Why are juggling club handles tapered? I can't think of any tricks that can only be done or are made easier by having tapered handles. I understand tapering from the body into the handle, but once you're onto the handle what's the need?
Browsing through the innovative club sections at David's collection of historical juggling props from 1895-1970 & 1970 to present everything appears to have a tapered handle apart from the hollow exhibition club & the Arthur Mann clubs (or at least it looks that way to me).
Is there a reason or is it just traditional?
Little Paul - - Vorredner #
I've always assumed it's because the inside of your fist is tapered
Is it? I'm not sure how to test that but I find gripping a club handle in a fist the wrong way (bulb by the little finger) feels more comfortable than the correct way (bulb by the thumb) so I think my fist tapers the other way.
Little Paul - - Vorredner #
"Is it? I'm not sure how to test that"
Make a loose fist. Turn it over so you're looking at the hole by your little finger and make a note of its size. Measure it with a set of callipers you're feeling keen. Now look at the hole at the thumb end. Is it bigger or smaller?
Personally, my little finger is significantly shorter than my index finger which leads to the little finger end being noticeably smaller than the other end, which implied the inside of my fist is tapered.
Well if I make a fist there are no holes at all, if I loosen my grip then I can make the holes at both ends of the fist any size that I want. If I try to loosen my fingers equally I'd say the hole at the bottom of the fist is much larger because it doesn't include the butt of my thumb. I suppose one way to look at it would be to ignore the thumb completely the little finger is the shortest finger on the hand so can obviously grip a smaller circumference.
But I don't think that's really important because I generally don't hold my clubs in a fist (aside from tomahawk or overhead throws). I'm curious as to why tapered handles are used on juggling clubs but not on swords, tennis rackets, cricket bats etc.
Daniel Simu - - Vorredner #
To proof that your fist is tapered:
Hold the lower part of the body of the club with your hand (club straight up.) squeeze with your hand, and with the other hand try and move the club around in your hand. Not possible. Now hold the top part of the body with your hand, so that your thumb site has the narrow part and your pinky the wide part. If you now try and move the club aronud you can always pull it out of the hand, no matter how hard you squeeze!
If I hold the top part & pull down it comes out easily. If I hold the bottom part & push up it comes out just as easily, but I understand what you are saying. If the the taper is there to make it harder for you to slip a club from knob to body what is the reason for this?
Also, your exercise suggests that your fist is tapered the opposite way to that which LP describes.
Some ideas, in addition to LP's:
- Because you need different widths for different things. The narrow part is useful for launching and catching many clubs from one hand. The wide part is more comfortable for catching once you're into the juggle.
- So that you know where on the handle you've caught the club without looking.
I did think about your first point, it's never affected me as I've never needed to hold more than 3 in one hand but I can see more numbers inclined jugglers needing thinner handles. However I think of numbers club juggling as relatively new. From what I've read in the past people preferred to juggle higher numbers of sticks rather than clubs which I presume were not tapered.
I thought about your second point too, if I'm juggling with my eyes open (ie most of the time) even if I can't see my hands I know where I will be holding the club before I've caught it. I tried flipping a club with my eyes closed & really thought about how I feel where I am. Primarily if I can feel the centre tape or the knob I know I'm at the top or bottom very easily. If I can't I judge where my hand is by the leverage of the body, if it is heavier I'm close to the bottom, if it's light I'm close to the top.
Guess I should build myself some straight handled clubs & see if a reason becomes clear.
Daniel Simu - - Vorredner #
How about sliding down to the knob? That is super easy thanks to the tapered handles!
How is that different from sliding down a straight handle?
Fireman's poles: also not tapered.
you have open your hands at least a little bit with a straight handle otherwise you'll have friction.
A tapered handle gets thinner so unless you close your hand a club that can glide through your hand will not be stopped till you reach the knob.
Fireman's poles need to generate a constant amount of friction to slow you down, for a club weighing 200g or something that isn't necessary.
Again how is that different? You have to open your hands with a tapered handle otherwise you'll have friction. Hold a club at the centre, now try slipping it without relaxing your grip.
Daniel Simu - - Vorredner #
Very different.
Try it with a club, hold it in the center and pull the club up. Goes easily. Now turn the club upside down and hold the end and push the club up. Does not go easily. Even if I squeeze very hard I can get it from center to knob, the other way round is impossible.
I think there are a lot of valid reasons in this thread, you just seem to ignore all..
It's called playing devil's advocate.
I get that the taper can inhibit the movement of the club in one direction but I don't understand how it applies to juggling.
When you slip a club while juggling you do it with one hand not two. Are there any juggling tricks that involve you pushing/pulling a club through your hand as you describe? If there are why would you grip tightly so that a taper is necessary? Were those tricks common in the early 1900s?
I would expect early clubs to have straight handles because they are easier to make. But that doesn't seem to be the case or are there straight handled clubs that predate David's collection?
Massimiliano
Truzzi preferred clubs with untapered handles.
Truzzi's clubs were tapered, just in the opposite direction as normal clubs. I'm still really trying to get a hold of one of his props.
David
I thought that from the picture, but figured it was just a trick of perspective.
I emailed Renegade & Henry's to see what they thought. Bob from Renegade didn't give any reasons & just said it was subjective. Nothing back from Henry's yet. Perhaps there is no functional reason & David had it right when he said it just looks better.
I think it's also stronger. Especially with the original one piece wooden clubs. You don't want any sudden change in angle between the head and the handle where it would be weaker. Even for modern multi-piece clubs I think the tapered shape makes the club bend less (triangles).
This would be my assumption why handles might be thicker at the body end (other than for aesthetic or ease of manufacture reasons) my Radical Fish clubs always seemed to break in the middle where the handle met the body (this might also be due to maximum stress or the staple going into the dowel creating a weak point).
I also found when making juggling clubs out of chocolate the fact the body contracted to the handle and formed a corner created a weak point where the chocolate clubs would break (unless reinforced with extra chocolate) - though I appreciate plastic might have different properties than chocolate .
They were for Chocfest, I decided in view of their fragility they were not a success, so we ate them at juggling. Claire managed to make some slightly more robust ones in the shape of Radical Fish clubs, but then found someone who worked at the chocolate development department at Terrys (or Rowntrees) who made some chocolate clubs which were then given away as prizes at Chocfest.
All the chocolate juggling clubs were full size so contained quite a lot of chocolate.
I sliced a beard one-piece club in half to make two moulds and then joined the two halves together (like a hollow chocolate easter egg).
Claire made a mould out of silicone using a club as the form, I don't know what the professional chocolatier did.
Since Van Wycks were the first clubs made for juggling, there aren't any clubs that predate anything from my collection! Very interesting discussion.
David Cain
Perhaps the padding function is easier to provide tapered. Or at least it can be padded as it leaves the body without making the whole handle the size at the top of the handle.
Years ago I made a set of clubs from plastic soda bottles and pvc pipes. Cute but not much fun to juggle. The "green" club with a tapered handle is a big improvement. I also made a set of torches from aluminum pipes and pipe insulator material. The outer diameter of the padded cylinder was about 3 cm. This made it clumsy to hold two in one hand and cleanly release one. Commercial torches with tapered padding are much easier to hold.
Solid handled torches are also tapered. Padding is provided by the soft tissue of the palm which is thinner on the thumb side. A tapered handle can strike both sides at the same time at a different rotation angle than a cylindrical handle. A tapered padded handle provides more give on the less padded thumb side of the palm.
Or perhaps it just looks better.
I thought the modern juggling club design originated from the design of heavy old wooden swinging clubs.
Assuming this, no explanation that involves juggling the club seems right, as basic swinging tricks won't have club throwing in them.
Maybe the explanation is, that making clubs out of wood is easier, when making them tapered.