Slim Farman Is A Steel Scrolling God

[timiacobucci]

I just tried to scroll an 8' long peice of 1/2" x 1" hrs steel. This is just what I had leftover and I had no intentions of doing anything like Slim's scroll, it just happen to be the same dimensions and I really wanted to mess with it and see how it felt.

It was all I could do to coil it once. Even at 8 feet long. Erik sure as hell was right about me not having the power to coil it at 4'. I really do believe that may be impossible now. I did cross the ends after the coil, I call it the bomb. Haha

The Bomb

The reason I named this thread as I did is because I am not trying to show off my scroll. I was simply amazed at Slim's old one after trying this. I knew it was a psycho scroll but it was unrealistic, you know, I couldn't even comprehend what might be needed to do it. Now I know it takes waaaaay more strength than I am even close to having at this point.

This is the Slim's scroll I am refering to if anyone doesn't already know.

Slim Scroll

It is the exact same dimensions, 1/2" x 1" x 8'.

The coil took up so much of the center of the bar with it's bend radius there was only 35" of bar left on the 2 ends after. I could not even put the tiniest kink in this steel at that length. That 35" is measured grabbing well inside the coil for leverage also. I can't believe how strong you need to be to make 2 more complete loops in a bar of that dimension. Seriously 8 feet never felt so short.

Again I knew Slim was awesome before, and I knew that scroll was awesome, I just didn't have any idea just how very crazy it was until today. Slim is not just THE hammerman, he is THE steel scroller as well.

[Tim71]

Nice scroll Tim from one of the best going!

Slim is one incredible steel bender with tons and tons of natural strength. The way he kills that 1/2 by 1 inch bar which appears to be about 3 feet long at the AOBS dinner is just incredible. He could own the record today for 3/4 round if he wanted to I'm guessing. I mean you yourself said that the 1/2 inch by 1 inch is harder than 3/4 round and in my experience it's fairly close to my 3/4 round so either way it's an EXTREME bend and he makes it look so routine. Pulls it down with one hand. I bet Slim could do one hand pull-ups if he ever tried.

Slim had incredible genetics I believe and his freaky huge hands will probably assure that he will always own the hammer records.

Slim tells that he actually wanted to bring that scroll on around like he did with the 1 by 3/8 inch variety but even he couldn't do that.

Anymore I don't get to hung up on watching some of the big name strongmen but Slim is an exception. He truly impresses the heck out of me. Had he promoted himself as hard and heavy as some others have done he'd be the undisputed strongmen of modern times I believe. He's got that presence that very few have. He's kinda like the "Clint Eastwood" of the strongmen world..... everybody looks up to him.

Again, nice scroll. BTW, can you immagine the time Slim put into polishing and brushing that steel?

Tim (Tolbert version from Missouri)

[matthcarl]

Nice scroll, Tim. Slim's is OK, too, I guess

[EricMilfeld]

Tim, that's a real beauty of a creation!

[knyaz]

well done!!!

[Stew]

That's a cool scroll Tim, regardless of difficulty I actually prefer your one.

[timiacobucci]

He did a straight 3' peice at the dinner. Man I would love to see that. That is about the exact length I figure for the ends to put those second loops in. Man that is nuts. I can't imagine he would have much interest in the braced lists but yet he would for sure murder the long bar one for quite some time to come. Possibly forever.

That's a cool scroll Tim, regardless of difficulty I actually prefer your one.

Thanks allot for the comments, Slims scroll is maybe a bit less refined but that is because it is 10x harder. There is no way to compare the 2. That is like saying someone's shiny bend looks nicer than one of Gazza's 3/8" stainless bends. You guys seriously need to cut a peice of this stuff to size if you have access to it and see how it feels to coil it one time. There is no way to explain how rediculous this stuff is at the length he made that scroll.

And Tim that is allot of surface area to wire brush but man, I would clean up all his big scrolls for free if I could get to see him make them.

[justiceislost1988]

That's a cool scroll Tim, regardless of difficulty I actually prefer your one.

that's just crazy talk but good bending tim and i agree slim is a master of long bar and i think if he wanted to get involved with short steel he might demolish everybody too with that crazy wrist strength that levers 38 pound hammers off the floor to 90 degrees

[Stew]

That's a cool scroll Tim, regardless of difficulty I actually prefer your one.

that's just crazy talk but good bending tim and i agree slim is a master of long bar and i think if he wanted to get involved with short steel he might demolish everybody too with that crazy wrist strength that levers 38 pound hammers off the floor to 90 degrees

Not sure what crazy about prefering one scroll to another, to me ( just to me as not everyone is the same) the scrolling side is how they end up looking and for that reason only I like Tim's and i cant see whats wrong with that, If we are talking about the power it takes then to my mind its all guess work as when scrolling people get into all kinds of positions with there feet on the bar and everything which although still impressive isn't quite the same as bending something in 5 minutes without using your feet or it touching the ground.

