Means and Method for Producing Sure-Grip Gripping Surfaces and The Objects So Enhanced

Abstract

A process for enhancing a gripping area of an object, providing a frictionally enhanced, moisture repellent, sure-grip gripping surface, achieved by less than a one second ultra-violet radiation curing of an ultraviolet-curable coating applied over an ultra-thin, less than 0.001 inches thin, polymeric woven or knitted fiber such as nylon, spandex, or blends that has been positioned about the gripping surface area of an object to be gripped. This inexpensive three step process uses commonly available, low-cost materials and minimal energy, is environmentally friendly and does not require repeated steps, thermosetting, vulcanization, caustic chemicals, molds, molding techniques, or gluing a molded cover onto a surface.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This Application claims the benefit of application Ser. No. 11/067238 filed on Feb. 26, 2005 and of application Ser. No. 12,137,716 filed on Jun. 12, 2008.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Not Applicable

REFERENCE TO SEQUENCE LISTING, A TABLE OR A COMPUTER PROGRAM LISTING COMPACT DISK APPENDIX

Not Applicable

BACKGROUND

The present invention relates generally to objects having a gripping surface and more particularly to means and methods for manufacturing an enhanced gripping surface on objects that require gripping and the objects so enhanced.

The background information discussed below is presented to better illustrate the novelty and usefulness of the present invention. Wooden bats for playing baseball and softball are used throughout the document as examples to facilitate the full, clear, and concise description of the invention so as to enable any person skilled in the art to make and use the invention using any surface requiring an enhanced gripping surface. The sure-grip gripping surface finish as taught by the principles of the present invention is meant to be used on any gripping surface area, examples of which are provided below. Thus, this background information is not admitted prior art and it is to be understood that the teachings are not confined to the examples used.

Accordingly, gripping surface areas will be explored in detail using baseball and softball bats. The games of baseball and softball have been traditionally played with a wooden bat, and the major baseball teams still only use wooden bats. Because of the costs however, schools are ever more frequently providing aluminum bats to students. Bats, regardless of the material of which they are made, all have a gripping surface area. This is the area where the batters grips or holds the bat. The gripping areas are often more slippery than is desired and ball players too frequently lose their grip on the bat during a game resulting in a loss of accuracy of the play. This happens on wooden bats and even more frequently on the slipperier aluminum bats.

Although grips may be improved by adding a layer of a malleable material to a gripping surface, for example by wrapping the gripping surface with fabric or leather tape or by encasing the handle in a molded rubber or plastic grip, for example, such wrapping grips often become slippery, especially from the sweaty hands of batters, for example, from moisture related to rain or snow, and from the creams, lotions, and natural oils found on a gripper's hands. When baseball players use wooden bats, a gripping additive, such as pine tar may be used in conjunction with batting gloves in order to achieve a better grip on the wooden bat. The use of tar however often results in the player's hand's being left with tar residue. Alternatively, ball players may use tape as a bat grip, but the tape quickly wears out requiring frequent replacement. Other attempts to provide for an enhanced gripping surface include a complex method that requires an expensive, time and labor intensive, environmentally unfriendly rubber vulcanization process. Another, perhaps even more complex, attempt requires expensive coatings made from an expensive and time and labor intensive method requiring relatively rare carbon and aramid fibers that must be braided exactly to certain braiding angles before being trimmed and applied to a surface that is then coated with a first resin, then thermoset and removed from the oven. As the process continues, the fibers are now trimmed again while on the bat, and additional thermo-curable material is applied for a second curing which is either a room temperature cure for eight hours or a thermoset cure can be used to shorten the final curing time; in either case the bats are kept in a vertical position to produce a roughed surface that may require sanding. Yet still another complex attempt involves a casing which must be made by a molding process requiring an intricately designed mold and molding steps for the manufacture of a blanket-like wrap with finger-like protrusions on one side of the wrap. The wrap, after the molded material is set, must be removed from the mold, sized and cut for wrapping about a surface requiring a grip, and then glued to the surface.

