Fattening a grip

[DanielB89]

I have never purchased a new bow.  I always buy them used.  My most recent purchase was a big Jim Thunderchild.  MAN, IT IS A NICE BOW!!!  One of my only complaint about the bow is how straight the grip is.  It's not a complaint, bc the bow was not built to my specs.

I ordered a shure grip from the nothing point for the grip that I wanted, but still needed a way to make the grip more of a locator grip.  

Here is what I came up with.  


Before
 

After

 

 

 

I had 2 old tennis wraps from my "glory days" and just started wrapping them.  IT helped to put a lot more "meat" in my palm.  I am going to put the shure grip over these wraps to make it look a little better.  

Anyone do anything different?  Something I could do that would work better?  I wouldn't mind beefing it up a little more, but don't have another wrap on hand.

[macbow]

Sure know how to hide the pretty riser.
If your looking for permanent I have molded a special grip,for a,friend with a mangled hand. I used Bondo. And shaped to his liking then the sure grip went over it.

If this was a bow you plan to keep modifying it would be,worth it.
Maybe even send it to Big Jim for mod.

[DanielB89]

IT does hide the riser, but so does my hand when shooting.  It helped me shoot moreconsistent with it.  I wonder exactly what Jim could do with it..

That might would be something to look at.

[Sixby]

Tape the diminsions , Around, and across and depth. Build up with bondo and let set a bit. The wearing a rubber glove grip the bow and pull it a bit until your hand impresses the bondo to the shape of your hand. Let set completely, the feather the grip out and add a thin leather grip or tape off the bow and paint just the grip area with a flat black or what ever color you want it. Paint and light sand until it looks great. Then Spray with some Helmsman SAtin a couple of times and take the tape off. You will have an un believeable grip./ Be sure to check with Jim first because you do not want to void the warranty.

another thing you can do is what you have already done and then put a Sure Grip over it. One of the black rubber ones.

God bless, steve

[DanielB89]

Steve,

that is exactly what i'm going to do.  The sure grip shipped yesterday.  I might get another tennis wrap or 2 and try to make it a little larger in the palm.  It just helps me be more consistent when shooting.  It's amazing what those 2 wraps have already done.  They're pretty soft, so when you apply the pressure of the bow, you can't feel the seems.

[Overspined]

Take a belt sander to it!!

[Red Beastmaster]

I use electrical tape and a Sure Grip. Works just fine.

[M60gunner]

I remember going through the big grip time. Tennis wrap and all. I did the Bondo thing as well. It was when I had a Black Widow that I started going the other way. Maybe because I started to shoot straight grip LB's. Now I want the lowest, smallest grip I can get. I wonder what changes our way of thinking which feels best?

[DanielB89]

You know, I have a black widow and it has definitely made me like a smaller grip, but I do like a little palm swell.  i don't really care for making the grip that much fatter, but do care abou tmaking it fill out my palm more.  


I'm sure i'll be there some day.

[RGKulas]

I just redid a grip for a friend by mixing up a homemade batch silicone rubber. Its soft, good even when wet, reduces shock and can be removed without harming the bow's finish. Its custom molded to the bow and the users hand and can be mixed with pigment to be any color one wants and its costs very little. (about $2)

[Kris]

I have used wood filler (Elmers brand?) that hardens and that you can sand.  Do a neat job, then wrap with leather as you would with any typical grip.

Beauty of this method and material is that you can continue to change/adjust as needed.  Just add more goop, sand and shape to desired dimensions.  

Always allow for the leather thickness as a 1/16" of leather can add a lot to the feel of a grip.

Good topic -

Kris

[ranger 3]

Dan does your widow have the Asbel grip?

[K.S.TRAPPER]

I use tape to protect the wood, build up the handle were I need it with layers of leather and contact cement. Shave it down till I get it where I want then sand it smooth and finish with a nice tight fiting leather grip.

Then later if you want to take it back off to sell its very easy to remove and leaves no marks on the bow. I hate seeing a beautiful bow like that all covered up with tape        but I guess what ever works.  

Tracy

[DanielB89]

Originally posted by ranger 3:
Dan does your widow have the Asbel grip?

I have no idea.  I bought it used. lol.  I just take what I get and try to fix it.  At first the grip on the Widow was really uncomfortable, but i stuck with it, now it is nice.  The grip on the thunderchild wasn't bad, I just didn't like how flat it was.  I'm still trying to figure out exactly what I want to do with it.  I would like to do something where I could sand it to exaclty what I want it to be.

[Orion]

I do what K.S does.  I like a process that's reversible and that doesn't damage the bow. Also, the leather won't compress like several layers of bandage/tape,etc.

[**DONOTDELETE**]

Hey Dan,

I know you've been doing this awhile, but even though a palm swell may feel more comfortable in the hand, it can cause inconsistency if any pressure is applied to it during the draw cycle at all.

All the pressure should be applied to the thumb pad area with the life line on the edge of the grip. Having a flat spot in the grip allowing you to rotate your hand to 45 degrees is best.

 Typically when the proper grip alignment is achieved, your palm shouldn't have any contact with the grip at all, and your fingers should be totally relaxed.

check out this video

 

[DanielB89]

Kirk,

I have always liked some pressure on my palm.  I don't think I do too bad.  Won the howard hill Longbow division this year.  I have found that bows with flat grips are REALLY inconsistent to me.  I can not get a consistent grip on them.  Maybe in my elder years I will, but until that time I'm going to have to have a little palm swell.    

I could use a really good FAST recurve around 62/64" for competitions.. just saying..  

[**DONOTDELETE**]

Well what ever you are doing, it sounds pretty darn consistent for you, and that's what it's all about.

The point i was making was, that for the majority of guys out there,  that flat spot in the grip allows them a spot for their thumb pad to settle into the same every time. It forces you to rotate your bow hand perfectly, and get a good solid foundation where no torque is applied to the grip.

I know a lot of archers that prefer a larger grip to help them get a consistent placement, but i'm a serious advocate of the flat spot in a grip. Also...If that flat spot is angled slighty away from the shelf, with a slightly lower thumb ledge, it allows an archer to use a vertical bow alignment with a natural wrist rotation...... For guys that prefer to shoot with a slight cant, the side to side angle of the flat spot, and the elevation of the thumb ledge can be altered to accommodate them......

I believe the grip shape is one of the most important parts of consistency in archery. Its the foundation of the whole thing.

Oh sure.... you'll run into those gifted archers than can pick up just about any kind of bow and shoot it well. But they let the bow settle into their relaxed hand the same every time and quickly figure out where the balance in the grip is located. For the majority of archers it take a bit more conscious effort.

[Tajue17]

that's my #1 beef with buying a bow I haven't shot is what does the grip feel like,,, I've sold many bows I waited months to get the very next morning after receiving them because of the grip.

someone once told me Bondo over plastic wrap is the best because you can shape it by hand then cover it with leather... just remove it completely when your selling or trading it and put the old grip back on and nobody knows the difference.