With regard to who is the master of the long bar, David Horne is number 1 on the list with 40" at 3/4 20mm which is something like the equivelent of 35-36" of the true 19mm 3/4 steel most people use and as no one has said different I presume this is the best of all time. Mats Eriks 19mm bend is way harder than my 46" 20mm so should probably really be 2nd. (I have a bit more in me than the 46" but the 40" 20mm that David has done I cant get beyond about 50 degree's)

[Tim71]

Stew,

First I agree about the scrolling. Sometimes I've seen people standing on the bar as a fulcrum, especially on the 8 foot stuff although I highly suspect that Slim had to exert and incredible ammount of strength but yes scrolling is very hard to compare.

Second, David Horne is #1 for very good reason. I couldn't begin to kink that crazy bar he did and he does and always will have my highest respect and IS THE #1 long bar bender. All I was saying is it's incredible the way Slim murders what at least appears to be about a 3 foot piece of that steel. If what Tim says is true and it is possible that it's harder than 3/4 round then you have to see it to believe it. It's nowhere near a max 5 minute type bend. It's a show bend for him that he does with style. Heck the way he pulls down on it with one hand so quick is just amazing. For the record though and to give another perspective my 1/2 inch by 1 inch bar was a little easier than 3/4 round but probably slightly harder than 5/8 square. And to be totally fair some of the old timers used the old M1020 HRS (Slim mentions this in the bonus DVD) which can be as much as 20 percent easier than the minimum for A36. Might not be much different but it's possible according to the yield numbers. Also he never says it's 3 foot but it definately appears to be well under 4 feet. I'd say 3.5 feet at the longest but then again he is really tall so don't quote me on it.

If you haven't seen how he bends the bar, he wraps a long thin rag around on end and spirals it around the bar and wraps it around the other end. He pushes it down over his unpadded thigh to get a initial bend then he puts on end of the bar on his thigh like many of us do to grab the other end and pull down only he pulls down with only one hand while steadying the bar with his other hand in the middle. Then he crushes it down like a big spike with on hand on his thigh and pumping down. I didn't time it but I'd bet good money it's well under 30 seconds.

Not saying he should be #1 or anything like that I'm just saying it's pretty darn incredible.

Later,

Tim

[Stew]

Stew,

First I agree about the scrolling. Sometimes I've seen people standing on the bar as a fulcrum, especially on the 8 foot stuff although I highly suspect that Slim had to exert and incredible ammount of strength but yes scrolling is very hard to compare.

Second, David Horne is #1 for very good reason. I couldn't begin to kink that crazy bar he did and he does and always will have my highest respect and IS THE #1 long bar bender. All I was saying is it's incredible the way Slim murders what at least appears to be about a 3 foot piece of that steel. If what Tim says is true and it is possible that it's harder than 3/4 round then you have to see it to believe it. It's nowhere near a max 5 minute type bend. It's a show bend for him that he does with style. Heck the way he pulls down on it with one hand so quick is just amazing. For the record though and to give another perspective my 1/2 inch by 1 inch bar was a little easier than 3/4 round but probably slightly harder than 5/8 square. And to be totally fair some of the old timers used the old M1020 HRS (Slim mentions this in the bonus DVD) which can be as much as 20 percent easier than the minimum for A36. Might not be much different but it's possible according to the yield numbers. Also he never says it's 3 foot but it definately appears to be well under 4 feet. I'd say 3.5 feet at the longest but then again he is really tall so don't quote me on it.

If you haven't seen how he bends the bar, he wraps a long thin rag around on end and spirals it around the bar and wraps it around the other end. He pushes it down over his unpadded thigh to get a initial bend then he puts on end of the bar on his thigh like many of us do to grab the other end and pull down only he pulls down with only one hand while steadying the bar with his other hand in the middle. Then he crushes it down like a big spike with on hand on his thigh and pumping down. I didn't time it but I'd bet good money it's well under 30 seconds.

Not saying he should be #1 or anything like that I'm just saying it's pretty darn incredible.

Later,

Tim

Totally agree with you on all of that Tim, I havn't seen slim bending but I will make sure I do now as it sounds pretty incredible and to be fair I havn't done enough of any of this yet to know a great deal, but my pet hate in all sports (especially strongman) is when people say something along the lines of "oh if so and so decided to do this he would destroy all the records" or worse still stongmen claiming to pull more in training than the world records but never doing it in a comp.

I hate this just becuase I feel it belittle's the record and doesn't show much respect for the record holder who is after all the person who has had not only the ability but the balls to back up what there saying by doing it in public.

