Grippy surface or smooth, that is the question ?


I've made many boomerangs and I've done pretty paint jobs, all smooth and shiny for customers, this is fine and the customers I'm sure appreciate it but smooth can also mean slippery, of course this depends on the conditions and the throwers grip and hand strength.  Some boomerangs on the market feature really glossy finishes but very little grip, especially when wet, of course I can't speak for all boomerangs on the market but I have noticed some throwers adding grip tape to a smooth boomerang when I think it could be added during the finishing of the boomerang.  Of course in the end it comes down to what the customer wants. The above picture of a ONE Boomerangs "Spirit" boomerang features a very grippy surface and I believe it still looks presentable.

These days I prefer to add texture to the surface of the boomerang to increase grip, sure they mightn't be as pretty to look at but I have always placed boomerang performance as the #1 criteria, it has to fly how it was intended, also I don't want the boomerang to slip from my hand and go wayward toward some destination not intended.

I add grip by sanding the surface and leaving it quite rough, then I wet & dry the surface to remove any fuzz from the plastic, then it's basically ready for painting, once dry I am left with an incredibly grippy surface.  The textured surface adds slight drag to the flight but I consider this a bonus as drag can be a boomerang throwers best friend.

So my question to other makers out there is their preference to have a not so pretty grippy surface or a glossy pretty looking surface ?

#boomerangs #australia #australianboomerangs #returningboomerangs #boomerangsforsale #oneboomerangs #aussieboomerangs #handcraftedboomerangs #boomerangcompetitions

ONE Boomerangs


Comments

  1. Brockville Boomerang ClubJanuary 4, 2020 at 11:55 PM

    Hey Adam. For what it's worth, Aidan and I both like the textured grip.

    ReplyDelete

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