Long knob tapejob: Aesthetic or Practical?

[MrData 93]

Many players use an extra long tape job for their knob/grip, but it doesn't seem to offer any advantage over a shorter tape job if it doesn't extend all the way to where the player puts his bottom hand (which it rarely does). I'm guilty of trying this tape job out for style purposes, but it doesn't really serve any function for me. To people who use an extra long tape job on their knob: why do you do it? Is it purely for style, or do you find that tape job useful?

Here's Nikita Scherbak with a great example of what I'm talking about. Looks great, but doesn't seem to offer any particular advantage, as his bottom hand is below the tape:

[Amiroo39 121]

Bertuzzi's was pretty epic during his canucks days: http://www.grandstandsports.com/images/17371.jpg

[flip12 699]

Zetterberg's there too. Good question though, I've been wondering the same thing. My guess was it could be to balance the feeling of the stick.

[bunnyman666 445]

There was a noobie who would do an ornate tape job near the blade of the stick. I think that his logic was that it was grip for the face offs. He finally removed it since he finally realised that it added weight in the wrong place on the stick.

As far as those super long handle jobs, the only conceivable advantage is if you grip the stick on a face-off far down on the stick.

[flip12 699]

There are a lot of guys who do it that don't take faceoffs too though, like Mikkel Boedker.

[215BroadStBullies610 434]

I think it would depend on how you take faceoffs. I usually choke up so having a long tape job does nothing for me. I've been using a similar tape job for the last couple of years and the only thing it seems to aid in is when I have one hand (my top hand) on the stick. I'm right-handed and also shoot right so that means my left hand is weaker. When I'm in situations where I have to remove my bottom hand, it helps to have some tape covering the top 1/3 of the shaft. Now, I don't use the type of tape that is shown in the first post, which seems to provide more grip than normal cloth tape, but the premise is still the same. All in all, I do think it's more for dress game.

[mcne0101 16]

haha I'm glad you brought this up, I've never understood it. I personally tape my knob about 3" down the shaft.

[SCBlueLiner 19]

Old habits.

Back when I was a Pee Wee learning to shoot a slapshot I struggled with where to properly place my bottom hand. Are my hands too close together? Is my bottom hand too far down on the shaft? The solution was to wrap some tape on the middle of the shaft where my bottom hand should be when I took a slapshot that way as I slid my bottom hand into position I could feel where it was supposed to be because there was tape there marking the spot. Out of habit I kept taping my stick on the shaft through all my playing years (though I don't do it anymore).

I coach a kid right now who has a bad habit of having his hands too close together when he plays. It causes him to stand upright and almost looks like he is playing hockey with a golf club. It's a bad habit that we need to break him of. In other areas of his game this kid can fly and has great lateral movement. Coming down on a defenseman one-on-one he can attack the D with speed and make an inside-out power move that leaves pretty much anybody he comes up against in the dust. But when he is playing without the puck he has a tendancy to stand upright with his hands together at the top of the stick. Not hockey ready and it's a bad habit. We're going to try to break this habit by taping his stick in a way that is a constant reminder that he needs to keep his hands somewhat seperated and to be in hockey ready position at all times. A tape job like this could be what we're looking for.

The player in the pic above may have had a similar problem as a youth and came up with this tape job as a remedy and just kept it out of habit, or he just like the looks of it and thinks it's cool.

[flip12 699]

Has he seen himself on video? If he sees himself doing the good versus the bad, it may help him visualize what he's doing and snap out of it when he drifts into that bad habit.

[AfftonDad 88]

Old habits.

Back when I was a Pee Wee learning to shoot a slapshot I struggled with where to properly place my bottom hand. Are my hands too close together? Is my bottom hand too far down on the shaft? The solution was to wrap some tape on the middle of the shaft where my bottom hand should be when I took a slapshot that way as I slid my bottom hand into position I could feel where it was supposed to be because there was tape there marking the spot. Out of habit I kept taping my stick on the shaft through all my playing years (though I don't do it anymore).

I coach a kid right now who has a bad habit of having his hands too close together when he plays. It causes him to stand upright and almost looks like he is playing hockey with a golf club. It's a bad habit that we need to break him of. In other areas of his game this kid can fly and has great lateral movement. Coming down on a defenseman one-on-one he can attack the D with speed and make an inside-out power move that leaves pretty much anybody he comes up against in the dust. But when he is playing without the puck he has a tendancy to stand upright with his hands together at the top of the stick. Not hockey ready and it's a bad habit. We're going to try to break this habit by taping his stick in a way that is a constant reminder that he needs to keep his hands somewhat seperated and to be in hockey ready position at all times. A tape job like this could be what we're looking for.

The player in the pic above may have had a similar problem as a youth and came up with this tape job as a remedy and just kept it out of habit, or he just like the looks of it and thinks it's cool.

Lacrosse players sometimes put little raised ridges of tape (half the thickness of the tape width) for their upper hand (equivalent to the bottom hand in hockey) at their passing and/or shooting positions for that hand. That way they can quickly and easily move their hand into the desired position by "feel". I have often wondered if that technique would be useful for hockey.

[Nealoc187 10]

only way i can think of it as practical is for a center who chokes up, or for occasions of picking up a dropped stick and there just being more taped area with presumably better grip to grab on to. otherwise i bet it's probably just habit from whenever they started taping their own sticks as kids/emulating someone they looked up to who did it too.

[IPv6Freely 2082]

I could see it if you're taking faceoffs, both the long grip and also the tape near the blade (not necessarily for grip as just a bit of shaft protection from the other center).

I do like the look, despite it kind of defeating the point on my grip sticks. Hell, a grip at all (unless you do a spiral grip) on a grip stick seems silly. Just a knob and nothing else. Yet I still do it.

I dunno, I guess its just one of "those things" like guys taping their blades in an odd way as well.

[Chadd 916]

I know guys that use a longer tape job as a reminder for hand position. The bottom hand stops sliding up when they feel tape.

[Cavs019 702]

Holy over-analysis. Its for style purposes and nothing more. Scherbak's knob is pretty long and if he were to shoot with his bottom hand where the tape ends he'd be taking a golf swing. If guys feel the need to have extra grip or the feeling of tape in the middle of their shaft they usually candy-cane their sticks, not extend the butt end over 1/2 of the shaft.

[IPv6Freely 2082]

Holy over-analysis. Its for style purposes and nothing more. Scherbak's knob is pretty long and if he were to shoot with his bottom hand where the tape ends he'd be taking a golf swing. If guys feel the need to have extra grip or the feeling of tape in the middle of their shaft they usually candy-cane their sticks, not extend the butt end over 1/2 of the shaft.

Shoot yes, but stickhandle? Probably about right.

[flip12 699]

Yeah, it looks like he does handle the puck with his hand about if not precisely at that area.

[Chadd 916]

Holy over-analysis. Its for style purposes and nothing more. Scherbak's knob is pretty long and if he were to shoot with his bottom hand where the tape ends he'd be taking a golf swing. If guys feel the need to have extra grip or the feeling of tape in the middle of their shaft they usually candy-cane their sticks, not extend the butt end over 1/2 of the shaft.

I was referring to people I know, not the pic. After looking at the picture again, I would guess that it was originally done for training hand position. At this point it is probably habit.