Obviously the record holder in this case is a friend of mine so I feel pretty strongly about it, but you also hold a pretty incredible record yourself Tim with your 1/2" bend which is number 1 in its category also and no more or less impressive than David's bend, I would feel just the same if someone was claiming (either for themselves or for someone else) the best spike bend without actually proving it.

I am not knocking Slim who is obviously pretty incredible, I'm just saying when we are talking about rewriting records you have to compare like with like and go by what people have actually done rather than what they might do.

[nickr104]

At the AOBS A few years back, I think Slim was 70 or 71 in his show he did a 1" X 1/2" flat bar in under a min. that was well under 4'. I don't know if it was 3' ,But by looking at it up close when he was done it was well under 4" for sure. It was unreal seeing somone over 70 dominating steel that big.

[timiacobucci]

Not sure what crazy about prefering one scroll to another, to me ( just to me as not everyone is the same) the scrolling side is how they end up looking and for that reason only I like Tim's and i cant see whats wrong with that.

There ain't nothing wrong with that. Scrolling is artistic, some of my hardest scrolls in the past look like crap. It takes allot of practice and an artisitc eye to visualize how to make one actually look good. That side of it is entirely subjective. I am only starting to get better at that, Erik is the master of that. I think he could speed scroll something in 5 minutes with little thought it would still come out looking awesome.

I did admit Slim's scroll really isn't the prettiest, the coils are symetrical or very evenly spaced. He seems like a simple guy, just bend something the hardest way possible, and to the end that scroll is the best that has ever been done to my knowledge.

I hate this just becuase I feel it belittle's the record and doesn't show much respect for the record holder who is after all the person who has had not only the ability but the balls to back up what there saying by doing it in public.

First I agree about the scrolling. Sometimes I've seen people standing on the bar as a fulcrum, especially on the 8 foot stuff although I highly suspect that Slim had to exert and incredible ammount of strength but yes scrolling is very hard to compare.

I am not trying to belittle David at all, I have great respect for his bends, but you just have to try and coil this stuff to experience it. It is nothing like just fishing it. I did try anything and everything, standing on it and bouncing. I just don't weigh enough, this steel is waay past the point where that kind of stuff even works. You have to lock it in on you and use internal forces pushing against yourself holding it in place. Nothing else works.

To coil that scroll on the ends they had to be around 35" and that is waay past his max for a simple U, coiling it around has to be at least 20-30 percent harder than that, maybe more. Lots of people have seen him easily do show bends with nearly 3' bars of this stuff. This was very public. We are not speculating, this is stuff he has done in front of lots of people. And you also have to consider the source, if some random guy like me comes on and says he just beat David's 5/8" record you need to question it. I am not saying that by the way. Slim has to be one of the most proven and authentic strongmen alive, I don't think even David is going to question this. When someone can bend a 1" x 1/2" hrs bar into 3 loops in under 8' that is when I will have any doubt as to who is the strongest long bar bender.

Please I don't mean to sound like and ass here, but there isn't much point in debating this if you haven't tried it. Just go grab some of this stuff as soon as you can and try it. I think it may really change your opinions on this. I would love to see David give it a go too, I bet he would be an awesome scroller.

[climber511]

I've done a few pieces of 1/2" x 1" flat bar stock now - it's very humbling to say the least. Just bending it was all I could manage, scrolling it is something I thought about "before" I actually tried it. I want to try Slim's scroll with just 3/8" stock as soon as I get to town again to buy steel. I think that's more my speed. I only wish I could have watched Slim in his prime, I read everything I ever found about him and I've seen the videos of him in his 70's - heck, he may still be the bull of the woods even now.

Oh, and Tim - what you did in coiling it is still one heck of a bend/scroll - great job!

[justiceislost1988]

Stew,

First I agree about the scrolling. Sometimes I've seen people standing on the bar as a fulcrum, especially on the 8 foot stuff although I highly suspect that Slim had to exert and incredible ammount of strength but yes scrolling is very hard to compare.

Second, David Horne is #1 for very good reason. I couldn't begin to kink that crazy bar he did and he does and always will have my highest respect and IS THE #1 long bar bender. All I was saying is it's incredible the way Slim murders what at least appears to be about a 3 foot piece of that steel. If what Tim says is true and it is possible that it's harder than 3/4 round then you have to see it to believe it. It's nowhere near a max 5 minute type bend. It's a show bend for him that he does with style. Heck the way he pulls down on it with one hand so quick is just amazing. For the record though and to give another perspective my 1/2 inch by 1 inch bar was a little easier than 3/4 round but probably slightly harder than 5/8 square. And to be totally fair some of the old timers used the old M1020 HRS (Slim mentions this in the bonus DVD) which can be as much as 20 percent easier than the minimum for A36. Might not be much different but it's possible according to the yield numbers. Also he never says it's 3 foot but it definately appears to be well under 4 feet. I'd say 3.5 feet at the longest but then again he is really tall so don't quote me on it.

