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Oiling Gripper Springs


hamil1km

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I've never done this with any of my C o C's or HG grippers. Should I just use a little wd-40? How often to ya'll do this?

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I've never done this with any of my C o C's or HG grippers. Should I just use a little wd-40? How often to ya'll do this?

I read that some people use the 3-in-1 oil. Not sure if there would be much of a difference, but I have no idea. :)

Michael

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Yeah, I use 3 in 1 for the spring. I do it everytime I clean the gripper...which, now that I think of it, isn't very often. :blink

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I use 3-in-1. Way cleaner than WD, lasts for a long time, and smells nice :D

Edited by Magnus
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Guest Bullitt

I used WD 40. Stopped the squeaking. I guess i need to get some 3-1. Is WD bad?

How often do people typically clean and oil their grippers?

Edited by Bullitt
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I used WD 40. Stopped the squeaking. I guess i need to get some 3-1. Is WD bad?

How often do people typically clean and oil their grippers?

No, it's not bad, it's just that (IMO) 3-in-1's better.

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I clean my handles whenever I feel that dirt, grime, or even excess chalk is affecting the grip/friction/quality of the knurling. As for my Springs, whenever they squeak I oil them, probably once a month?

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I use Liquid Wrench Silicone Spray. It seems to keep the springs "slick" longer. I'm not sure if it is the best, but I like it.

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Guest Bullitt

The only thing I worry about is how much easier does oiling the springs make the close. I'm not looking to make them easier and get a false sense of security. I just oiled mine to get rid of the squeaking. It didn't seem any easier, but does anybody know if this actually makes them easier to close? If so, by how much? I think I read somewhere on the board that it might decrease the poundage by 2 - 3lbs.

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I used WD 40. Stopped the squeaking. I guess i need to get some 3-1. Is WD bad?

How often do people typically clean and oil their grippers?

No, it's not bad, it's just that (IMO) 3-in-1's better.

I've tried a few, PTFE sprays like GT85, WD40 and multi purpose oils like 151 or 3in1 and have found the oils to be better.

The thinner oils tended to clean the springs but not give adequate lubrication, with the GT85 I actually found that after an application my RBs would squeak and bind more than they did beforehand. Next time I get round to a bit of gripper maintenance I shall use some 10-40w engine oil! :)

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Hi. Yesterday i did an experiment with one of my brand new #3,5:s

First i calibrated it straight out of the package, the result 80 kg.

next i oild it and it still calibrated 80 kg.

Next i closed it rather rapidly but not violently 200 times using a extended pipe when it was still in the RGC device, it still calibrated 80 kg!

I thought the oil would make it easier and certanly the 200 closes but none of it mattered....

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Guest Bullitt
Hi. Yesterday i did an experiment with one of my brand new #3,5:s

First i calibrated it straight out of the package, the result 80 kg.

next i oild it and it still calibrated 80 kg.

Next i closed it rather rapidly but not violently 200 times using a extended pipe when it was still in the RGC device, it still calibrated 80 kg!

I thought the oil would make it easier and certanly the 200 closes but none of it mattered....

Thanks Cap. That makes me feel a lot better. My #3 actually felt a bit harder after the WD40. Seemed like it binded a bit. That went away. I just wanted to make sure I wasn't fooling myself.

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Hi. Yesterday i did an experiment with one of my brand new #3,5:s

First i calibrated it straight out of the package, the result 80 kg.

next i oild it and it still calibrated 80 kg.

Next i closed it rather rapidly but not violently 200 times using a extended pipe when it was still in the RGC device, it still calibrated 80 kg!

I thought the oil would make it easier and certanly the 200 closes but none of it mattered....

One experiment is better than a million opinions. :)

Thanks for sharing your experiment!

MJ

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Oiling a old squeaky gripper DOES typicaly make a few lb's difference on a rgc. Proved in DFW over and over again. Dont know about out of the package, but it does help it stay consistent over the years IMO. Consistency is key to being able to judge your own progress, oil it often and it will be consistently the same strength. When trying a binding squeaky gripper just of of reach of your max, oiling it will often times make all the difference. We use 3 in 1.

