Knuckles? Why not use little rollers instead ?

[David C. Stanwood]

>I just opened up a Yamaha/Story & Clark with the
>SQUEAKIEST knuckles ever! Expected to find gunkloads
>of graphite grease, so I brought my little brass brush
>& naptha. But found VERY compacted leather and 
>( possibly ) silicone grease, instead.
>     So I scrubbed away, lubed with Teflon (TM)
>powder, and it feels quite nice now.  But it made me
>wonder: Would not actual tiny rollers in place of the
>standard knuckle work much better? Out of some
>material just soft enough not to click?
>     I envisioned much less friction, no compaction,
>etc.. Has anyone ever tried this?
>    Del?
>    Thump

Dear Thump,

Steingraeber http://www.steingraeber.de/ has tried this recently in limited
production with limited success.  I witnessed the debut of a Steingraeber
grand with rolling knuckles at the BDK annual meeting of piano tuners in
Germany.  The idea is nice but we don't hear pianists demanding low
friction and the ones I spoke with who tried the piano reported that it was
different in a way that they were not comfortable with...  friction is not
a bad thing!  Friction gives a feeling of control.. the trick is not to
have too much or too little. 

By the way, in my opinion Steingraeber is one of the best pianos made today.

David Stanwood