SUMMARY

Accordingly, the present Inventor, recognizing that there was no simple, inexpensive, easy way to provide for an enhanced sure-grip surface, devised a set of inventive principles that provide for a sure-grip gripping surface finish that can be fabricated inexpensively and rapidly directly on most any gripping surface area, use a minimum amount of materials, and can be done in only three fabrication steps. Moreover the inventive principles include the use of materials that are commonly available, low-cost, and have a low, or no, impact on the environment as used in the production of the sure-grip gripping surface. Importantly, the inventive concept demands that all sure-grip finishes comprise an ultra-thin layer of material, so that the finish, while offering an increase in friction between a user's hands and the gripping surface, does not interfere with the user's grip, increases the friction between a user's hand and the gripping surface area required for a sure-grip, and is moisture resistant. As will be seen, the present invention overcomes all of the above described disadvantages and more by providing for a means and a method of providing for an enhanced sure-grip gripping surface on objects that are required to be gripped.

A multitude of objects, besides baseball bats, having gripping surface areas that would benefit from the application of such a sure-grip finish are, for example, the handles of hand tools such as hammers, screw drivers, and hatchets, as well as ladder rungs, sports equipment, such as golf clubs, bar bell-type lifting weights, baseball bats, and tennis rackets, and medical devices, such as walkers and canes. It is easy then to appreciate how desirable it is to provide for a sure-grip surface on such handles.

One preferred method of making the enhanced sure-grip gripping surface finish is by the nearly instantaneous UV-radiation curing of an inexpensive and readily available UV-curable coating that is applied over an inexpensive and readily available polymer mesh-like material positioned about the gripping part of the bat handle to produce a polymerized coating permanently bonded to the gripping area. The mesh-like material can be, for example nylon, a nylon and spandex composite material where stretch is desired, or spandex alone. Regardless of the type of polymeric material used to envelope the gripping surface of an object, the material may be provided in easy to use tubular form. The steps of ultra-violet radiation curing of a coating of ultraviolet-curable, liquid polymer after it is applied over polymeric fiber material placed on the gripping area, provide for an ultra-thin polymerized coating permanently bonded to the gripping area providing for a high-friction sure-grip gripping, moisture repellent surface. Moreover, the object benefiting from being provided with a sure-grip gripping polymerized coating permanently bonded to the gripping area, may be an object made of any material including metal.

Thus, the present invention teaches both the method to make and means used to make an enhanced sure grip surface for any object that must be gripped, where the enhanced sure grip surface is easily and rapidly manufactured using materials that are commonly available and low-cost, and have a low, or no, impact on the environment. The enhanced sure-grip surface when applied to a baseball bat, reduces or eliminates the otherwise too frequent loss of the batter's grip on the bat during a game as the resulting sure-grip, moisture repellent surface is not affected by moisture such as the perspiration on a user's hands, thus increasing the accuracy of the play. A surer grip allows a player to hold the bat less tightly, thus, increasing the player's efficiency of movement and making it less likely that the player will strain his muscles. In addition, a sure-grip decreases the danger of having the bat slip out of the player's hands and, thus, relieves a batter's apprehension of having his hands slip over the gripping surface of a bat. The gripping area of a baseball bat frequently becomes slippery from the perspiration on the hands of batters, especially during heavy play on a warm day. And, of course, the enhanced sure-grip surface is especially appreciated on smooth metal bats that are extremely slippery, as are wooden bats that have a highly polished surface, and ideal for use on low-end bats, such as those bought for home or school or Little League use.

Still other benefits and advantages of this invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading and understanding the following detailed specification and related drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In order that these and other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention may be more fully comprehended and appreciated, the invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to specific embodiments thereof which are illustrated in appended drawings wherein like reference characters indicate like parts throughout the several figures. It should be understood that these drawings only depict preferred embodiments of the present invention, such as depicting a wooden and a metal baseball bat as examples to illustrate an object improved by being provided with a sure-grip, extremely durable gripping surface that is moisture repellent. Thus, accepting that these examples are not to be considered as limiting the scope of the invention, the invention now will be described and explained with additional specificity and detail relating to baseball bats through the use of the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a Prior Art wooden bat.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a Prior Art metal bat.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a wooden bat with a sure-grip gripper surface on its gripping part.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a metal bat with a sure-grip gripper surface on its gripping part.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 5-5 of FIG. 3.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 6-6 of FIG. 4.

FIG. 7 is a flow-chart outlining the process of making the present invention.

REFERENCE NUMERALS AND THE PARTS TO WHICH THEY REFER

• 10 A sure-grip surface.
• 16 A polymer layer of sure-grip surface 10.
• 18 A UV-curable adhering-coat securing sure-grip surface.
• 22 Body of a wooden bat.
• 30 Body of a metal bat.

DEFINITIONS

Gripping surface or gripping surface area, as used herein, refers to that surface part of an object by which the object is gripped. Some common gripping surfaces include the handle holding part of a baseball bat, the holding part of a hammer handle, ladder rungs, tennis racket handles, and so on.

Nylon, as used herein, refers to any of a family of high-strength, resilient, synthetic polymers, the molecules of which contain the recurring amide group CONH. Nylon is produced by chemical synthesis from compounds readily available from air, water, and coal or petroleum and is used to form fibers to be manufactured into yarn and textiles. It has high resistance to wear, heat, and chemicals. Most applications are in the form of filaments in such articles as hosiery, parachutes, and outerwear; such polymeric nylon material is about 0.00098 inches thick, which is less than 25 percent of a human hair. The elasticity of nylon fabric, woven or knitted, can be increased by the addition of spandex. Other new fibers known as microfibers or microdeniers are now being blended with nylon to increase nylon's properties.

Polymeric fibers, as used herein, refer to natural and synthetic fibers, including but not limited to cotton, silk, wool, rayon, acetate, nylon, spandex, polyethylene terephthalate, acrylics, polyurethanes, and polypropylene, for example. The fibers may be applied to a gripping area of an object in any functional manner, including but not limited to: applying the polymeric fibers in the form of fabric, such as a mesh, spinning fibers about the object, spray coating, and the like.

Surface finish, as used herein, refers to an ultra-thin coating or layer of material fixedly applied to the surface of an object to embellish and/or protect the surface, especially to the surfaces of an object that make up the gripping area of an object to be gripped. Surface finish also refers to the surface texture of an object that is often defined by three components: lay, surface roughness, and waviness. Lay is a measure of the direction of the predominant pattern if the surface was machined and also refers to the predominant pattern that is the pattern of the ultra-thin coating or layer of material fixedly applied to the surface of the object to enhance the original surface finish of the object. Surface roughness is a measure of the finely spaced surface irregularities, such as the irregularities that provide for a surface having enhanced friction, such as the enhanced gripping surface provided when a surface finish according to the principles of the present invention is applied to an object by the fixed application of an ultra-thin coating or layer of material. Waviness is the measure of surface irregularities with spacing greater than that of surface roughness. These can be designed by careful selection of the material that is fixedly applied to the surface of an object following the principles of the present invention.

Sure-grip gripping surface, as used herein, refers to the gripping surface part of an object by which the object is gripped where the gripping surface has been enhanced to provide for a moisture repellent, high friction, sure-grip surface coating as taught by the principles of the present invention. Some common gripping surfaces that benefit from having a sure-grip gripping surface include the handle holding part of a baseball bat, the holding part of a hammer handle, ladder rungs, tennis racket handles, and so on.

Sure-Grip Gripping Surface Finish, as used herein, refers to sure-grip surface coating as taught by the principles of the present invention.

Ultra-thin, as used herein, refers to a measure of thickness, or alternatively referred to as thinness, that approaches the thickness dimension of a layer of woven or knitted polymeric material, such as nylon, spandex, any of the material listed in the definition of a Polymeric Material provide above, or a combination thereof. Such a thinness measurement would be about a twenty-five percent thickness of a human hair, which would be about or less than 0.001 inches.

Ultraviolet-cured coatings as used herein, refers to acrylated formulations of silicones, ultraviolet-curable urethanes, and methacrylates, as well as to combined ultraviolet-heat-curable formulations and other chemical systems that are “set” or “cured” using UV-radiation.

Ultraviolet (UV) radiation, as used herein, refers to the portion of the electromagnetic spectrum that extends from the violet, or short-wavelength, end of the visible light range to the X-ray region. UV radiation is undetectable by the human eye. UV radiation lies between wavelengths of about 400 nanometres (1 nanometre [nm] is 10⁻⁹ metre, or 10 angstrom units) on the visible-light side and about 100 nm on the X-ray side, though some authorities extend the short-wavelength limit to 4 nm. In physics, ultraviolet radiation is traditionally divided into four regions: near (400-300 nm), middle (300-200 nm), far (200-100 nm), and extreme (below 100 nm).

It should be understood that the drawings are not necessarily to scale. In certain instances, details which are not necessary for an understanding of the present invention or which render other details difficult to perceive may have been omitted.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring now, with more particularity, to the drawings, it should be noted that the disclosed invention is disposed to embodiments in various sizes, shapes, and forms, and especially of many objects that are related by their need for a sure-grip gripping surface. Therefore, it is to be understood that the baseball bat embodiments described herein are provided to be illustrative and thus, their use is not intended to limit the invention to these embodiments.

For many objects, wood is the manufacturing material of choice. One such wooden object is illustrated in FIG. 1, a perspective view, illustrating a Prior Art wooden bat. Many objects, made of wood, such as the baseball bat illustrated in FIG. 1 are also available made out of metal. FIG. 2, a perspective view, illustrates a Prior Art conventional aluminum bat. Both of these objects suffer from being slippery in their gripping area. And, of course, smooth metal bats, much more so than wooden bats, are extremely slippery. In addition to baseball bats, all objects having gripping areas suffer from unsure grips when the person doing the gripping has sweaty hands that can be caused by any tension or exertion, hot weather, or when the moisture content of the atmosphere is high. A sure-grip is a more secure grip providing for a user's grip to be relaxed somewhat, resulting in a secure but not tense gripping situation. For example, in the game of baseball a more secure grip provides for a player to hold the bat less tightly, in turn offering the added benefit of increasing the player's efficiency of movement making it less likely that the player will strain his muscles. In addition, a sure-grip decreases the danger of having the bat slip out of the player's hands.

To provide a sure-grip gripping surface for all objects with a gripping area, the present invention is directed towards providing a set of inventive principles that if followed provide for an extremely durable, moisture repellent, and high-friction sure-grip gripping surface finish for nearly any product that has a gripping surface. Additionally, the sure-grip gripping surface finish of the present invention requires only two ingredients, is low cost, and is easy to manufacture. All of the benefits and advantages of this invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading and understanding the following detailed specification and related drawings.

FIG. 3, a perspective view, illustrates an object with a sure-grip gripping surface finish manufactured according to the principles of the invention as described herein. The object used to illustrate a gripping surface area that has the sure-grip gripping surface applied is wooden bat 22. Such a wooden bat typically is made of solid wood. Applied over the gripping area of bat 22 is sure-grip gripping surface finish 10 made according to the principles of the present invention. The inventive principles include having a layer of ultra-thin woven or knitted polymeric material adhered to a gripping surface area by a UV-cured coat of UV-curable material. Sure-grip gripping surface finish 10 provides an ultra-thin layer of about or less than 0.001 inches thin, high-friction, moisture repellent, sure-grip gripping surface providing a batter with an enhanced safe and sure grip when he or she is using the bat. One preferred surface finish is made from a single layer of nylon material, such as the material from which women's hosiery is made, that is adhered to a gripping surface area by a UV-cured coat of UV-curable material, such as urethane, for example.

FIG. 4, a perspective view, illustrates another object with a sure-grip gripping surface finish manufactured according to the principles of the invention as described herein. The object used to illustrate a gripping surface area that has the sure-grip gripping surface applied is metal bat 30. Such a metal bat typically is made of aluminum. On the gripping area of metal bat 30 is sure-grip gripping surface finish 10 made according to the principles of the present invention. Sure-grip gripping surface finish 10 provides a high-friction, moisture repellent, sure-grip gripping surface on metal bat 30 providing a batter with an enhanced safe and sure grip when he or she is using the bat.

FIG. 5, a cross-sectional view taken along line 5-5 of FIG. 3, illustrates the structure of the sure-grip coating finish 10 made according to the principles of the present invention. In the example illustrated, one layer of a polymeric fiber material 16 was wrapped about the gripping area of the body of wooden bat 22. The polymeric material is for example, nylon, spandex, or a composite of nylon and spandex material. See the DEFINITIONS SECTION above for other examples of polymeric fiber material that are contemplated by the principle of the present invention. Polymeric fiber material 16 is adhered to the bat's gripping surface by UV-cured adhering-coating 18. Examples of UV curing materials are those that are composed of ethylenically (refers to a double bond between carbons as opposed to a single bond) functional oligomers and monomers which are cross-linked via a photo-initiator that is added to the oligomers and/or monomers and reacts when exposed to UV radiation. When the correct UV frequency shines on the photo-initiator, free radicals are formed that in turn cause the ethylene groups to rapidly polymerize. These types of polymers may be engineered to have high elongation, toughness, hardness, and chemical resistance, as desired. Another example of a material that is UV curable utilizes cationic curing. Here, the curing agent is formed of aliphatic epoxides (single bonds), various polyols, and a photo-initiator. A superacid is formed once the photo-initiator is exposed to UV radiation which begins the polymerization process. In this embodiment a foam brush may be used to apply the UV-curable substance over the polymeric-material covered part of the bat handle.

