Gaff out supremo

[billpierce]

Been on ye olde kleins for a decade or so, got some used ally geckos recently as was curious if more comfort could be found.

 

Yes, more comfortable but gaffes out about 6 times of a wee holy dismantle so swapped back to kleins for rest of day which I have never sharpened in 10years.

 

Do I

 

A) just need to grow a pair and stick at it, stance is different and I'll get used to it. Seem to recall gaffing out alot when I had a go on steins x2 and some treehogs, so could def just be me.

 

B) need to sharpen them. If so please point me to useful video/thread or give an incredible description of how

 

Thanks

[Mick Dempsey]

You make a good point (no pun intended)

 

I’ve switched to geckos a year or two back and yes, less confident and seem to gaff out more regularly, angles must be different or something.

[shillo]

Definitely blunt! Not sure if its all in my head but i feel it makes a lot of difference when they are needle sharp.

 I got a little steel sharpening template with mine.

[Rich Rule]

I always gaff out with geckos.

 

I have tried plenty of times and end up going back to my bashlin alloys ones.

[Haironyourchest]

Looks to my eye like your spikes are sharpened wrong? Shouldn't it only be the two top sides that are filed?

[john p]

Now you come to mention it....... never really thought about it, but yes, defo slightly more precarious on gecko s, but sooooo much more comfortable!

[john p]

And plus1 for definitive sharpening video

[scotspine1]

Bill, post a pic of the Kleins, the whole spike/spur set up including shin pads not just a close up of the gaffs. 

 

[tree-fancier123]

I was gaffing out often if I forgot to consciously drive them home and look down where I was placing the gaff, (distel euro shape) - I did wonder if another gaff shape is better, eg long american.

this post from treebuzz helped confirm my suspicions that it is mainly my technique that's the problem

 

Sharp gaffs are not really neccesary.
Ive never seen or had a reason to have them really sharp.
Your technique ALONE can eliminate 99-100% of mis gaffs, in my experience dull gaffs are rarely the problem.
Twice I have seen new climbers sharpen up their gaffs nice and razor sharp and then, next tree they climbed, place the gaff firmly into the ankle of their boot, thankfully only one of them required a trip to the hospital, the other one just needed to buy a new pair of Vibergs.
If you want to climb with really sharp gaffs that is your perogative, but simply pulling your knee away from the tree before you place the gaff, so the gaff enters the tree at approx a 45 deg. angle, will all but eliminate gaff outs.
We run production crews, I come out of the tree, pull my rope, then I turn around and cut the tree, and then I climb another one. I dont want to take my gaffs on and off ten twenty times a day...before lunch.

http://www.treebuzz.com/forum/threads/gaff-sharpening.24897/

 

but looking at the angle of euro compared to american, his point about pulling your knee away from the tree may be less important for euro. Distel don't seem to sell a sharpening template like Klein and Bashlin? According to the templates they should be discarded after a certain wear point

 

[Steve Bullman]

the euros are horendousll  The short americans are fine and take no adjusting to IMO.

Yours seems a little blunt,  I'm not a fan of sharp spikes, its not necessary, but yours seem a little but too far gone from the pics