Guest StrongerthanArne Posted April 10, 2002 Share Posted April 10, 2002 Like many of you, I have been looking for a gripper to bridge the gap between my #2 and #3. I have tried with PDA but the class 2 grippers (a 302 and a 338 ip) were actually weaker than an average single stamped IM #2, whereas a class 3 gripper at 359 ip was much closer to an IM #3 than to an IM #2. I then tried with a BBM (which have exactly the same specifications and design as a PDA, except for slightly wider handles). I was indeed more difficult to close than an IM #2 but not by that much. It is still much closer to a #2 than to a #3. I had heard from several on this board that IM's new doubble stamped #2's were often much harder to close than the older single stamped #2's. So, Arne and I got two doubble stamped #2's. One of them is right in the middle between a single stamped #3 and a #2, whereas the other is a bit closer to a #3 than to a #2. In other words I have finally found what I was looking for. I strongly suspect that the double stamped #2 were made tough on purpose. I did not look good hearing about people closing the #2 for 15 reps right out of the bag. The doubble stamped #2 I got is a monster and I love it. I really like the BBM as well, it's just a bit on the weak side. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest StrongerthanArne Posted April 10, 2002 Share Posted April 10, 2002 Sorry for my poor spelling! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest wales Posted April 10, 2002 Share Posted April 10, 2002 You could always try the Ivanko Super Gripper Wales Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tou Posted April 10, 2002 Share Posted April 10, 2002 When you order a 2 from Ironmind, is it okay to write them a email specifying that you want a double stamped 2. I might get one if it is double stamped (they all seem to be very tough) but I have nothing to do with a regular 2. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tou Posted April 10, 2002 Share Posted April 10, 2002 I got a 2 from Paul Valpreda 2 weeks ago. The handles are a lot wider than all my other IM grippers (including the 3 and 4) and the gripper is a lot tougher than my former 2 (which is now modified with 3" short handles). I call this gripper the 2 BBM (it is probably an old 2) and I do strap holds with it. Holding 2,5lbs for over 10 seconds is a real problem so I consider it to be the best in-between gripper for me. I got a SOS III 325 hoping that it would be between the 2 and the 3 but it is about 10-15% less hard than my 3. The good thing is that I close my 325 so I should be pretty close to the 3. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sybersnott Posted April 10, 2002 Share Posted April 10, 2002 I need a gripper in the 450 IP range. I'm getting bored with the grippers that I have that are less than 380 IP. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest O1d Dude Posted April 11, 2002 Share Posted April 11, 2002 I recently ordered a COC #2 from Ironmind and received one of the new double stamped models. It is indeed a strong gripper. Several 3 crushers have given it a whirl and to a man all have had the same reaction: "Oh, a two. Here's how you mash it....hmmm....let me just get a better grip....THERE! By the way, that's a tough little bugger." Compared to this gripper, the other two's I've tried were lightweights and didn't get tough until the very end. This one is tough from the get-go and never lets up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Nards Posted April 11, 2002 Share Posted April 11, 2002 I'm sorry but I heard it here somewhere a few weeks ago that there's no difference between single and double-stamped grippers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest TDOGRPAGE Posted April 11, 2002 Share Posted April 11, 2002 Actuall Nads, I believe that is still up for some debate. Ironmind says there is no difference. The users here who have tried both mostly say that there is. Who knows. TDO... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest DavidHW Posted April 11, 2002 Share Posted April 11, 2002 Just a thought on the "Old #2, New #2" Debate. Could it be that folks are comparing their heavily used (i.e., seasoned) Old #2s to brand new, unseasoned New #2s, thus making the new ones seem tougher overall? David Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3Crusher Posted April 11, 2002 Share Posted April 11, 2002 Old Dude- Being a 3Crusher myself, what other 3 Crushers have tried your double stamped #2? Steve Weiner Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest StrongerthanArne Posted April 11, 2002 Share Posted April 11, 2002 David, Please, could it also be that some of us have tested every possible parameter on both old and new #2's and put in work equal to a PhD in order to determine if there actually are any differences. The new #2's are not considerably harder than single stamped #2's. They are MUCH harder (fully seasoned and with a drop of lubricant on the spring). Me and my friends have tried quite a few new #2's and we all come to the same conclusion that the double stamped one are closer to a single stamped #3 than to a single stamped #2. One does not need a PhD to realise this. Comparing a single stamped #2 and a double stamped #2 reveals that the handles are wider on the double stamped ones and that the spring is set deeper into the handles. Both features makes a gripper harder to close. These observations are also in line with those from others on this board. When I got my first #2 in June last year I could close it for five reps cold. A few days ago, and being much stronger, I tried two double stamped #2's cold. I could not close any of them (I can close the tougher, and now seasoned, one of the two for two reps after proper warm up). Cheers Dr Mikael Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest StrongerthanArne Posted April 11, 2002 Share Posted April 11, 2002 I could also add that I strongly suspect that the single stamped #3's and the doubble stamped #2's overlap in difficulty. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest O1d Dude Posted April 11, 2002 Share Posted April 11, 2002 Addressing the concerns point by point... #1. I saw a post in which Randy Strossen is reported to have said there was no difference between the single and double stamped grippers. Did I see the email from Randy Strossen? No. Just a secondhand report. #2. When I received my double stamped 2, I was already aware of the issue surrounding the degree of difficulty. I couldn't close it. I seasoned it the hard way: Bodyweight against the carpeted floor with the gripper in between...100 full closures. I still can't close it but am only 1/4"-3/8" away. #3. Dave Brown, a professional Highland Games athlete, who I've seen destroy a #3 and take a #4 down to 1/2"-3/4" without a warmup. Dave's a big boy...6'4" and about 365 lbs give or take a biscuit. Dave Garman, another Highland Games athlete, who pinches dimes between the handles of his #3 but hasn't fully closed it yet. Neither of these gents is a certified COC. Interesting aside: There is a fellow in the San Francisco Bay Area who attends various strength exhibitions and such. He brings along a device he calls "The World's Strongest Hands" The device appears to be some sort of a medical hand strength dynamometer with a dial to read the closing pressure. The device is peculiar in that the grips are parallel and very close together...very different from mashing a gripper. At the National Heavy Events Championships in Pleasanton, CA last year, we Highlanders gave the device a shot. Dave Brown had the highest reading of the day...275 ip per the device. The second highest was in the 270's as well by a glazier named Bob Torres. Jay Lyttle, COC #7 managed a 225 while Dale Harder (of "Strength and Speed Ratings" fame) and I hit about 200. Dale is 65 years old or so and I'm just a "grip punk". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sybersnott Posted April 11, 2002 Share Posted April 11, 2002 Yes, there IS a difference between the single-stamped gripper and the double-stamped gripper. I had todd_xxxx send me his double-stamped gripper. First of all, it was TWICE the weight of a normal gripper. Second, the strength was that of a BBM, and not of a #2. As for it being closer to a #3... probably not, since I was able to close it with ease. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bearcat 74 Posted April 11, 2002 Share Posted April 11, 2002 I agree with Mikael on this one. I have tried a few #3's, I have felt 2 single stamped #3's that would pass for a #2, I own one of them. I have tried 1 double #2, it was as close to a #3 as you could get without having a 3 on the bottom IMHO. They are made wider and the handles are deeper. The one I felt was harder than the 2 weaker #3's I've tried. Snott, I'm confused, if a double #2 is harder than a single stamped #2, you say a BBM, how is it not closer to a #3? I mean 2.5 is closer than 2 right? Also, I thought you said nothing had changed? Nothing has changed........... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Jeff Roark Posted April 12, 2002 Share Posted April 12, 2002 Heath or anybody else, have you closed a double stamped #3? If so how did it compare with the elite or #4. Heath when I hit my BBM for 3 you got to send me the weakest #3 you have!!! hehehe I'll take the easy path! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Jeff Roark Posted April 12, 2002 Share Posted April 12, 2002 Heath or anybody else, have you closed a double stamped #3? If so how did it compare with the elite or #4. Heath when I hit my BBM for 3 you got to send me the weakest #3 you have!!! hehehe I'll take the easy path! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sybersnott Posted April 14, 2002 Share Posted April 14, 2002 Bearcat, Well, of course it will be closer to a #3 than a #2, but NOT as difficult as the #3 is. The "nothing has changed" issue was referring to Strossen's attempt to make the grippers equally as difficult as they once were, but he doesn't care anymore. Now we have #2's that could pass as #3's, #1's that are weaker than Trainers, etc. His response is "just have fun with the grippers" can't wash anymore. It would be comparing a sports car to an SUV - they are different in so many ways. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Piche Posted April 14, 2002 Share Posted April 14, 2002 Geez guys, we all know there are differences..so what else is new? However, having a blanket statement that double-stamped are harder than single stamped is wrong. Again, I am sure it VARIES. I have a double-stamped and I have two single stamped. The double-stamped is now between the two for the grippers I HAVE. Again, what you get will vary. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Piche Posted April 14, 2002 Share Posted April 14, 2002 I have a double stamped NEW 3. Just got it. But, I am AFRAID to pick it up. I am SURE it will be harder with those beasty DOUBLE STAMPS!!! Ooooooh mmmmmmyyy. Come on guys. It's a 3. And, it feels in the normal range of a 3. I figure it's around 400-450 IP as usual (it isn't seasoned yet). Spring friction is about "average" so IP gives it about right. Yeah, I am bustin your chops a bit above in this post...don't start to let STAMPING create MENTAL blocks. Know what I mean? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest StrongerthanArne Posted April 14, 2002 Share Posted April 14, 2002 Wannagrip, Arne and I got three new double stamped #3's as well and they felt fairly normal for an unseasoned #3. Its the two #2's that stood out in the crowd. I can't speak for anybody elses bouble stamped #2's but the two we got were very hard for being a #2. One rep with Arne's 411 ip #3 equalled almost four with my bouble stamped #2 (by Joakim Palmqvist), which shows how hard it is. I have sold my old #2 but estimate that one rep on my double stamped #2 equals 15 or so reps with the old #2. My double stamped #2 was fully seasoned when I handed it to Joakim. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest StrongerthanArne Posted April 14, 2002 Share Posted April 14, 2002 Bouble? Mikael, what is a bouble? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Piche Posted April 14, 2002 Share Posted April 14, 2002 Maybe you got an oddball 2 in the lot? Sounds like it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest StrongerthanArne Posted April 14, 2002 Share Posted April 14, 2002 Well, the other double stamped #2 was only slightly easier to close than mine. I also handed my seasoned double stamped #2 to a guy who could close Arne's old #2 (the hardest out of three single stamped #2's) for eight reps. He could not close it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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