Calibrated Grippers

[Jose Jara]

Yesterday, my friend Jorge and me, calibrated the grippers that we have.

Jorge has the Baraban's, some of Beef Builders, HG's and Ironmind's, 21 grippers. I have 16 grippers from Beef Builders, Ironmind and Heavy Grips.

Jorge built the calibrator inspired by the Red Neck Calibrator of Dave Morton. The results are: (the weight of the loading pin and carabiner is not included)

Grippers of Jorge

RB130: 35 k

#1: 38,75 k

#1.5: 45 k

HG250: 47,5 k

RB160: 50 k......................2.0

#2: 50 k...........................2.0

RB180: 52,5 k...................2.1

HG300: 60 k......................2.4

SuperMaster: 63,75 k.........2.55

#2.5: 63,75 k....................2.55

#3: 70 k............................2.8

RB240: 71,25 k..................2.85

GrandMaster: 71,25 k.........2.85

MM1: 72,5 k.......................2.9

RB260: 73,75 k..................2.95

Elite: 80 k..........................3.2

RB300: 95 k.......................3.8

Grippers of Jose

#1: 38,75 k

HG250: 46,25 k

#2: 51,25 k........................2.05

#2.5: 62.5 k.......................2.5

SuperMaster: 63.75 k..........2.55

HG300: 67.5 k.....................2.7

GrandMaster: 71,25 k..........2.85

RB300N: 72,5 k...................2.9

#3: 73,75 k.........................2.95

MM1: 80 k...........................3.2

MM2: 81,25 k......................3.25

Elite: 82.5 k........................3.3

#3.5: 87.5 k (not calibrated yesterday, another day...but by the results the other day is 5 kg more than the Elite)...3.5

#4: 102,5 k........................4.1

I want to know the result of my SuperElite, i think is 3.6 or 3.7.

The results are taken with the consideration that my #2.5 is 2.5.

[Martin_Arildsson]

Nice, but you should have included the weight from the loading pin and carabiner. All other who has calibrated their grippers has included that weight.

[Teemu I]

Martin is right, the weight of the loading pin and carabiner and everything that is hanging from the gripper should be included.

I also think your ratings are a bit off. Average #3 is supposed to be 150 lbs or 68,1 kilos. So the ratings on your list should be harder for every gripper listed. For example, #4 calibrated at 102,5 kg is closer to 4,3 on the CoC-scale. Elite calibrated at 82,5 kg should be slightly over 3,5. When you include the weight of the loading pin etc. those grippers will, of course, turn out to be even harder.

[Jorge Gonzalez]

Only it is a result guide. The gauge is successful well, we had problems with the way of loading the weight in the gripper; and it is not the same thing to leave it to fall loudly on the grippers that slow, there are variations with regard to it.

It is true that it is necessary to add the weight of the accessories .

Jose has orientated the percentages on coc2.5.The problem is taken as a reference gripper that in absolute terms is exactly one coc2 a coc2.5 or coc3; But using as a guide the CoC. So we felt that the more l approached that was COc2.5.

However it is important to differentiate between our grippers which are more or less strong

It is necessary to us to add the plank of wood and obtain a form mas sure of doing the calibration; but nonetheless is orientativo with regard to our grippers, not with regard to the grippers calibrated with Dave Morton.

This is not the final, there will be more attempts

[mobsterone]

Nice, but you should have included the weight from the loading pin and carabiner. All other who has calibrated their grippers has included that weight.

Martin is right, the weight of the loading pin and carabiner and everything that is hanging from the gripper should be included.

I also think your ratings are a bit off. Average #3 is supposed to be 150 lbs or 68,1 kilos. So the ratings on your list should be harder for every gripper listed. For example, #4 calibrated at 102,5 kg is closer to 4,3 on the CoC-scale. Elite calibrated at 82,5 kg should be slightly over 3,5. When you include the weight of the loading pin etc. those grippers will, of course, turn out to be even harder.

Only it is a result guide. The gauge is successful well, we had problems with the way of loading the weight in the gripper; and it is not the same thing to leave it to fall loudly on the grippers that slow, there are variations with regard to it.

It is true that it is necessary to add the weight of the accessories .

Jose has orientated the percentages on coc2.5.The problem is taken as a reference gripper that in absolute terms is exactly one coc2 a coc2.5 or coc3; But using as a guide the CoC. So we felt that the more l approached that was COc2.5.

However it is important to differentiate between our grippers which are more or less strong

It is necessary to us to add the plank of wood and obtain a form mas sure of doing the calibration; but nonetheless is orientativo with regard to our grippers, not with regard to the grippers calibrated with Dave Morton.

