Guest Ouch Posted May 7, 2001 Share Posted May 7, 2001 I was wondering if anyone could tell me how you go about practicing this feat? Ive seen the pics where the Mighty Atom is doing it-but how do you go about getting started? What materials, conditioning etc.? THanks for the help Ben Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Cliff Stamp Posted May 7, 2001 Share Posted May 7, 2001 I would do simple progression same as with anything else. Start off with thin nails with large heads. You can take some sandpaper and round them a little to make them easier to work with. Use very soft board and start off with thin stock. I have done some work along these lines as I was curious as to how difficult it would be on a decent sized piece of board like a 2x4" . It is very easy to seriously bruise your hand as the pressure is very high because the nail head is so small. You could also use padding - but that kind of removes the major source of difficulty. However as another way of progressing you could start out heavily padded and just decrease the padding instead of progressing through nail types and wood stock. -Cliff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Black Posted May 8, 2001 Share Posted May 8, 2001 John Brookfield wrote an article on this for the April 1994 issue of Milo. Back issues are still available. John folds a washcloth over the head of the nail, so if it’s good enough for him then I don’t think it’s a big deal to use a cloth. John, like the Mighty Atom, puts the head of the nail in the cloth, and then in the center of his palm. He also recommends using only a 20-penny nail to start. Even the Mighty Atom used a 20-penny nail, although when he was older it seemed like he progressed to a 60-penny. By the way, be careful. The Mighty Atom got distracted and put the point up once. He put the nail (I believe it was a 20-penny) through his palm. This is one of the reasons that I don’t do this technique myself . I wrap about half the nail in a washcloth and I place the head of the nail just below my thumb. The shaft of the nail goes across the bottom of my fingers where they attach to my palm. I then squeeze hard and plunge the nail into a board. I think this is more of a grip feat than the other technique because the nail is squeezed. I made the mistake of starting with a 60-penny because I saw a picture of big Paul Anderson doing that size. Brookfield mentions known strongmen using fairly small nails. Breitbart used a 20-penny with the point cut off and Vic Boff used to drive a 40-penny into a tree. The only good thing about starting with a 60-penny is now when I try a 20-penny it seems really easy to get it through ¾” pine, although I don’t do this often. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 8, 2001 Share Posted May 8, 2001 Like most grip feats I personally think you should go and grab the necessary 'tools' required and have a go! I see it all the time on this board where people are asking for advice about this lift, or what reps or assistance exercises are used for that lift but if you just got stuck in and lifted you might come up with some technique or nuance that no one else has yet. It's good to discuss grip training but it's better to train the grip! With nail driving it really is a personal thing. I used to do this in my old strongman shows and it was the hardest feat I did in the show. It's very bad for the wrist and indeed the whole hand especially when driving two or three times per day. I tried various techniques but settled on driving it hard with one big hit then several more, perhaps ten depending on the thickness of the wood, to get it all the way through. I used standard 6" nails and up to three one inch pine boards. I would grasp the nail between the middle and ring finger and the head would be in the middle of my palm but back towards the fleshy part of my hand. I have done them without padding but only on a few occassions as it is very dangerous and can cause major injury perhaps ending your gripping career. The best in my book was Sigmand Brietbart an old time strongman who would go through 3-5 sheets of 1/8" metal sheet plus up to three 1" boards! He used a pad too although many others didn't. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pawel r Posted February 15, 2008 Share Posted February 15, 2008 (edited) I refresh topic http://youtube.com/watch?v=NrXPbFrdwK8 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Di8kFinWiRI&NR=1 Edited February 15, 2008 by pawel r Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott McElroy Posted February 15, 2008 Share Posted February 15, 2008 I refresh topic http://youtube.com/watch?v=NrXPbFrdwK8 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Di8kFinWiRI&NR=1 If you want to learn nail driving, go to the Grand Master himself at www.dennisrogers.net His DVD, Driving A Nail Without A Hammer is how I learned this feat!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pawel r Posted February 15, 2008 Share Posted February 15, 2008 (edited) I refresh topic http://youtube.com/watch?v=NrXPbFrdwK8 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Di8kFinWiRI&NR=1 If you want to learn nail driving, go to the Grand Master himself at www.dennisrogers.net His DVD, Driving A Nail Without A Hammer is how I learned this feat!! he is good http://www.dennisrogers.net/productview.php?uid=15 Edited February 15, 2008 by pawel r Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdamTGlass Posted February 16, 2008 Share Posted February 16, 2008 I do it all the time, working on license plates now go to www.dennisrogers.net He will teach you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott McElroy Posted February 16, 2008 Share Posted February 16, 2008 I do it all the time, working on license plates nowgo to www.dennisrogers.net He will teach you Have yet to try a license plate but it sounds like fun!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pawel r Posted April 20, 2008 Share Posted April 20, 2008 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
antarath Posted April 20, 2008 Share Posted April 20, 2008 (edited) Or you can do it like Chellard did it http://www.sandowplus.co.uk/Videos/toughestman.wmv Edited April 20, 2008 by Mats Erik Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shizen Posted April 20, 2008 Share Posted April 20, 2008 Or you can do it like Chellard did it http://www.sandowplus.co.uk/Videos/toughestman.wmv hah that was awesome Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim71 Posted April 21, 2008 Share Posted April 21, 2008 (edited) delete Edited April 21, 2008 by Tim T Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pawel r Posted July 1, 2008 Share Posted July 1, 2008 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Magnus Posted July 2, 2008 Share Posted July 2, 2008 Was just watching that one a few days ago. Classic Clay: "Not one of my best attempts, but it's definitely one of my attempts." is also insane Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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