3D Printed Dry Tools

I've been toying with the idea, and was wondering if anyone had any thoughts, suggestions, and / or experience on the topic. I've found some 3d models of some ice tools for free download in stl format, and didn't know if just printing them would be fine for dry tooling on a hangboard. Some concerns that I had...

  - Would the plastic be strong enough? I know it won't be anywhere close to a real ice axe, but would it be good enough for playing around with on a hangboard, etc?

       - Which type of filament would be the best for the highest strength?

  - How would the tool being made of plastic affect its weight and balance. Would this be a problem?

  - What would be the best way to make the handle grippy enough to hang onto? Bicycle handlebar tape might do the trick...

I feel like a 3D printed tool would be a time bomb . .. waiting to explode into 1 million pieces 

You would likely need to print with ABS or a fiber-infused filament. Which then begs the question, would your printer be able to print ABS without significant warping? If going with the fiber route, can you clear the clogs out of the nozzle whenever it likely fails? Also, the point where the blade meets the shaft of the ice tool would take A LOT of a stress and still likely break. 

The weight will be off. A lot of the weight is in the head of a real ice tool. However, since you are just dry tooling, this likely won't be a huge issue. 

With the price of ABS printing so high, and the likely failure of the tool, I just don't think it would be worth it. 

How about replaceable/recyclable 3D-printed sleeves to fit over the pick of a regular ice tool? Not sure if they’d stay on well, but you could have them on for this use and then remove them for ice or mixed climbing.

If you want a DIY ice tool stand-in, I would go to SendCutSend or similar and cut an ice tool profile out of 1/4" steel or aluminum, then wrap the handles in duct tape until they're soft and add a final layer of bike handlebar tape. You could maybe also wrap the tip if you're worried about hurting your hangboard. I made a super crummy 30 second ice tool profile and it said it would give me 2 (aluminum) for $22+tax/shipping, which is very likely less than whatever filament or resin you'd need to print one in a reasonably strong material. If your 3D printer is itching to be used, you could make contoured handles to stick onto the sides of the metal tool (the same way they use pins to stick handles onto the tang of a knife) to make it more like holding a real tool. If your motivation is more 'fun 3D printer project' than 'training tool', I realize telling you to outsource producing the main part is not very helpful.

(Edit: I like Jared's idea a lot, too!)

1) If your goal is to make a cool 3d printing project, go for it.  I don't imagine you're going to seriously injure yourself from hangboard height even if they break.

2) ABS would be a good filament choice

3) You're not going to be swinging these tools, so I don't think weight/balance are going to matter

4) Hockey grip tape?

How about a 3D printed mold then do a forged carbon fiber? A lot more intensive on the modeling side but it could make a better final product.