This is not the final, there will be more attempts

And to what ends will such results and knowledge thereof be used? To my mind we can only use a rating worth a mention in contest situations with the outside possibility of using grippers of ours that we have calibrated to compare against said event grippers. In other words I shut a gripper that the above scale suggests is 3.7 and come an event I am able to do the same in competition with something close.

But that relies on event grippers being tested and rated in the same way. In reality it seems worthless for day to day gripper work. If the comparison and means of doing so is not even close then knowing that a gripper requires 72.5-kilos of pressure to close means nothing. We all know, even if Randall denies it, that we can feel small differences in the strength etc from one gripper to the next, batch to batch and so on but if, and most do, you have enough then you'll have one hard enough to make it damned difficult to close and that's the one you should be working towards regardless of whatever rating it might get and it'll be close to the one you close at a competition.

Here endeth the lesson.

[viper]

whats the mount an spread width on that rb300?

[Jorge Gonzalez]

Viper, the Rb300 is very wide, but I have no meter to measure it here, and see if what measure these days and what you say. Anyway is a gripper very hard slightly stronger than my BBSE

With respect to the calibrator the problem I see is that when I hang the strings to gripper this must be so hard or soft measurement varies because so sharp falls more inertia.

I calibrated some gripper in which if whether there had been sharply plays, and if this is done with smoothness is interrupted half a centimeter.

Anyway, the total result is significant, although there are similar grippers as Rb240 and BBGM, which apparently gave the same and in the training seems slightly stronger the BBGM.

Also, the conditions under which the measure are rigorous than anything we can, but we fail to 100 by 100.

[viper]

i was thinking it must have a wide spread, my rb300 an rb330 are the lowest mounted grippers i own out of probably 25, but they also have sub 2 3/4 spreads >i can understand a low mounted and wide spread 300 being 4ish

[mobsterone]

As Viper has mentioned the spread you also confirm that grippers calibrated as requiring the same poundage to require closing in fact feel harder because of differing spreads. I think that the weigh grippers were 'calibrated' before required literally one standard (I think it was a 3) gripper. By having a large batch to compare you take the average (a neither too hard or too easy gripper) and use that as your mark. Ditto 2's, 4's and so on. Using the poundage method on those grippers allowed an easy comparison with HG, RB and BB grippers.

But you already knew which of your grippers felt hard and which easy without 'calibrating'. Hence my earlier question.

[Jorge Gonzalez]

That is true. Always feel the slight variations between the grippers without the need to adjust.

There are also grippers of identical pressure but with a force greater than the closing others, or others who are stronger in the beginning that the closure; And then you can put a value equal to adjust and be able to close one but another no.

[Jorge Gonzalez]

The spread of the RB300 is 7.7cms.

And the mounting is 0.75cms aproximately.

[mobsterone]

That is true. Always feel the slight variations between the grippers without the need to adjust.

There are also grippers of identical pressure but with a force greater than the closing others, or others who are stronger in the beginning that the closure; And then you can put a value equal to adjust and be able to close one but another no.

I've 19 or so grippers and can line them up in the order of easiest to hardest in about 1 minute. I have never properly measured the spreads nor pushed any on scales etc. I know some are harder or easier compared to other grippers from competition and the occasional one I've used belonging to other people.

[Jorge Gonzalez]

Rb300 measures were in response to the question Viper.

Yes, I agree; But in some grippers very uneven am not able to say which one is stronger.

That is why adjust and learn the differences between grippers very equal, Jose and me.

[Teemu I]

This calibration method can be useful. In Finland, the grippers used in competition are calibrated with the same method. So, despite the fact that grippers vary, you can have a pretty good guideline what gripper/grippers to attempt in the competition. There's a better chance you will not waste strength on to something that's way too hard for you. I know that I have just a couple of better squeezes in me, that allow me to make my own record on a good day. I wouldn't want to waste my energy on to some hard gripper, if I knew that it is calibrated to be of level that I haven't been able to close in training.

This calibration method doesn't however tell about the spread's impact on the gripper's actual hardness experienced only by human hands. But still, it gives some guideline that is nice for the reasons I mentioned. Get's even a bit closer to events, where the weight plates are used as a resistance and you have a pretty good idea where to start.

Edited October 16, 2007 by Teemu I

[Jorge Gonzalez]

I agree totally.

It is not a science but it is a very good approximation for the knowledge of the hardness of the grippers.

And if the aim is that in the future it was possible to do some competition in Spain, this would be a very good point of item for the correlation of the grippers; which should be improved certainly.