand I was using was Yonex (they make badminton racquets... German I think).

personally I find that the best stuff is vulcanising tape from 3M. I think that's the name of it.. I had used up what little I had and bought another roll from a Korean company... well I can't read Korean.

The tape come in flat rolls about 3/4 of an inch wide (though I have seen wider rolls) and looks like black rubber. unwind it and it doesn't feel tacky at all... about as tacky as a rubber sheet. HOWEVER you apply it by stretching it and wrapping it over your cable/handle/metal bar... the stretching process seems to do something to the molecular structure and it the stats sticking to the layer you apply it over... the stretch factor is fantastic... 5 to 6 times or more.. so a little tape goes a long way. I remember reading on a little sheet inside the box that this stuff is used mainly in electrical work and apparently insulates up to a very high voltage... i recall 50,000volts... I could be wrong.

This stuff is incredible... after applycation you have a rubber handle (how thick the layer depends on how much you wanna wrap it) with a simple spiral pattern (like the spiral you get from racquet tape) but the best thing is the grip. WOW! just think rubber handle. go look for it and tell me what you think.
 
Qew71: I don't know if you are talking about the same type of "tape" I am. The stuff I am using has no glue on it. It is basically thin rubber strips that adheres to the layer below by mere fact of its "rubberiness". When you are done rolling it around the handle you can secure it with electrical tape or whatnot. I am new to this stuff, so maybe when it gets hot it breaks down and emits some kind of "glue"? I don't know. I think the stuff I am using is for tennis racquets. I don't know if that is different from racquetball racquet "tape."
 
gee Ad, i dunno about the raquet tape you're refering to... might be similar stuff... but the tape I use isn't simply wrapped over the handle in a spiral... you HAVE TO stretch it as you wrap... only then does it adhere to the layer below... i really think the stuff is called vulcanising tape... you can probably find it in any good hardware store.
 
Qew71,
We had a tape like that when I was in the Air Force. We used it in place of electrical tape. We called it "F-4 Tape". I've seen the same tape at Wal-Mart, but it was called "Tommy tape". Great stuff. It also makes an excellent hammer wrap, since it absorbs some of the blow. Would work great for an axe. :)

Here is a link: www.tommytape.com
Here is a review: www.7volts.com/tommytape.htm

Hope this helps.


Blades
 
I guess Qew71 and I are the only ones to every use Tommy tape. :) Thats too bad it is an excellent handle wrap.


Blades
 
sure seems that way blades... at home I use it in place of electrical tape.

Regular electrical tape is just vinyl with glue on it and over time in the local heat and humidity, the glue can deteriorate and come apart leaving a slimy gooey mess.

With the vulcanising tape, that never happens... I have some cable that my father spliced with this stuff more than 20years ago that looks almost the same as when it was first applied... albeit a little dirtier from usage.
 
Back in my Air Force days, working on the F-4's, we would run across Tommy tape that looked like it hadn't been touched in years, but your right Qew71, It was still holding. Good stuff.


Blades
 
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