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Guest Bullitt

Mine was only a couple weeks old when I oiled it. No discernable dif. Other than the first day it seemed to bind a bit. After that, it seemed about the same. Makes sense that it would make an old squeaky one easier. Thanks a lot everybody and thanks again for the experiment on the new gripper Cap!

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No problem guys!

I actually like calibrating grippers and experimenting.

I personal thoughts on the subject is. Oiling the gripper makes the sweep easier because you can develop more speed aka explosivnes and that goes a long way when trying to close at your limit, therefore the gripper FEELS easier in pounds. However when you get to where the handles touch i think in most cases the poundage is the same, oiled or not. This i think is because when the handles toutch the spring is very "open" and hence there is less friction to take into acount than on the way in.

I will make more calibrations and i will let you all know my results....

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i only oil when i scrub down the whole gripper with a plastic brush , i use just enough to make them look new.

rico

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I dug up a old thread about this topic started by Eric, check out the data. . .

http://www.gripboard.com/index.php?showtop...;hl=calibration

That was a good thread. I'm more confident that silicon based spray is the best "gripper-lube." I've noticed the same problems with organic oils and wd-40. Both will become guey in a few days. Additionally, the WD-40 doesn't completely stop the spring from binding and grinding. When I use silicon based liquid wrench, I get smooth closes for days.

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There is a good reason NOT to oil the springs of a gripper you're trying to close. For me anyhow.

I got the COC #2.5 about 6 months ago. Took it out of the package and never oiled it. Soon it started creaking but I found this to be useful! The noise told me when I was getting movement. This is great motivation. Also it helps you learn to apply force more effectively to the gripper. I think it sped up my progress, now I'm working on an unoiled #3. It worked for me, maybe worth a try for you.

I do oil grippers I can do reps on though.

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Casey nailed it - we've done so many experiments and had so many discussions about this that I'm blue in the face. Its very simply - you can do what ever you want with your grippers, but what you do with them will determine how they feel/difficulty. If you buy a new gripper and take it out of the package and use it for say six months and leave it in your garage, the gripper WILL get harder as the spring begins to get chalk/dirt/rust in it. You may like the fact that the gripper is getting harder by thinking of it as a progression gripper, so if that's the case don't ever oil your spring - now if you take that same gripper and oil it after six months, it WILL feel alot easier and I've seen differences as high as 18lbs coming from an unoiled calibration result on to an oil result on the exact same gripper - so oiling makes a huge difference. Saying that it's cheating by making it easier or however you want to word it is silly because your simply returning it to its original condition that you got it the day you removed it from the package 6 months prior, so in reality the gripper had only been gettingg hard over time without any preventive maintanence. This proccess can vary depending on how you store your grippers - if they are garage kept, they can build up with gunk alot faster than if you keep them in a drawer in your house. The way I maintain my grippers, is taking a soft wire brush to the handles when I think too much chalk is building up on the handles or if I'm going for a max close in which I do it out of routine whether they need it or not and I use 3 and 1 for oil on the spring when I can't see a coat of oil on the spring anymore with my eye and again, out of routine, I will also oil before a max close. I'm not saying that 3 and 1 is the best cause I really don't know for sure, but it seems to work well as far as staying on the spring for a good while without having to oil the damn thing so much - WD-40 seems to wear off alot faster and is why I don't use it anymore. If you are wanting to conduct an experiment your self, keep in mind that you shouldn't come to a conclusion on one or two different test, but a series of test with different gripper that have been sitting without oil for different lengths of time - also keep in mind the material of the spring - some are chrome plated, brass plated, raw and plastic coated ( I think that HG's have a thin coating of plastic on their springs - correct me if I'm wrong ) the differnt types of spring material can change the out come as well - for example: I own an FBBC HARD and it squeaked very little, but it did squeak so I oiled it ...... I went for a close on it after the oiling and it squeaked and bound up waaaaaaay more than it had before oiling - WTF? don't ask me, but it did. Anywho, oiling of grippers has been a very interesting subject for me because it seems to be a frivolous variable to worry about but come to find out, it can make all the difference in the world.

here's the vid of the FBBC Hard gripper - post oiling .......... it barely squeaked before ........ turn your volume up

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Guest Bullitt

I got my 2.5 two months ago. It was starting to really bind up. I oiled it for the first time yesterday and was amazed at how much dirt/rust washed out. I ended up oiling it with WD-40 and wiping it off 4 times, before the oil coming off of it was clear. Smooth as silk now.