FIG. 6, a cross-sectional view taken along line 6-6 of FIG. 4, illustrates the structure of sure-grip coating finish 10 made according to the principles of the present invention. In the example illustrated, one layer of a polymeric fiber material 16 was wrapped about the gripping area of the body of metal bat 30. The two cross-sectional views are provided to illustrate that regardless of the object that requires a sure-grip coating finish, the finish is same and is applied in the manner.

The method of making sure-grip gripping surface finish 10 is illustrated in the diagrammatic flow-chart of FIG. 7 and can be described in more detail, as follows. One step is to place a single layer of polymeric fibers that can be kitted or woven, such as nylon, spandex, or a composite of nylon and spandex materials for example, over a gripping area of an object to be gripped. Another step is to apply an ultraviolet-curable coating over said polymeric fibers that have been positioned about the gripping area of an object. The last step is to cure the UV-curable coating that has been applied to the polymeric material using ultra-violet radiation. The curing process is almost instantaneous—it takes only a second or less for the ultraviolet radiation to cure the coating over the polymeric fibers to provide an extremely thin, usually less than 0.001 inches thin, but durable, high-friction sure-grip gripping surface that is moisture repellent. In this example, a high intensity medium pressure mercury lamp (200-300 watts/inch) generates the UV-radiation. The sure-grip gripping surface finish so made, provides for a comfortable gripping. If desired, there can be a final step of applying a UV-clear coat over the entire bat to seal, harden, and encase any desired decals, colors, and/or polymeric materials, and to cover any engraved surfaces. This simple, rapid, and inexpensive three step process using commonly available, low cost materials, does not require repeated steps, thermosetting, excess materials that have to be scraped off, repeat trimming, vulcanization methods, caustic chemicals, molds, molding techniques, and gluing a covering onto the gripping surfaces, results in providing for an enhanced high-friction, sure-grip gripping surface that is moisture repellent and much easier on the environment and the use of energy. More over, the finish so attained is complete. The one layer of material that is applied and coated with the UV curable coating is so thin its thickness is barely perceptible on the object. Nylon fibers are about ¼ the thickness of a human hair which is about 100 microns thick. Therefore, nylon material is about 0.00098 inches, which makes the total thickness of the applied sure-grip gripping surface less than about 0.001 inches. And, unlike some of the other presently available products, the ultra-thin coating of the present invention does not require a backer layer or a cover layer. If more than one layer of nylon is desired, it can be added to the present invention without noticeably adding to the thickness of the sure-grip coating finish because of the ultra-thin nature of the coating, but, it should be noted that only one layer is required to attain the benefits described. If desired, the UV-curable material may be applied directly to the gripping surface of the object before the layer of polymeric material is applied.

The present invention is to be contrasted with the various coatings previously used in the preparation of gripping surfaces for baseball bats include lacquers, epoxy systems, and urethanes, e.g., one-part air-dry systems, two-part urethane, two-part epoxy, and baking systems. Many of the presently available grip devices that are made using these known systems are negatively affected by moisture, including perspiration, and thus, must be replaced frequently. The sure-grip gripping surface finish does not rely on the coatings that are negatively affected my moisture, such as perspiration. When coating a bat with a readily available, low-cost, polymeric material (e.g., nylon, polyester, fiberglass) using a UV-curable coating, as is taught in the present invention, the coating is effectively cured in place directly on the underlying substrate in a matter of moments providing for an enhanced, moisture repellant, sure-grip gripping surface that requires no sanding, no heating, and no molding process, where the enhanced surface coating also acts as a reinforcing surface. UV-curing offers advantages of low or zero solvent emissions, high speed curing, and has low-energy requirements—all which provide for a cost-effective and “green” technology.

