Scrape your old wax and press it into a brand new bar? Sounds too good to be true! Photo: WXSC Surf
What does one do with old dirty surf wax once it’s scraped off a surfboard? Since time immemorial the method has been to roll it into a ball and either trash it immediately or make it larger and larger until it breaks some sort of Guinness World Record or something.
Thankfully, there are tinkerers among us seeking to find different ways to recycle scraps into a new bar to be enjoyed over and over again. You may recall the Orange Peel from a few years ago. Well, the latest ingenious surf accessory takes the idea of using surf wax scraps to make a new bar one step further by combining it with an actual scraper. It’s called the “Scrappler.”
“The Wax Scrappler is an all in one surf wax remover and recycler,” inventor Luciano Loseto told The Inertia. “It is the only wax comb on the market that allows you to remove and reuse your used surf wax rather than just tossing it in the trash! A lot of the common surf wax is made out of non-renewable petrochemicals and I have personally gotten six-to-10 times the use out of a single bar of wax with just as good grip. We are saving money and the environment!”
So how does it work? When you scrape wax off your board, the shavings go into a compartment. Once you have enough shavings, you use an attachment to press the wax back together into a brand new bar. No heat or melting necessary.
According to Loseto, the idea came to him one day when he was tinkering with his 3D printer.
“I was in my room one day prototyping a medical device with my 3D printer when I stumbled upon the idea while calibrating the printer and making a simple box,” he said. “I saw an end nugget of fresh wax on my counter that I would normally toss or smear on my board and decided to throw it in the box I printed. That’s when I realized that I could actually press a few pieces together to make a solid re-usable bar. The idea took off from there and after hundreds of modifications and changes, I finally developed the final design that allows you to remove/collect the wax all in one motion with no waxy mess on the floors.”
There’s one caveat: “Disclaimer is that it doesn’t work well with sandy wax or wax that melted in the sun since most of the sticky oils seep out and it turns into more of a candle wax,” said Loseto.
And although he designed the Scrappler with surf in mind, Loseto says that users have also found it works great for ski and snowboard wax scraps, too.
The Scrappler is made from recycled plastic and is available online or in select surf shops around Long Island, New York. Learn more here.
