Brick tough #3

[Steve]

I’ve been using grippers for a couple of weeks now had some good progress,I closed the #2 first time,I also purchased a Vulcan off David Horne which is great,I have a #3 which feels like a brick it has a three inch spread my question is can you rough guess a calibration by the spread or do I need to use the traditional method to get a perfect pound pressure.have a good day,Steve 

[Paul Savage]

56 minutes ago, Steve said:

I’ve been using grippers for a couple of weeks now had some good progress,I closed the #2 first time,I also purchased a Vulcan off David Horne which is great,I have a #3 which feels like a brick it has a three inch spread my question is can you rough guess a calibration by the spread or do I need to use the traditional method to get a perfect pound pressure.have a good day,Steve 

The spread won't tell you anything and calibration also will only tell you so much as that's only the pressure to close, which is obviously just a small portion of an attempt. What tells the real story is closing a gripper by hand. Unfortunately there is a massive gap between #2 and #3 so it will feel like a complete brick. I remember i was doing 20-30 reps on #2 and when i got the #3 i thought i might be able to get it but i couldnt close it with two hands. Just hang in there, progress on the vulcan an consistenly and eventually the #3 will feel like a much easier gripper than it does now.

[Steve]

Cheers Paul thanks for the info I will keep plugging away lol

[mcalpine1986]

1 hour ago, Steve said:

I’ve been using grippers for a couple of weeks now had some good progress,I closed the #2 first time,I also purchased a Vulcan off David Horne which is great,I have a #3 which feels like a brick it has a three inch spread my question is can you rough guess a calibration by the spread or do I need to use the traditional method to get a perfect pound pressure.have a good day,Steve 

There isnt much correlation between Spread and poundage. I have a coc 3 with a 80mm spread yet it measures RGC 150lbs so pretty average in poundage but with it being so wide it feels mega heavy for me. 

You should buy a coc 2.5 and work on that, the gap between 2 and 3 is massive.

Edited February 24, 2021 by mcalpine1986

[Steve]

I think I will buy a 2.5 even though I have a Vulcan I would like to add to the collection cheers fella

[mcalpine1986]

Just now, Steve said:

I think I will buy a 2.5 even though I have a Vulcan I would like to add to the collection cheers fella

No problem. Vulcans will help no doubt but get a 2.5. Itll be Well worth it. 

I see you are also UK based. I had a few of mine sent to gods of grip for calibration, its pretty cheap and fast.

You could send your 3 off and see what yours is. Its not just about RGC poundage with regards to closing them but will give you a good idea wether you have an easier or harder end of the scale one.

[Steve]

I

will check that out it’s something I’m interested in knowing cheers mate all the best

[Cannon]

44 minutes ago, mcalpine1986 said:

There isnt much correlation between Spread and poundage.

I disagree with this. I would actually say spread is the single major element you can use to guess at difficulty. We get lots of requests from customers about “can you find me a hard/easy gripper?” I can rifle through our supply and look for narrow or wide grippers and almost always find an outlier. I agree it’s not a guarantee because mounting depth for example can negate the spread, but almost without exception a truly hard gripper will be wide and a truly easy gripper will be narrow. 

Examples from the pre-rated grippers just yesterday: The photo shows how a 126 #2.5 is much wider than the 112. And the 152 #3 is much wider than the 139. (I lined up the left side so the right side shows the difference.)

Of that bunch the 152 is truly hard (#2.5s get a lot harder than 126) and it has a 3” spread.

The 112 and 139 grippers are both truly easy and the spreads are 2.6” and 2.7” respectively. 

[Steve]

43 minutes ago, Cannon said:

I disagree with this. I would actually say spread is the single major element you can use to guess at difficulty. We get lots of requests from customers about “can you find me a hard/easy gripper?” I can rifle through our supply and look for narrow or wide grippers and almost always find an outlier. I agree it’s not a guarantee because mounting depth for example can negate the spread, but almost without exception a truly hard gripper will be wide and a truly easy gripper will be narrow. 

Examples from the pre-rated grippers just yesterday: The photo shows how a 126 #2.5 is much wider than the 112. And the 152 #3 is much wider than the 139. (I lined up the left side so the right side shows the difference.)

Of that bunch the 152 is truly hard (#2.5s get a lot harder than 126) and it has a 3” spread.

The 112 and 139 grippers are both truly easy and the spreads are 2.6” and 2.7” respectively. 

Interesting stuff so maybe I have a tough #3 it’s a hard one to set I know if it was narrower I would find it easier my hand is not that big,cheers cannon

[Fist of Fury]

Spread tells you a lot of the difficulty of the gripper but not necessarily anything about how much it would rate at close.

But two grippers rated the same the gripper with the larger spread (if it's a substantial difference) will always be harder to close.

 

For example. A gripper with a 65 mm spread rated 150 at the close will feel much easier than a gripper with 75 mm spread rated the same at close.

In fact, the 65 mm gripper will be much easier.

[Steve]

8 minutes ago, Fist of Fury said:

Spread tells you a lot of the difficulty of the gripper but not necessarily anything about how much it would rate at close.

But two grippers rated the same the gripper with the larger spread (if it's a substantial difference) will always be harder to close.

 

For example. A gripper with a 65 mm spread rated 150 at the close will feel much easier than a gripper with 75 mm spread rated the same at close.

In fact, the 65 mm gripper will be much easier.

My #3 is exactly 76.2 mm feels so solid but then I’ve just started I haven’t had the experience with another #3 so I’m blind to it.

[Fist of Fury]

27 minutes ago, Steve said:

My #3 is exactly 76.2 mm feels so solid but then I’ve just started I haven’t had the experience with another #3 so I’m blind to it.

You're not very likely to find a ironmind COC with a 65 mm spread. Sure they might exist but I think they are very rare. Smallest I've seen is around 70 mm (talking about #3's only or higher since the easier grippers below #3 tend to have more narrow spread).

Another brand wich usually have more narrower spread is Heavy Grips.

[Steve]

I gave my #3 to my friend to calibrate it he’s got all the equipment I don’t have enough weight discs around my home at the moment so I will know tomorrow what the #3 comes back as.

[Fist of Fury]

Another big factor is knurling. I used to think it didn't matter that much. Until I actually tried a gripper with very poor knurling. I have a double stamp #3 with almost no knurling, it's way harder than any other #3 I've tried, including a 158# rated new #3. I would say on that particular gripper, it makes it around 5 lbs harder than it's rating.

[Steve]

All I know is I have a long way before I get near that #3 I defo need a 2.5 to judge where I’m at so that’s what I’m going to do,I’m just wandering what the calibration will come back as if it’s an easy #3 I’m miles behind to where I thought I was so I will see.

[Steve]

Lol exactly way I feel closed the #2 straight off thought I would get the #3 and smash it yer right I’ve even been thinking there is something wrong with it can a human even close this thing

[Fist of Fury]

38 minutes ago, Steve said:

Lol exactly way I feel closed the #2 straight off thought I would get the #3 and smash it yer right I’ve even been thinking there is something wrong with it can a human even close this thing

Closing the the #2 first time is very good. You probably have the genetics for closing the #4, but for sure at least the #3.5. But it depends of course how much your hands was trained before you tried.

[Steve]

18 minutes ago, Fist of Fury said:

Closing the the #2 first time is very good. You probably have the genetics for closing the #4, but for sure at least the #3.5. But it depends of course how much your hands was trained before you tried.

The only training I’ve done for my hands is indirect work from my daily job which is a patio layer and landscape gardener I do pick up heavy slabs everyday as I’ve done for years.

[Busa]

Good background your pinch should be okay. Me I've been a mechanic all my life my grips weakening now at 52. Put that down to less spanner work more power tools & multi-meters . I could also close a No2 straight away still to close a 3 mind you did have a long break away from training.

[Steve]

Lol the old school jobs do have an impact on the hands even after 15 years of doing ground work and block paving etc I feel it in my hands and my knees but I am surprised in the difference between the #2 and the #3 I will train grip twice a week I think that’s more than enough for me at the moment,good luck fella and stay safe.

[Steve]

Got my #3 back from my friend this morning it’s come back as 156 maybe that is above an average I’m not sure but will put it down for a while and get a 2.5 see how I get on with that.

[Fist of Fury]

1 hour ago, Steve said:

Got my #3 back from my friend this morning it’s come back as 156 maybe that is above an average I’m not sure but will put it down for a while and get a 2.5 see how I get on with that.

Yes that's a pretty stout #3. Average is around 150.

https://cannonpowerworks.com/pages/grip-strength-ratings-data

[Steve]

So it’s a pretty hard one good to know though thanks for that table is very helpful.

[mcalpine1986]

22 hours ago, Cannon said:

I disagree with this. I would actually say spread is the single major element you can use to guess at difficulty. We get lots of requests from customers about “can you find me a hard/easy gripper?” I can rifle through our supply and look for narrow or wide grippers and almost always find an outlier. I agree it’s not a guarantee because mounting depth for example can negate the spread, but almost without exception a truly hard gripper will be wide and a truly easy gripper will be narrow. 

Examples from the pre-rated grippers just yesterday: The photo shows how a 126 #2.5 is much wider than the 112. And the 152 #3 is much wider than the 139. (I lined up the left side so the right side shows the difference.)

Of that bunch the 152 is truly hard (#2.5s get a lot harder than 126) and it has a 3” spread.

The 112 and 139 grippers are both truly easy and the spreads are 2.6” and 2.7” respectively. 

You are right, I should of worded what i wrote differently tbh. 

Wider spreads sure feel heavier than a likewise poundage narrower gripper. 

[Steve]

It’s amazing what a few days rest can do I got the #3 down past parallel today I wouldn’t know how long it will take me to get that last part but I will train sensible from now on and not overtrain.