Stick Splinters in Fingers/ Hands

[Cosmic 178]

Multiple times from multiple sticks of different brands (so this is not a brand issue and the brands that I have experienced it with, I do not think are worth mentioning), I have gotten splinters in my fingers and hands. It has always been after at least about 6 months of use or so. The stick is never visibly splintering, I just feel my hands catch a splinter here and there sometimes during games, or after I notice sensitive areas in my hands and see where the splinters are imbedded.

So this morning, I felt discomfort in my hands while getting ready for work, examined them, and saw two areas on both hands where the splinters went in. I played hockey last night, and likely did not notice because I had a splitting headache and felt exceptionally nauseous after the game (from unrelated stress- the hockey was fine).

Is there anything that can be done to sticks when they make it to this point in their lifespan? I have been getting years out of sticks before the break, so I would like to continue this trend, if there is a fix for the splintering issue. I thought about sanding my sticks down, but would that potentially make things worse by weaking the integrity? Is there instead, some sort of a liquid that can be placed on the stick that disintegrates the splinters forming, while also burrowing into areas of future issue? 

[shoot_the_goalie 277]

You can spray clear coat onto the chipped/worn areas of the sticks to fill and bond them; smoothing them over.  If you like a non-grip, more smooth feeling stick, just spray a very light coat and dry thoroughly.  If you prefer a more matte finish stick, you can sand it down with very fine grit sandpaper after spraying, which will give it a smooth sandy texture.  If you want more grip, you can then spray a very light coat of adhesive spray (and I mean light coat), and then let dry.  Two very important points though.  One, use a very good quality clear coat spray (I found automotive clear coat works best) and spray from a good distance so you get an even misted layer on the stick, with no drips/runs. If you use a cheap/generic spray, it very well could start flaking off in time.  Two, make sure you let the clear coat dry thoroughly, and I mean thoroughly.  When I've done this in the past, I typically let them dry for 48 hours in a warm, dry area.  Sometimes even longer.

[puckpilot 312]

Don't you wear gloves?

Any way, one thing you can do is place a strip of sock tape over each corner of the shaft. That will keep the surface smooth. You can use hockey tape if you want grip.  

[gerbe3:16 19]

Let me tell you those almost microscopic carbon fiber splinters suck.  I got one from a weird spot on a stick where a shot block on the corner of the shaft ripped off the paint and a very fine top layer of carbon.

Above recommended solution of spraying a clear coat of paint works very very well.

[Cosmic 178]

On 4/6/2018 at 11:32 AM, puckpilot said:

Don't you wear gloves?

Every time that I have ever gotten a splinter from the sticks, I was wearing gloves. The materials of the palm (unless it is that Kevlar on the CCM CS 400s or whtever- that not one person liked as it was horrible feel) do nothing to intercept stick splinters. 

[start_today 757]

I tend to get these from the very bottom of the shaft, or the blade if I am taping it. If it's on the blade, I tape over it, and if it's one the shaft, I run tape around it. 

Do you think we could put together some sort of class action law suit over this? It's industry wide, and so unbelievably painful and hard to resolve. There is a clear long term negligence on the part of hockey companies, stick designers, and manufactures.  Any aspiring lawyers here? You could be the next Erin Brockovich! (Hockeyvich?)

[asgoodasdead 74]

this is so weird. i've been playing my entire life and play twice a week and i've never gotten a stick splinter even back when i used wood sticks