Guest Radiulis Posted May 8, 2001 Share Posted May 8, 2001 I joined my friend on a trip to a nearby martial arts store to purchase some kendo equipment when out of the corner of my eye I saw a very familiar looking knurling with a straight line accross the middle of it! This gripper was identical to an Ironmind except with a chrome spring. Not knowing what to expect I asked the cashier for some information about it. She told me they were made in China and were only for really strong men Upon closer inspection I noticed no number on the bottom of the handles but the spring looked like a 3 so i gave it a try. The handles are much wider than Ironmind's (over 8cm). Well, according to her she'd never seen anyone more than budge it but i came within 1/8 inch. To my surprise they were only 15 bucks so i scraped some cash together and got one. Funny thing is the box they come in, labeled as "DOUBLE SPRING POWER TWISTER" with 195 lb closing pressure written on them. My best guess is that if they are not manufactured in China extremely cheap then they are old Ironmind defects because the store owner allowed me to try several, all of which varied in difficulty by a great degree. However, I ended up buying one of the harder ones. The reason I say they are cheap is because all had drastically different spring mounting and handle widths, but most are definetly more difficult than my #3, although I wouldn't venture to say they are at the same level as an Elite gripper because an hour of rest and a handful of chalk later and I managed to close my mystery gripper. Just posting this to see if Mr. Sorin or anyone else has ever heard of or seen these grippers? Could they perhaps be old Ironmind original #3's that didn't make the cut? Or just some Chinese knockoff? Ill post a picture as soon as possible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Horne Posted May 8, 2001 Share Posted May 8, 2001 Radialis, Good find! I look forward to seeing the picture. David Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1stCoC Posted May 8, 2001 Share Posted May 8, 2001 Ya got me! People will copy anything! Be CAREFUL!!!! I had a severe hand injury due to an off brand "super duty" gripper exploding in my hand. Stick to Quality! Regards RS621 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Black Posted May 8, 2001 Share Posted May 8, 2001 A friend of mine who does not know much about the grippers also bought one of these at a marital arts supply store in D.C. He had a similar description, sounding very much like the Elite gripper. He did not mention the various differences between the grippers in stock, but maybe they only had a few. He also did not know what to look for in terms of handle placement and width. The best part is that he paid only ű.95 for one and that he is going to give it too me because he says that he can’t ever imagine closing the thing. I haven’t seen it yet because he lives a distance away. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
terryduty Posted May 9, 2001 Share Posted May 9, 2001 Radiulis, I found what appears to be the grippers that your referring to at this web site: http://www.usknife.com/images/catalog/cata...g1-page110.html They're ฟ and 195 lb. I agree with 1stCOC about using caution! You get what you pay for and an injury isn't worth saving a few bucks! Strongman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Radiulis Posted May 9, 2001 Share Posted May 9, 2001 Those are the very ones Strongman. I agree that it isn't worth the chance of training with it, I just thought it nice to add to the growing collection. Perhaps I will get a chance to send it to PDA to get it tested and compare it to my 3 and my soon to come Elite. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
terryduty Posted May 9, 2001 Share Posted May 9, 2001 I just found another site that is selling this same gripper for just ű.00 - not a bad price for a novelty item, I suppose. The web site is: http://lemleys.com/195lbhandgrip.html Strongman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Black Posted May 9, 2001 Share Posted May 9, 2001 Interesting, it looks like that gripper is wound the other way. Note how the sping post going into the handle on the left handle is above the winding. On all my grippers the spring post is below. (Edited by Tom Black at 8:35 pm on May 8, 2001) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Radiulis Posted May 9, 2001 Share Posted May 9, 2001 Yea, good eye Tom, it took me a little while to figure out why it felt so odd in my right hand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BarBender Posted May 9, 2001 Share Posted May 9, 2001 The spring winding is interesting. Every hand gripper that I have seen had the spring wound in the familiar fashion. There is a possibility that the image is reversed. Radiulis, if you can confirm Tom's observation, you may have a gripper that favors the left hand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Radiulis Posted May 9, 2001 Share Posted May 9, 2001 Barbender: All the grippers they had (5-7) were wound in the fashion of the image, favoring the left hand as you said. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Horne Posted May 9, 2001 Share Posted May 9, 2001 Tom, All I can say is very good eye! A left handed gripper?I wouldn't mind one of these for my collection, and to use. I'll take my chances with the quality. David Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bseedot Posted May 9, 2001 Share Posted May 9, 2001 Very interesting indeed. I've sent a couple of questions to these outfits and will likely purchase one of them. UsKnife does have a price guarantee which states that they'll beat a competitors price (which would be Lemleys gripper). As a lefty, I sure would like to have a left-handed gripper. I thought that I recall someone saying before that this spring set-up was not possible. Anyone remember for sure? I think it was on the old gripboard. BC. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BarBender Posted May 9, 2001 Share Posted May 9, 2001 My earlier statement on the old GripBoard that a lefty gripper was impossible is obviously wrong since we now have an example of a gripper that favors the left hand. In hindsight I don't remember exactly what I was thinking but it was wrong. Today I have a clearer understanding of spring windings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bseedot Posted May 9, 2001 Share Posted May 9, 2001 Thanks BarBender! I thought I recalled hearing that, but wasn't sure. Thanks for letting me know I'm not delusional, at least about hand grippers Still no response from either company on my eMailed questions, so one thing's for sure... a PDA they are not! BC. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest TnT Posted May 10, 2001 Share Posted May 10, 2001 I just looked at the site showing those grippers and noticed the other ones ( plastic handles). It made me wonder because a few years ago a guy at work gave me a plastic gripper like those because he couldn't close it at all. It was very tough and I was only able to close it a couple of times myself (not that my grip was anything). I worked with it for awhile and made it to 7 reps then 10 and so on (my grip sucked). After making it up to 30 reps the coil eventually broke and I was lucky not to lose an eye. When I finally got a trainer I found it to be the same. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sybersnott Posted May 10, 2001 Share Posted May 10, 2001 I am going to purchase some grippers from this site for a comparison (that, and I can't pass up on the price!). Anyone else getting these grippers, contact me and let's trade notes on these grippers! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Black Posted May 19, 2001 Share Posted May 19, 2001 I was wondering if anyone bought one of these mystery grippers at the sites listed above. Radiulis, you mentioned the quality was bad because the grippers were all different, but I suppose that the people making them don’t realize that 1/16” difference in handle mounting is a big difference in strength. I was curious about the quality of the materials, as opposed to craftsmenship, in light of the comments about safety above. I noticed that the Lemley store lists "In Stock" for this gripper as “0.” Did you guys buy out the store? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Horne Posted May 19, 2001 Share Posted May 19, 2001 Just want to say what a nice guy Radialis is. I asked him if he could get me one of these leftie grippers, and today it arrived. What a gent! I got radialis to get me one because I wanted one about #3 pressure, and he came up trumps. The gripper feels a lot better in my left hand, I came within 1mm of closing it. I closed it with my right hand quite easily, and it even felt nice in this hand! Anyway, once again, hats off to radialis, the gent of the gripboard. David Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gaster Posted May 25, 2001 Share Posted May 25, 2001 Hi everyone. I'm new to the forum, but have been lurking for a few weeks. I just wanted to warn everyone who might have tried buying that ű gripper from Lemley's. It looked like a great deal so I decided to check into it more. I have tried to email them and my emails just bounce back. I then tried to call and they say to leave a message. The problem is that the machine cuts you off after maybe 10 to 15 seconds. You really can't do much in that time. I'm not saying that these guys are crooks for sure, but I'm worried and I don't want to see you guys get ripped off. It seems to be a Yahoo store. Does anyone know how to contact Yahoo and ask them if these guys are real or not? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bseedot Posted May 25, 2001 Share Posted May 25, 2001 I've eMailed both companies mentioned in this thread and have received responses from both of them. I did order the gripper from Lemley's earlier this week. They sent me two confiming eMails of my order and provided me with a link to check the status of my order (I haven't checked yet though). The eMails stated that my order would be shipped within 4-7 business days. It did say "0" in stock as Tom mentioned though (I think that when I first looked it only said "3" anyway). I'll let you know when/if I get it. BC. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gaster Posted May 25, 2001 Share Posted May 25, 2001 Thanks for the quick reply. That's good news. Maybe I'll go ahead and order one now. I just bought a Super Gripper a few weeks ago and I like it, but I keep hearing people say that it feels different than a Captains of Crush type gripper. I want some experience with a regular looking gripper too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bseedot Posted May 31, 2001 Share Posted May 31, 2001 I have to drag this conversation back up again. I just got my gripper from Lemley's. ฝ.83 total cost. The outside of the box says, "Double Spring Power Twister". I was a very wide 9.0cm. I force closed it once and took a measurement immediately: a much more manageable 8.4cm. Two more forced closes and ten minutes later it's 8.3cm. Anyway, I said I'd post when I received it so here it is. Not a bad wait either for listing 0 in stock- nine business days. I can't give it a good squeeze today because my grip's pretty toasted. It is a lefty advantaged spring and I'm likin' that because I'm a lefty. BC. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3Crusher Posted May 31, 2001 Share Posted May 31, 2001 What does it feel like compared to the COC grippers or the Beefbuider grippers? In other words, what level can you compare it to? Thanks. Steve Weiner Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bseedot Posted June 1, 2001 Share Posted June 1, 2001 Hi Steve- Well, I gave the #2, Master, #3 and Lefty a few squeezes and it feels a bit between my Master and the #3. The spring is the same size (diameter) as the #3, but they are being sold as 195 lbs. of pressure, ala COC #2. It's definitely not a #2, though. It's not seasoned either, my Master is. The handles are not snug up into the spring coil like my Master or even like my COCs. I suppose it's fair to say that it's equal to or greater than my Master and equal to or less than my #3 (my #3 isn't seasoned either). The knurling is not as sharp as the COC or BB series, but it is ample and certainly will not slip. I will say that it does feel awkward, even in my left hand right now. The inverse spring coil is, obviously, a completely different feel. For ฝ I may get another. I wonder if these would work the hands any differently than the righty advantaged COCs and BBs? I can give a more accurate gauge when I give it some real squeezes next Monday or Tuesday. Probably more than you ever wanted to know... BC. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.