TheParacordist 3 Posted September 12 I'm a newbie. finding that chalking my hands and using my home made pvc pipe devices INCREASES my slip. slightly sweaty (not wet) hands seems to have best grip. is this typical? 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Joseph Sullivan 3,430 Posted September 12 (edited) 6 minutes ago, TheParacordist said: I'm a newbie. finding that chalking my hands and using my home made pvc pipe devices INCREASES my slip. slightly sweaty (not wet) hands seems to have best grip. is this typical? Chalk on PVC/plastic is a waste of time and counterproductive unless you can get a coating of it to stick to the surface. You are better off using none or just enough on your hand alone to dry the sweat or as you said, slightly moist hands will stick to the plastic nice, depends on preference . Only experienced “chalk whisperers” can get a coat to stick to plastic.... Edited September 12 by Joseph Sullivan 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Climber028 769 Posted September 12 Yes. I'm general, chalk is great for rough surfaces but not so great for smooth surfaces. Chalk, and all powders will act as micro ball bearings on a smooth surface, such as using graphite powder for a dry lubricant. There's no rule that says use or don't use chalk, so use whatever gets you the best grip. 2 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Shal9097 55 Posted September 13 You could try roughing the surface of the pipe with low grit sand paper or steel wool to make chalk more effective Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Joseph Sullivan 3,430 Posted September 13 11 minutes ago, Shal9097 said: You could try roughing the surface of the pipe with low grit sand paper or steel wool to make chalk more effective That will add texture for extra grip , but will not be beneficial if he plans to compete on a handle such as the rolling thunder or a synthetic style handle like a country crush that doesn’t typically take chalk. If he wants it to be as hard as possible, he should leave it as is, but if he absolutely wants the chalk and texture, and does not care about competition on plastic handles, then that is a fine idea. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
slazbob 288 Posted September 13 I’d put friction tape around it. I found with pvc, that it’s just too slippery to train your max grip; you have to use a lot less weight than you’re capable of...and that’s not helpful. Can you imagine a knurled blob? How much power you can add to your grip without slippage. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites