My Comment Posts

I was at a Gold Buyers shop this afternoon so I had my DanKung Black Palm Thunder tested for metal content. An Olympus GoldXpert analyzer was used to determine the alloy. This Palm Thunder does attract a magnet but not quite as strongly as my 440C Ergo Dancing (with grooves). The Black Palm Thunder is unpolished stainless steel. There is no zinc content at all. According to online data, a 304 stainless alloy should have 18-20% chromium and 8.0-10.5% nickel.

DK Black Palm Thunder
Cr = 18.76%
Fe = 71.77
Cu = 0.84
Ni = 8.63

Cr = chromium, Fe = iron, Ni = nickel, Cu = copper

DanKung Ergonomic Dancing (with grooves)

The grooved Ergonomic Dancing slingshot is still considered a newcomer to the fine line of DanKung slingshots. Introduction was only a short time ago during mid March 2015. Due to the extreme generosity of a fellow slingshot friend I have an Ergonomic Dancing of my own. After plenty of shooting sessions I have a few facts and opinions to share.

The Ergo Dancing (with grooves) shouldn’t be confused with the plain Ergo Dancing Hunting model. At first glance they do look very similar but the Hunting version is a bit wider at the forks, lacks the fork grooves, has paracord wrap instead of rubber, and is made of 304 stainless rather than 440C. Both frames have the ergonomic s-shape and have the quick-change slots at the bottom of the fork ears. Price difference is only $8 so make sure you get the version that meets your needs and puts a smile on your face.

As mentioned above, the grooved Ergo Dancing frame is 440C stainless steel rather than the more common 304 used on most frames. The 440C grade is a harder alloy used in making knife blades, valve parts, and ball bearings. This hardness factor gives the 440 frame increased protection from accidental fork hits. The stainless steel also polishes up well and is very good at resisting corrosion. I was informed by DanKung that the 440 Ergo frame is completely polished under the fork sleeves and handle wrap.

The 440 Ergo Dancing has grooves that run down the front of each fork ear, right where you want the tubes to stay throughout the shot. The fork grooves are not just a gimmick feature. I have several non-grooved frames and the tubes do roll on some of them. Some shooters have developed a special technique when drawing the grooveless frames and it usually fixes the rolling but the tubes can still be slightly out of position when at full draw. With the Ergo’s grooves the tubes seem to stay put for every shot. I have visually checked before countless shots and the tubes never roll out of the grooves. It’s one less thing to think about when shooting.

The handle on this Ergo comes with a black rubber wrap rather than the common paracord. The wrap appears quite durable and is not a cheap or thin rubber. The installation looks very professional so I have no plans to remove unless it starts to show extensive wear. I find the wrap provides a secure grip, a slight cushioning and is more comfortable than paracord. The wrap covers the junction of the specialized rubber fork sleeves with a balanced transition. I have inspected it closely many times and can’t even find the starting or ending points of the wrap.

I have many stainless steel DanKung flat frames but this Ergo Dancing is my first ergonomic design. I wasn’t even sure how to properly hold the ergo until I experimented a bit and checked some online pictures. The frame has a gentle “S” shape to the side profile. When properly held I found that the handle bend puts the top of the grip a bit deeper into my palm and allows enhanced frame contact for a more secure hold. The big benefit is the straight wrist hold used with the ergo frame design. It feels more natural than bent wrist shooting and may contribute to improved accuracy for some shooters. A straight wrist style is like your pointing your index finger at the target.

So there you have it. The grooved Ergo Dancing is full of great features... 440C stainless steel construction, quick-change fork ears, grooved ears, rubber handle wrap, compact and comfortable ergonomic design... and a reasonable price.

I’m struggling to find a negative feature to point out. I have read that 440C can be more brittle than 304 so care should to be taken when handling. Apparently, a long drop onto a hard surface could cause a crack to develop. I plan to treat the frame with the same care as a fine hunting knife.

Measurements
Overall length = 4.82” (122.5 mm)
Width across frame at fork loops = 3.64” (92.5 mm)
Width between forks = 1.57” (40 mm)
Fork loop outside diameter = 1.03 (26 mm)
Fork loop inside diameter = 0.43” (11 mm)
Width at top of handle (incl wrap) = .94” (24 mm)
Width on outside of handle (at widest) = 1.55” (39 mm)
Width on inside of handle (incl wrap) = .53” (13.5 mm)
Frame thickness = .31” (8 mm)
Total weight with wraps and tubes = 5.3 oz (150 g)

Tubes & Flatbands
As with all similar Chinese style frames, the Ergo dancing will accommodate the thin Malaysian tubes, the thicker Theraband style tubes, flatbands, and solids. The skinny Malaysian tubes can be shot single strand on each side, full doubles, or even in a pseudo taper style (partial doubles). I’m currently shooting mine with 6 ¾” 1745 tubes with 2 ½” loops (pseudo tapers). With 3/8” steel ammo this combination delivers 210 fps with my 32” draw length. Double 2040 tubes at 6 ½” are another option that I sometimes use with this frame.

Overall Opinion
The grooved Ergo Dancing is a frame that fits right in with my other small DK frames. I can switch back and forth with very little aiming adjustment. Due to the s-curve ergo shape, the dancing might not fit comfortably into the pocket of your jeans but it slips into a jacket pocket or loose cargo pocket quite well.

Shooting the Dancing is comfortable with the thumb on the lower fork ring, index finger just below the upper ring and pinky in the dedicated handle hole. This is no different than the way I shoot my other pinky-hole DK frames.

Accuracy is good with the grooved Ergo Dancing and it’s a fun little frame to shoot. The comfort level is high and hand slaps are never an issue. This might be your choice if you are searching out a new Chinese ergo frame.

DanKung Black Palm Thunder

The DanKung Palm Thunder has been in production for a few years now and has been mentioned many times on the various slingshot forums. As a fan of small frames, I finally had to have a Palm Thunder of my own. A few email exchanges with Tim at DanKung brought quick responses with pictures and/or detailed answers to all my questions. This type of customer service helped remove my fear with an overseas transaction. In 16 days (only 12 shipping days), the small slingshot was in my hands in Canada. I’m amazed at the shipping speed but I definitely don’t expect this type of postal cooperation on every order, especially for such as a low shipping fee.

This is not my first experience with Chinese style slingshots. A few years ago I purchased the stainless steel Bat-1 and the Terminator. After that I bought a General II and Fox Hunting from DanKung. All of these frames turned out to be enjoyable additions to my collection. I found them to be well made, pocket-able, and accurate to shoot. These four frames have the polished mirror finish rather than the “black” finish found on my Palm Thunder (PT). The PT is also available in the polished mirror finish but I wanted a less shiny frame for outdoor shooting on sunny days. My previous experience with the polished frames was good but I found an annoying glare from the forks when shooting with the bright sun behind me. On some days this caused a bit of a challenge when aiming. A piece of tape or a short length of shrink tubing would have cured the problem but a black frame sounded like a better alternative and a good enough reason to order a new frame.

Design & Construction
“Dankung develops and produces many slingshots by collecting and exchanging ideas from slingshot enthusiasts around the globe. Making simple and functional state-of-the-art slingshots is their goal.” The Palm Thunder is one of their frames that happens to be a design from a slingshot fan in the USA.

The Palm Thunder shares the typical Chinese slingshot design with the rounded metallic frame, looped fork tips, and pinky-hole grip. It’s a smallish frame in comparison to many of the models sold through the DanKung web site.