Moreover, the objects benefiting from being provided with an extremely durable, sure-grip gripping surface may be any object made of any material including metal. Any object benefiting from an application of a sure-grip gripping area is used in the same manner in which it would be used before the sure-grip gripping surface was applied. The objects that benefit from having a sure-grip surface applied are limited only by one's imagination and include, but are not limited to: sports handles—baseball and softball bats, boat oars, tennis rackets, racquetball rackets, hockey sticks, lacrosse, polo, badminton, table tennis, golf, mini golf, racing flags, tools, such as hammers, screwdrivers, rakes, hoes, shovels, sockets sets, ladder rungs and the like, canes, walkers, walking sticks, umbrellas, pointers. Other surfaces that may benefit from the extremely durable, sure-grip surface of the present invention include standing surfaces of snowboards, surf boards, etc., physical fitness equipment, such as weights, including free weights and weight bars, handles on weight machines, ski machine poles, and treadmill grips, etc.

The foregoing description, for purposes of explanation, uses specific and defined nomenclature to provide a thorough understanding of the invention. However, it will be apparent to one skilled in the art that the specific details are not required in order to practice the invention. Thus, the foregoing descriptions of specific embodiments of the present invention were presented for purposes of illustration and description. They are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed. Those skilled in the art will recognize that many changes may be made to the features, embodiments, and methods of making the embodiments of the invention described herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Furthermore, the present invention is not limited to the described methods, embodiments, features or combinations of features but include all the variation, methods, modifications, and combinations of features within the scope of the appended claims. The invention is limited only by the claims.

Claims

1. A product, comprising: a surface finish in intimate contact with a gripping area surface of an object to be gripped, said surface finish made up of a layer of ultra-thin polymeric material fixedly and directly adhered to the gripping area surface by a UV-cured UV-curable material in contact with said polymeric material and the gripping area surface.

2. The product, as recited in claim 1, wherein said polymeric material further comprises woven or knitted polymeric material.

3. The product, as recited in claim 1, wherein said ultra-thin polymeric material is less than 0.001 inches thin.

4. The product, as recited in claim 1, wherein said UV-curable material is UV-curable in one second or less.

5. The product, as recited in claim 1, wherein said ultra-thin polymeric material is a nylon, a spandex or a combination thereof.

6. The product, as recited in claim 1, wherein said object is a wooden baseball bat.

7. The product, as recited in claim 1, wherein said layer of ultra-thin polymeric material consists solely of a single layer.

8. In combination with an object having a gripping area, a surface finish in intimate contact with a gripping area surface of an object to be gripped, said surface finish made up of a layer of ultra-thin polymeric material fixedly and directly adhered to the gripping area surface by a UV-cured UV-curable material in contact with said polymeric material and the gripping area surface.

9. The combination, as recited in claim 8, wherein said polymeric material further comprises woven or knitted polymeric material.

10. The combination, as recited in claim 8, wherein said layer of ultra-thin polymeric material is less than 0.001 inches thin.

11. The combination, as recited in claim 8, wherein said UV-curable material is UV-curable in one second or less.

12. The combination, as recited in claim 8, wherein said ultra-thin polymeric material is a nylon, a spandex or a combination thereof.

13. The combination, as recited in claim 8, wherein said object is a wooden baseball bat.

14. A method, comprising:

making a surface finish in intimate contact with a gripping area surface of an object to be gripped by

providing for an object having a gripping area,

adhering fixedly and directly to the gripping area a layer of ultra-thin polymeric material by UV-curing a UV-curable material in contact with said polymeric material and the gripping area surface.

15. The method, as recited in claim 14, wherein said polymeric material further comprises woven or knitted polymeric material.

16. The method, as recited in claim 14, wherein said layer of ultra-thin polymeric material is less than 0.001 inches thin.

17. The method, as recited in claim 14, wherein said UV-curable material is UV-curable in one second or less.

18. The method, as recited in claim 14, wherein said ultra-thin polymeric material is a nylon, a spandex or a combination thereof.

19. The method, as recited in claim 14, wherein said object is a wooden baseball bat.

20. The method, as recited in claim 14, further comprising the steps of:

providing for an object having a gripping area, enveloping a polymeric nylon fiber material about the gripping area of the object, coating said enveloping polymeric nylon fiber material with an ultraviolet-curable liquid polymer, and curing in less than one second said ultraviolet-curable liquid polymer coating said polymeric nylon fiber material using ultraviolet radiation to create a polymerized coating permanently bonded to the gripping area, said polymerized coating providing for an enhanced high-friction, moisture repellent, sure-grip gripping surface.