Handle wrap?

[Trent Curtis]

I seem to slowly be building up a pile of old bare 181/281/288 handles.

Anybody have a hack that can be used to recover these? Tried some old hose once.... didn’t stick for the long haul.

Trent

 

[Colt Marlington]

Bat or racket grip tape?

Maybe a lace-on leather steering wheel wrap if you want to get fancy.

Or possibly rhino lining.

 

[homemade]

I’ve seen the hockey stick tape also.

 

[mobilemech13]

You can get the original oem bar grip from a dealer or eBay, it's sold by the foot. It's tricky to put on it it holds up for a long time. Tapes and other stuff that's been used doesn't last or hold up to fuel and oil

 

[jchipps]

This will sound crazy, and probably is.
But just wondering if something like that "Flex Seal" would hold up in that situation. You know, the stuff the guy sprays on and makes a boat out of a screen door. Lol

Only reason I even mention it - I did use some of it to repair a bad floor drain sump.
Got it cleaned up real good and dry, then sprayed multiple coats of that stuff on it, and it worked great.

That stuff kinda turns to a solid rubber consistency when it dries. Not sure if it would hold up on a saw handle or not?

There may be other spray-on rubber like products out there, such as The Rhino Liner mentioned in the earlier post might also work pretty good.

 

[drf255]

Mastermind can add factory hose to it. Call him for a price and to see if he is still doing.

IIRC, it requires heat, lube and an air compressor connected to one end of the wrapping.

I personally like the look of hockey tape myself.

 

[decableguy2000]

thick walled heat shrink

 

[holeycow]

I didn’t like the slippery or tingly feel of the plastic handle on my Echo cs590. After running it for about a 1/2 tank, I taped the handle with a few layers of friction tape (hockey tape). I am sure it will last quite a while and then can easily be replaced. It improved the feel for me dramatically.

The thick-wall heat shrink sounds like a great idea.

Or figure out how to put the factory stuff on...

For useability there are probably several good options.

If you want the factory look and feel, there’s only one option.

 

[Remle]

I’ve got a Pioneer P45 that I wrapped with bicycle handlebar tape. It’s really soft and comfortable and good for vibration; but a little bit fragile for a chainsaw. On a road bike you just don’t beat on the handlebars too much. Sure they get bumped around during transit and when you lean your bike against something, but it’s not the same kind of wear a chainsaw gets when you’re cutting in heavy brush. Still, handlebar tape is reasonably cheap, easy to apply and very comfy. I just try to be a bit more careful with that saw than I normally would be and so far it’s still holding up.

 

[Jasonrkba]

The flex seal stuff gets my vote. Id say get several items together that you want to cover and dump a bunch out of a gallon bucket into a shallow pan like a paint roller tray or something bigger. Submerge hang and let dry.

 

[Buckman84]

Spray on truck bed liner

 

[jakethesnake]

Those wraps bring good money. For the 288s. Everyone is looking for one

 

[Bobby Kirbos]

Just throwing out something that may be totally stupid

What about bicycle handle bar wrap with shrink tubing over it, even if it's not thick walled shrink tube? The thinking behind it - Bike bar wrap to absorb some of the vibration, shrink tube to hold it together and absorb the rough handling and abuse of just using the thing.

Thoughts?

 

[ML12]

I'll add a vote for heat shrink. I used the standard stuff and just doubled covered it on a really beat up pioneer wrap. It turned out really great and seems to be chemical resistant and durable so far. It was also way easier than fighting with compressed air dish soap and the stock hose.

 

[CHOP...CHOP...]

Hockey tape would work good. I would put some rope under it to get it groovy.