Repairing the Main Handles – Normal Wear and Tear
May 14th 2011
Few people will experience what you are looking at – the main handles wearing through the leather to the cotton. What you see is due to tremendous use of one of the Original two handled 37 lb bags. Please note that the two handled bags are not longer manufactured, but still serve up an ass-whooping workout. These main handles have sustained these critical injuries from direct on-the-job training, and in the real world, would qualify for Workmans’ Comp. If you have used your bag long enough, this may be an eventuality. But these flesh wounds do not disqualify your bag from further service. I show you here simple field dressing tactics (using some old SEALS techniques) to bring your bag back to the fight.
Supplies needed:
- 1 roll of athletic tape (that’s it!)
Administering field repairs:
- Begin by wrapping the tape near the tip of the main handle, and wrap counterclockwise up and over the tear. Counterclockwise because most people have a tendency to rotate the grip inwards, thereby ensuring a secure wrap.
- Do not wrap the tape too tightly, but wrap it so that it only forms a secure bond with the handle. You do not want to shrink the diameter of the main handle or make it too stiff. One of the great things about the main handle in its original state is its pliability and the ability to tighten and loosen your grip throughout the movements.
- Once you have covered the tear by at least a couple of inches of tape, break the tape.
- Then start again at the tip, performing the same taping motion in a counterclockwise fashion. The reason you wrap from the bottom to the top is so that the tape does not roll as your grip slides down the handle during use.
Here’s the finished product:
