Ok, so, here's the thing: The reason I haven't updated this blog in quite a while is because I've been waiting for some good news before I tell you the bad news. I'll explain.
As it turns out, there evidently is not a linear correlation between the amount of hooks used and the amount of grip produced. If there was, then I would not have been able to pull my hand down the brick wall during the last test. But I could. In fact, it was almost indistinguishable from the previous test, in which I only had 15 hooks, as opposed to the 46 I had for the last test (during which I also decided to throw myself at the wall and see if that would work (it didn't), which was a bad idea because I wasn't wearing shoes, so I now have a hole in one of my [new] socks). Anyway.
So that didn't nearly go as well as I had hoped.
However, all is not lost. That was just using one prototype glove (and when I say glove, I mean 46 metal hooks sellotaped to my hand). If I used two, combined with the added grip of shoes (which create a more decent amount of grip than you probably think), then it might just work. If I did I wall run (a parkour move where the person runs up a wall, generally to grab onto a ledge or balcony), then even if the gloves couldn't quite hold my weight, I still might be able to clamber up the wall as long as I keep my upward momentum going. Hopefully.
However, that creates the problem that if I need to stop halfway up a 50 foot wall... I could slide and perhaps even fall right down to the ground. Which would be very bad indeed.
You know what I said at the beginning of this post about waiting for good news? Well... I still don't have any. I just decided to update my blog for the sake of it. However, I am going to go forward with the next prototype. This one will be an actual prototype glove, rather than just attaching hooks to my own hand. I'm going to do what I explained in an earlier post, except instead of using proper gloves, I'm going to make each one out of two latex gloves bound together by PVA glue, which will hopefully make each final glove sufficiently tough, and the hook arrangement will be sellotaped onto the outside of the gloves.
I'll get to work on that as soon as I can be bothered.
As it turns out, there evidently is not a linear correlation between the amount of hooks used and the amount of grip produced. If there was, then I would not have been able to pull my hand down the brick wall during the last test. But I could. In fact, it was almost indistinguishable from the previous test, in which I only had 15 hooks, as opposed to the 46 I had for the last test (during which I also decided to throw myself at the wall and see if that would work (it didn't), which was a bad idea because I wasn't wearing shoes, so I now have a hole in one of my [new] socks). Anyway.
So that didn't nearly go as well as I had hoped.
However, all is not lost. That was just using one prototype glove (and when I say glove, I mean 46 metal hooks sellotaped to my hand). If I used two, combined with the added grip of shoes (which create a more decent amount of grip than you probably think), then it might just work. If I did I wall run (a parkour move where the person runs up a wall, generally to grab onto a ledge or balcony), then even if the gloves couldn't quite hold my weight, I still might be able to clamber up the wall as long as I keep my upward momentum going. Hopefully.
However, that creates the problem that if I need to stop halfway up a 50 foot wall... I could slide and perhaps even fall right down to the ground. Which would be very bad indeed.
You know what I said at the beginning of this post about waiting for good news? Well... I still don't have any. I just decided to update my blog for the sake of it. However, I am going to go forward with the next prototype. This one will be an actual prototype glove, rather than just attaching hooks to my own hand. I'm going to do what I explained in an earlier post, except instead of using proper gloves, I'm going to make each one out of two latex gloves bound together by PVA glue, which will hopefully make each final glove sufficiently tough, and the hook arrangement will be sellotaped onto the outside of the gloves.
I'll get to work on that as soon as I can be bothered.