There has been a lot of discussion in the last few days about EVA and it's hardness. Unfortunately, I (and probably most of us) have no idea what these hardness numbers equate to and, more importantly, how do you find out what they are for EVA available at, for instance Mudhole or Merrick?
I assume from posts that a hardness rating of 75 approaches that of cork. If EVA comes in varying hardness, and I have never seen a hardness rating for EVA in any catalog, how do we know what/where we buy. Is it just a crap shoot or is the EVA available from sponsors all the same hardness?

It would sure make life a lot simpler if manufacturer's/vendors would provide us with more infomation on the specs of their products

Mike

A long time ago, Dick French posted here the varying hardness of some grips. From my own personal experiance, I've noticed even when you order from the same compay, where all teh grips probably have teh same hardness - certain colors are harder than others. As an example, Blue is a LOT harder than White.

Steve seems to have done some research on this, I think he had samples of varying hardness which is where he got his information from.

The EVA comes in different 'grades',,we have no control over that, as most vendors do not list the degree of hardness.
Lord knows, not too many people have glued as many pieces into a grip as myself, ( some wackys have upwards of 700 pieces).
I have found that all those hundreds of glue joints do indeed 'stiffin' the grip's feel. Also does time & exposure,Thus making the softer EVA useable.
I have slightly sanded some old grips -just to bring back the colors & found they were firmer than when freshly made.

And,as Billy said,hardness varies with colors..no matter the source.

Cork would be closer to 90 durometer hardness. The color of the material does not determine its hardness. That simply varies from batch to batch, from maker to maker. I had white EVA that measured out to nearly 80 durometers, and black that barely hit 35.

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Harv,
I don't mean to start an argument but I don't think color has anything to do with the hardness. You can get eva with a hardness of 80. So far that's the highest I've been able to find. I have some 75 and man is it hard! I think the vendors could get harded eva if they just ask for it. I'm working on getting some 75 eva in bulk sheets 2 inches thick for making blocks to be turned down to grips. Like I said, I don't mean to start an argument with you because I'm sure you have way more knowledge than I do about eva. I'm just going by what I've been told by the manufacturer I'm working with. I think most vendors sell a lower density eva because it's easier to install and will stretch a good bit. The stuff I'm TRYING to get doesn't stretch. If you forced it too much it would probably crush the blank. You would probably have to use the same method as installing a cork grip......ream it till it fits.

Thanks,
Steve

Steve, no argument from here...I didn't mean to imply that color was a factor. Just that even in the same shipments I get...some colors are firmer, & I know it all comes from the same Mfgr.

When you get extra blocks...let me know ..I'll play around with them.

If you get this and plan on reselling some, be sure to let us know

Mike

Harv,
More than likely I read your post wrong. Sorry. It will take a month to get here by sea freight. Air freight was way too much. I'll let ya know when it comes in.

Those manufacturers will make what hardness you want. Maybe the manufacturers just give the vendors the density they're making at the time and that's why you get so many different densities.

Do you have any idea what Tan would be on the Pantone color chart?

Thanks,
Steve

Most manufacturers got away from the very firm grips years ago as too many builders complained that they were difficult to mount. No they don't stretch as easily, but if you know the proper procedure the firmness of the EVA isn't really a problem to mount.

Any procedure is fine for mounting a soft, spongy grip. But you can't get by like that with firmer grips. You have to do it correctly.

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Steve you are definately onto something here. If people got away from firm EVA years ago because they were difficult to instal, I don't blame them. I don't think as many people had all the power tools available like we do now to power ream EVA. That's a MAJOR assumption on my part though. It just seems like in the 5 years I've been building, and reading the internet (more reading than building, for sure) - it seems to me a LOT more people have purchased lathes, which would allow them to easily ream EVA and easily instal hard EVA.

Billy,

Can you explain how you ream EVA on a lathe?? I'm very new to lathes but can't figure out (not surprising) how that would be done.
Thanks,
Mike

I presently use a tapered reamer on SLOW speed & work slowly to reduce heat build-up.

I have an idea for something much better- ,just haven't gotten around to trying it yet..stay tuned.

GEt a spare blank, solid glass prefereable. GEt some of the coarser reaming frit sold for EVA-specific. Make a reamer, chuck it up, turn the lathe on it's slowest speed, and feed teh grip slowly down the reamer.

Some people spiral tape the same direction as teh lathe turns, so the debris collect there - I just put grit on teh entire blank becaue it's easier and I haven't had a problem. I'm also not doing a lot of power reaming and am in no rush when I do.

Too fast of a speed on the lathe, and the epoxy you use to make the reamer will loosen and the grit WILL come off. I do try and clean teh inside of the grip by putting it on another spare blank, this way if there is any gri that came off and embedded in teh grip, I will know before scratching and ruining a "A-1" blank.

You should be able to install most grips without reaming them, if you start with a bore size that is at least half of that on the blank where you want the grip to reside. A grip with an inside bore of 3/8th inch, for instace, will easily slide down on a blank with an outside diameter of 3/4 inch, if you want to go that far. But you do have use the proper technique (check the FAQs page on this site).

If you do need to ream a grip, I've found the Stanley Surform cuts faster than anything else I've tried. They make these in round shapes in at least 3 sizes. Cuts EVA like butter. Also very messy.

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Billy wrote: "GEt some of the coarser reaming frit sold for EVA-specific."



Billy....what's a frit?...LOL

Be careful - don't try to stretch a grip with a lot of glue joints( like the 'wackys')..the hole will expand-but the glue joints won't stretch very far-poof blowout !

Another good way to split non-wacky grip inlays is to stretch the grip. Grip has to slide almost into place with no glue.

Yes, this caution was fully covered in the most recent issue. Grips with inlays and trim rings have to be installed without stretching.

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If you're will to buy in quantity, you can get EVA in a range of colors and hardnesses. Check these guys out. I would love to get some firm EVA in the range of colors these guys offer.

[www.rueylung.com.tw]

Dave

Dave I checked them out. The couple of probelms I see is thickness and hardness. The hardest they have is 65 with a maximum thickness of 28mm or 1.10 inches. Also, I can't tell what colors are available for that specific sheet. Most builders, I think would want a 2 inch (51mm) thick block so that they can have a bigger grip if they like or sand it down to the normal of 1.25 inches in diameter. The colors seem limited also but they do cover the same colors which are available through the current vendors. You could still buy what the vendors are buying though. I just want a firmer eva. Good research though!