How to avoid blisters?

[Essington]

I've done a few double braid Eye splices (mostly in sta-set) over the last couple of years, and they have all turned out nicely. The only problem is that I always manage to raise blisters on my hands while milking the cover over the splice.

Is this just the nature of the beast, or are there some ancient rigger secrets that I'm not aware of that would save my poor delicate digits?

How are you able to make multiple splices in the same day and still have skin left?

Gloves seem to help a bit, but the rope does some damage to them as well.

-jason

One trick I've used with success is to use a rag, shop towel, bath towel, etc. as an extra layer of protection between my hands and the line. Used T-shirt works well. The idea is that you still have a decent grip but there isn't nearly so much friction against the surface of your skin. I'm not a fan of gloves when it comes to handling line (even when racing) though I have tried them while splicing and the rag method seems to work better for me.

[Bob Pingel]

Yes, there is a very effective trick...

To help in milking the cover down, take a 3 foot chunk of shock cord and tie multiple half hitches (or attach it prussik-like) around the standing part of the rope. Then, just pull the knotted cord down the rope. The cord will grip the rope much tigher than you can and never lets go. It works great. You can get out most of the slack in just one trip down the rope.

Bob

[osteoderm]

This all reminds me of a saying we had, when daysailing folks on the Lady would ask about our hands: "Real sailors don't WEAR gloves," we explained, "we GROW 'em!"
For some reason which i've never quite understood, around the boat we almost all developed a "ridge", of which we were quite proud; a raised callous on the inside of the first knuckle of the ring finger.
Back in a woodshop these days, i've sadly found that my hands have lost this "feature", but anyone who handles rope more frequently than i soon ends up with some fine "grown gloves"... just shake hands with any serious traditional sailor and you'll feel what i mean.

[Jim Fulton]

Personally, I'm a big fan of gloves. If I sailed full time I might feel different, but I don't. I keep a pair of thin, leather gardening gloves in my rigging bag. Available at any good hardware store.

Jim Fulton

[Essington]

Originally Posted by Jim Fulton

Personally, I'm a big fan of gloves.

Well, as far as sailing goes, I started in the beach cat world (Nacra 5.2 actually), So I'm pretty attached to my black magic gloves, even on my cruiser (day sailor).

But, I don't think they are the best tool for protecting my hands from ropes when splicing. My insulated yellowstone beer gloves (it is always good to have a drinking glove handy) are probably more suited to that task.

-jason