If you haven't seen how he bends the bar, he wraps a long thin rag around on end and spirals it around the bar and wraps it around the other end. He pushes it down over his unpadded thigh to get a initial bend then he puts on end of the bar on his thigh like many of us do to grab the other end and pull down only he pulls down with only one hand while steadying the bar with his other hand in the middle. Then he crushes it down like a big spike with on hand on his thigh and pumping down. I didn't time it but I'd bet good money it's well under 30 seconds.

Not saying he should be #1 or anything like that I'm just saying it's pretty darn incredible.

Later,

Tim

I've done a few pieces of 1/2" x 1" flat bar stock now - it's very humbling to say the least. Just bending it was all I could manage, scrolling it is something I thought about "before" I actually tried it. I want to try Slim's scroll with just 3/8" stock as soon as I get to town again to buy steel. I think that's more my speed. I only wish I could have watched Slim in his prime, I read everything I ever found about him and I've seen the videos of him in his 70's - heck, he may still be the bull of the woods even now.

Oh, and Tim - what you did in coiling it is still one heck of a bend/scroll - great job!

slim bends like a true oldtimer does and like they did way back and it's pretty crazy to talk about slim in his prime because he is in his prime right now and he is still doing heavier hammers all the time but i didn't mean to say it rude either stew i just don't understand how you can like a simple standard fish over slims masterpiece nothing against your scroll tim

[timiacobucci]

i just don't understand how you can like a simple standard fish over slims masterpiece nothing against your scroll tim

Well it's a bit more than a simple fish no? No offense taken though, comparing our scrolls is apples to oranges, they are on totally different levels, that was really the point of this thread. I was just saying how insane I now realize Slim's scroll really is.

[Tim71]

Stew,

You have to keep in mind too this is a Slim thread. I would've never said anything about Slim in a David Horne thread. Actually, I have a similiar mindset about David and his bends. Sure we know what his record is but to me the incredible thing is he doesn't hardly bend. It's no different than Slim, because believe me I've wondered alot what David could bend if he specialized in for a while. What's he bent now only a few bars total in a year's time?

Oh yeah, keep after him about trying that 7/8 inch bar. I feel very strong he can do it and I've been wanting to see that bend for a long time.

I guess that's the way I should've put it that Slim would get the list AS IT STANDS NOW some serious trouble but if David would bend regularly I'm sure he could do quite a bit better too and take it back. Or you for that matter.

Bad thing about the really long bar bending is that it gets expensive to practice.

Tim

[timiacobucci]

Don't forget Mats, I wish he would work on the long stuff more too. Don't worry about that 7/8" bar Tim, I will get it someday even if noone else decides to keep after it.

[Stew]

Stew,

You have to keep in mind too this is a Slim thread. I would've never said anything about Slim in a David Horne thread. Actually, I have a similiar mindset about David and his bends. Sure we know what his record is but to me the incredible thing is he doesn't hardly bend. It's no different than Slim, because believe me I've wondered alot what David could bend if he specialized in for a while. What's he bent now only a few bars total in a year's time?

Oh yeah, keep after him about trying that 7/8 inch bar. I feel very strong he can do it and I've been wanting to see that bend for a long time.

I guess that's the way I should've put it that Slim would get the list AS IT STANDS NOW some serious trouble but if David would bend regularly I'm sure he could do quite a bit better too and take it back. Or you for that matter.

Bad thing about the really long bar bending is that it gets expensive to practice.

Tim

Tim,

I have no doubt that Slim is amazing and the more I have researched the more amazed I am at the feats the man has done so no disrespect meant to him in bringing up David.

With regard to the 7/8, I was at David's last week and he has actually managed to get a bit of movement in the 7/8 bar I gave him which although was maybe only half an inch it is a start and shows its possible.

[Tim71]

Stew,

I didn't realize he had tried it after all. Wow! I didn't know it would be quite that tough. It's obviously quite a bit tougher than the 3/4 square then.

No wonder anybody has done it yet.

Tim, go for it. I may even start up with it again. I just kinked my iso bar of steelworks 3/4 by 3 feet over my thigh so maybe we'll start up with the long stuff again.

Tim

[aeroman]

I am not a bender and really not much of a gripper either but have read some stuff here and there. That leads me to the question: Do any of Brookfield's bends and scrolls compare with Slim's or other current top benders? Or have all of his feats been surpassed?

Thanks for humoring me.

Karl

[Tim71]

John is still incredible. Just a different style of scrolling.

Tim