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The only thing I worry about is how much easier does oiling the springs make the close. I'm not looking to make them easier and get a false sense of security. I just oiled mine to get rid of the squeaking. It didn't seem any easier, but does anybody know if this actually makes them easier to close? If so, by how much? I think I read somewhere on the board that it might decrease the poundage by 2 - 3lbs.

sometimes oiling doesn't make mauch of a difference - it all depends on how the spring presses against itself - some springs are wound tightly against themselves .. in this case oiling would help more - if your gripper is already in fairly good shape even if the spring is tightly wound, the oiling, again, may not make much of a difference - maybe 2-3lbs like you said, or if it's a gripper where the spring isn't already bound up on itself and you have always been able to see small gaps between the spring coils then you may never need to oil this type of gripper or the difference will simply be minimal between oiling or not, but if it's a gripper that has been sitting in your humid dungeon for along time without any kind of oiling and the coils are already pressed tightly together, the difference could be vast - so once again, in a nutshell, it's on a case to case basis with each gripper. some respond nicely to oil, others don't

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The only thing I worry about is how much easier does oiling the springs make the close. I'm not looking to make them easier and get a false sense of security. I just oiled mine to get rid of the squeaking. It didn't seem any easier, but does anybody know if this actually makes them easier to close? If so, by how much? I think I read somewhere on the board that it might decrease the poundage by 2 - 3lbs.

sometimes oiling doesn't make mauch of a difference - it all depends on how the spring presses against itself - some springs are wound tightly against themselves .. in this case oiling would help more - if your gripper is already in fairly good shape even if the spring is tightly wound, the oiling, again, may not make much of a difference - maybe 2-3lbs like you said, or if it's a gripper where the spring isn't already bound up on itself and you have always been able to see small gaps between the spring coils then you may never need to oil this type of gripper or the difference will simply be minimal between oiling or not, but if it's a gripper that has been sitting in your humid dungeon for along time without any kind of oiling and the coils are already pressed tightly together, the difference could be vast - so once again, in a nutshell, it's on a case to case basis with each gripper. some respond nicely to oil, others don't

Hey Paul, this is way off topic but what made you decide to stop fighting MMA?

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The only thing I worry about is how much easier does oiling the springs make the close. I'm not looking to make them easier and get a false sense of security. I just oiled mine to get rid of the squeaking. It didn't seem any easier, but does anybody know if this actually makes them easier to close? If so, by how much? I think I read somewhere on the board that it might decrease the poundage by 2 - 3lbs.

sometimes oiling doesn't make mauch of a difference - it all depends on how the spring presses against itself - some springs are wound tightly against themselves .. in this case oiling would help more - if your gripper is already in fairly good shape even if the spring is tightly wound, the oiling, again, may not make much of a difference - maybe 2-3lbs like you said, or if it's a gripper where the spring isn't already bound up on itself and you have always been able to see small gaps between the spring coils then you may never need to oil this type of gripper or the difference will simply be minimal between oiling or not, but if it's a gripper that has been sitting in your humid dungeon for along time without any kind of oiling and the coils are already pressed tightly together, the difference could be vast - so once again, in a nutshell, it's on a case to case basis with each gripper. some respond nicely to oil, others don't

Hey Paul, this is way off topic but what made you decide to stop fighting MMA?

had a couple bad injuries ie .. gade 4 seperation of my clavical - needed a full AC reconstruction surgery to fix it which it took over a year to heal and when I finally started getting back into the swing of things - I was helping one of my training partners to get ready for his WEC fight, we were sparring in the cage and he broke my jaw - after that finally healed, I had sorta lost interest beacause I started getting into all this grip stuff again and have been having tons of fun with it since. ah well

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