The Palm Thunder frame is cast 304 stainless steel, although it does have the appearance of a traditional bent wire construction. The forks loops are rounded on the tops rather than having the dished contour as found on the Bat and Terminator designs. The forks on the PT run parallel instead of sloping slightly outwards like many of the other metal frame designs. The top of the grip has a narrow 5/8” wasp waist that allows a good finger wrap for short fingered shooters. The top of the grip also has an integrated cross piece that joins both sides together for further strength. The grip balloons out near the bottom to help fill your hand and produce an adequate size pinky-hole that can be wrapped with paracord or rubber and still leave enough clearance for your pinky finger. My black Palm Thunder arrived with black rubber fork sleeves and a black paracord wrap on the grip (no lanyard). The top part of the wrap came down a bit too low and didn’t leave quite enough room for my pinky. I untied the cord, re-wrapped and ended up with a perfect pinky hole that fits my finger with comfortable clearance.

The polished version of the Palm Thunder has the typical mirror shine and paracord grip wrapping as many other DanKung models. The solidness of stainless steel, small size, the shine, and reasonable prices were what first attracted me to these frame styles. As mentioned above, I opted for the “black” Palm Thunder version for this purchase. In pictures, the black colour may appear to be a coating but DanKung refers to it as a “special surface process technique” that does not wear off. The special surface polish gives the PT an appearance of a “bronze-age weapon”. The process used on the metal does a fine job of preventing the glare that can sometimes be a problem with the mirror polished frames. My PT is getting close to two years old, has seen many thousands of shots and the metal surface hasn’t changed in appearance at all.

The metal surface on the “black Palm Thunder” looks more like a dark grey colour than black. Under magnification I noticed that the metal is covered with tiny pock marks. These tiny pocks are not very noticeable to the naked eye and do not have any sharp edges to wear the rubber tubes. This texture is just a result of not polishing the metal to a glaring shine. Under magnification my high polished frames look like a mirror, which you may or may not find to be a desirable characteristic.

Measurements (bare frame)
Overall length = 4.6” (117 mm)
Width across frame at fork loops = 3.33” (84.5 mm)
Width between forks = 1.46” (37 mm)
Fork loop outside diameter = 0.94 (24 mm)
Fork loop inside diameter = 0.49” (12.5 mm)
Width at top of handle = .65” (16.5 mm)
Width on outside of grip = 1.28” (32.5 mm)
Width on inside of grip = .74” (19 mm)
Frame thickness = .27” (7 mm)
Total weight with wraps and tubes = 4.2 oz (120 g)

Tubes & Flatbands
The Palm Thunder came equipped with double 1745 tubes measuring only 5.0” from pouch end to fork. The black leather pouch measures 1” x 2 3/4” and comes with two holes per side. The short tubes were not long enough for my shooting style but they were easily converted to a useful single strand set.

The PT will accommodate the thin Malaysian tubes, the thicker Theraband style tubes, flatbands, and solids. The skinny Malaysian tubes can be shot single strand on each side, full doubles, or even in a pseudo taper style (partial doubles). I’m mainly a skinny tube shooter when it comes to the Chinese style frames. Full doubles or singles seem to work best for me. One of my favourite combinations is single 1745s measuring 6 ½” -7” long with ¾” to 1” loops at the forks. With 3/8” steel ammo this combination delivers 190-200 fps with a 32” draw length.

Overall Opinion
The Palm Thunder is a fun slingshot that fits well in the back pocket of a pair of blue jeans. The frame seems to be the perfect size for my hand. Shooting is comfortable with the thumb on the lower fork ring, index finger just below the upper ring and pinky in the grip hole.

The frame is now set up with 7” single 1745s that toss a 3/8” steel ball at 195 fps with my 32” draw length. The approx 3 ¼” fork width allows me to aim at the target using the junction point of the tube and fork while anchoring on the inside of my ear for 10 yard hits (sideways shooting). With this tube arrangement and shooting style I don’t seem to get the dreaded hand slaps that sometimes plague me with some of my wooden designs. Accuracy is good with the PT and it’s a fun little frame to shoot. When shooting the PT from 28’ I can smack a plastic golf ball with regularity. At 20 yards the target is a regular pop can. The Palm Thunder is a keeper!