Actually, the "keep your stick on the ice" comment goes along with the Moose Lodge title for duct tape (i.e. the handy-man's helper), and is a reference to the Canadian television show Red Green. It can be found in the states on Public Television sometimes, and is one of the few shows that I highly recomend people seek out.

-Grey

Like they say in the "live" roleplaying community:

"Duct tape is like the Force - it has a light side and a dark side, and it binds the Universe together". ;)

The only best thing is Lepage steel epoxy glue (wonderful to fix loose Del Tin hilt components).

Pamela,

You said that you used Rit dye for the grip. You're talking about the fabric dye, where you use boiling water, and soak the fabric, right? I had not thought of that. I just kept looking for leather dyes. Did you have any problems as a result of soaking, drying, and then rewetting the chamois? I suppose a chamois would be better suited to that than some other leathers. Let me know how the green dye turns out, because I would really like to do one that color (my chlorophil-based effort has faded into more of a campaign brown).

-Grey

Hi Grey, I used the Rit dye in a bucket in the laundry room sink. I was really more nervous about the mess it might make in my washing machine or my kitchen, so I modified the method a little to do it in a bucket and not in the machine or on the stove top. Rit dye is not made for leather but since a large chamois is so cheap and I only need a little bit to do a grip I had enough to experiment with. My first attempt, I used the dark green dye and used the strength recommended on the package. I found out chamois absorbs the dye very well! Too well. I put it in the bucket and pulled it out nearly immediately and it was still so dark it was nearly black. (The directions on the package say to leave the material in the dye for up to 30 minutes.) Lesson learned, I used it at half strength for the yellow. I have a package of kelly green for the next project. I'll let you know how that turns out.

After dyeing, I had no problems with drying or rewetting the chamois. After I pulled it out of the dye solution, I did make sure that I rinsed and rinsed and rinsed until the water ran clear.

Not everyone likes the texture of the chamois for the grip. It is a little rough, not smooth and polished. I like the chamois because it is so much easier to play with different colors.

Jean,

That would work pretty well. I have also had luck with just drawing a line on the grip core where I wanted the riser to go, and then glueing my cord right over that. Since you will cover it in leather, no one will see your line. Hey, you could draw Mickey Mouse's face on the core, and it wouldn't matter. The trick comes in when you are trying to do the exterior wrap on a grip like this. I ended up having to tie it off and go the opposite direction a few times, because you want to ensure that you have good pressure on both sides of the riser. Part of the reason I had trouble, though, was that the crochet thread just wasn't the stuff to be using on the size spiral I had.

-Grey

Kel,

I tend to work with the sword horizontal. I don't know if that will make any difference, though. In order to get the first wrap tight, I do not use much glue. That way, I can slide the cord tighter if I need to. I do use some glue about 1/3 and 2/3 of the way through the grip, to hold everything in place. On the exterior wrap, I just have to be slow and careful. If there is a good way to set up a jig for this, I can't think of it.

To be honest, there is a very good chance that my grips would not meet your standards (some days, I question whether they meet mine :blush: ), as I have yet to do one where the spacing on any of the wrapping was entirely even.

-Grey

Last time I regripped one of my AL training swords, I was determined to get the thread as tidily wound as the examples on Albion's grip selection. Not there yet.... hoping the trick isn't to do several dozen until you get it right! :eek:

I clamp the blade in a long wooden faced vice as Greyson suggests. Still, winding a thread copp from hand to hand allows the tension to slack and tighten so keeping it on track is challenging. And time consuming.

I figured there must be some kind of jig that clamps the blade in the centre and then spins slowly, maybe treadle driven or with a hand pulled wheel. What was I thinking? :lol:

Oh well... :blush:

Some sort of jig would be nice. :) I have the sword horizontal in a vice. I wrap from guard to pommel and only hold the thread in my right hand. My left hand acts as a guide when needed, but I don't switch hands. It just didn't seem natural to me to change hands.

Actually a rig like that would be quite easy to build, but I doubt it would be worth the expense of the bearing(s) you would need to make it turn smoothly unless you were doing a number of swords. Then again.......I suppose it depends on how badly you want to make it "juuuust right". :lol:

Those who don't like the natural roughness of the chamois (myself included) can simply apply beeswax and buff just like you buff a leather dress shoe. This gives a nice, smooth finish without compromising the security of the grip.

At some point soon my friends are going to hide their swords when I come into the fencing school. I'm likely to sneak out with one and return it later with a new grip. This is quite fun.

Below is my latest attempt. I dyed the chamois green and coated the finished grip with some instant shine shoe polish. (The stuff that comes with a pre-moistened sponge.) The sword is my Albion Squire Line knightly sword.

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