UKC

I could do with buying a brush to start cleaning holds. Anybody got any recommendations? I don't care if its not a climbing branded brush. I just need a cheap option.

Thanks

In reply to geddicakes:

Lapis brush. Best there is, but doesn't last very long

In reply to geddicakes: a false teath tooth brush has to be the best brush there as hard / stiff as the brushes that are sold by var climbing companys but they only cost 99p

In reply to geddicakes:

Why this obsession with brushing holds? What is it that are trying to achieve with your 'recommended' brush? Is this really what holding you back?

Maybe I'm out of line here, but people scrubbing furiously away at holds seems mostly pointless, not beneficial to the rock and a habit

In reply to nniff: brushing the holds just makes the crag look a little nicer for the next lot that come along, especially if they're not climbers. Indoors it helps to regain some of the texture of well used holds that get packed full of chalk, similarly on finer grained outdoor crags.

Just look for a stiff bristled brush in your supermarket, normally the gippo ones!

In reply to nniff: You've also obviously never been to a new climbing venue where all the holds are caked with moss, lichen and other forms of crap that don't generally make for good holds. Once the rock has been cleaned though there isn't much need for a brush at all

In reply to nniff:


You are out of line. Your comment is neither useful or a reply to the original question. You've also made alot of presumptions. You've assumed i'll be using it on natural rock, you've assumed i'll be using it on developed areas and finally you've assumed that I'm blaming my climbing performance on not having a "brush". This is the list of items that hold back my climbing at the moment:
- age;
- excessive or inadequate height or reach;
- weight;
- weather (predictions of imminent change, too hot, cold, windy, wet or humid);
- nature of the rock, climbing, protection and belays (too much, too little or the wrong sort);
- strength (invariably lack of);
- generic and specific ailments;
- apathy;
- vegetation, slime and nettles;
- dampness and seepage;
- loose rock;
- polish;
- rumours of adverse access agreements;
- daylight (too little remaining or insufficiently well established);
- too hard, too easy, done it before, not done it before for a good reason;
- forgotten or lost equipment;
- hunger, thirst or over-indulgence;
- flies, midges, ticks or other wildlife;
- pressing engagement elsewhere or threats issued by my potentially lawful wedded opponent;
- insufficient blood in the alcohol flow.

The original intent of the post was to find out what people would recommend. Some people will use the lapis brush or metolius brushes. Others will use their little brothers tooth brush.

In reply to everyone else:

Thanks for the advice, whilst the lapis brush sounds like the porsche of the brush world I like the sound of denture brushes. Has anyone used horse hair shoe cleaning brushes?

In reply to geddicakes:

being a lover of the brush I have the following recomendations:
Lapis is soft, but it lifts loads of chalk of abused holds (£4.50)
Metolius M16 harder brush good for getting worked in grimes and nylon so is quite long lasting. (£4)
Washing up brush (get a stiff one) clean those big hard to reach holds does the job.

Brushes clean of excess chalk, this is helps friction of marginal holds (font brushing is crucial), it looks nicer! also brushing off chalk helps keep the rock in better condition!

In reply to geddicakes:

Asda budget toothbrush pack: 2 for 34p I think I paid last time.

Trim the bristles down to half length with a sharp pair of scissors, to make them stiffer. Cheap as chips....but not as tasty.

In reply to Sambo:

Sounds a little bit like being a chef and having a love of knives.

Sounds like a good collection too.

In reply to geddicakes: iirc needle sports do one orrigionaly used for cleaning guns or something thats ment to be good

In reply to Brendan Hanratty: Thats the Metolius M16 brush

In reply to geddicakes:


Never mind. Have you worked it out yet?

And the day I see people cleaning problems, indoor or out, when they've finished with them is the day I'll believe that they carry brushes to clear up after themselves. That will be the same day that litter disappears from our crags too.

In reply to nniff:

What a boring person you must be.

In reply to geddicakes:

Your old toothbrush will be fine.

If you need a bigger one then a value nylon brush from the supermarket, prahaps one of theses http://www.mysupermarket.co.uk/asda-compare-prices/Cleaning_Accessories/ASD... but I think they're generally overkill unless you're on a very dirty crag.

You can get special metolius brushes which are very nice and have finer bristles - good at removing chalk but not ideal for heavy crag cleaning. I've never bothered becase I think they're a bit too nice to be wasted on brushing rocks!

In reply to Silum:


Quite possibly. You should really add grumpy and intolerant to that too, but not forgetting that I care about our crags: litter, tick marks and people scrubbing furiously away at holds all annoy me. Perhaps you should add 'needlessly irritated' to the list too, but the level of erosion under one route at my local crag is now about 9 inches in three years, a new hold is appearing on another route, and I've just carted another bag of rubbish away from it.

In reply to geddicakes:

To satisfy a good cleaning fetish you will need the following....

1, Stiff wooden yard brush, for cleanin new problems
2, M16 brush, for cleaning light dirt off holds
3, Lapis for removing chalk between attempts
4, An extendable pole ,with brush attaching gizmo, for cleaning high holds
5, A tea towel for scrubbing lichen and slapping holds with(jerry does it, so it must be good)

Now get cleaning

In reply to nniff: Sorry but i'm not sure I understand. You are saying that we shouldnt brush holds? Care to explain why.

In reply to mctrials23:

No - I'm not saying that at all, but what I am saying is that these things are picked up as 'the thing to do'. I regularly see people scrubbing holds furiously as a matter of routine and my point is that in the long term (or even not so long term) it's damaging, either in terms of wear and erosion or polish. A need to know what is the best, cheap brush shows a departure from a basic and simple wish to remove excessive dirt from a hold, to a perceived need to create the best possible surface.

Vigorously brushing indoor problems is a practice that concerns me when it migrates outside.

In reply to nniff:

Well i suppose you admit to being grumpy so I dont really need an answer to why you came into this thread.

Just please pick your arguments. We're talking about cleaning holds, not the erosion caused by landings or rubbish removal. You sound not only grumpy and intolerant as you call it, but pathetic too.

Good luck on your one man quest to fight the evil sport of bouldering.

In reply to Silum:

Boring I can live with, grumpy too. It's reputed to come with advancing years. However, calling someone pathetic for taking a stance about people scrubbing holds as a matter of routine and for aligning such lack of respect for a crag with general abuse and disregard for the crag environment is objectionable. For you to label this as pathetic shows a distict feebleness of mind, characterised by your worthless contributions to date.

In reply to Silum:

Brushing holds may well contribute to holds becoming polished by rubbing abrasive particles across the rock surface lots of times. After all, this is how things like glass are polished.

However if its got to the point where a hold is being brushed lots then its probably being used lots so will polish anyway...