A few questions on a knuckle conditioning method.

[JWTAYLOR]

The best, and safest, knuckle conditioning meathod I have found has simply been punching a very heavy bag. Everlast makes some great bags. Get one that's at least 150lbs. and punch away. I still say anyone not punching with their first two knuckles as thier primary fist hitting surface is nuts.
But just hit the bag. Either horsehide or canvas bag. Spend the money for a good bag, it will last the rest of your life. Hit it a least 100 times with each hand 3 days a week. Better would be say 50+ with each hand. Do 50 jabs, crosses/reverse punches, front and rear hand hooks, front and rear hand uppercuts, front and rear hand roundhouses. Tough hands and wrists and no time.

Don't hit hard surfaces with your knuckles. The risks far outweight the benefits.

JW

[Sam Wiley]

WingLamStudent,
That's cool. No offense. I'm not an expert on the external iron palm practices anyway. My response was a sort of simplified version of a program a Wing Chun friend of mine gave me.

Other than what I wrote above, the responses about punching the heavy bag are right on. I would say that if you use a canvas bag the results would be even more noticable. Try a similar routine to what I presented above, but remember to hit the bag lightly at first, or you will really hurt your hands.

And the pole wrapped in rope is good, too. But you have to be even more careful with that one. Wrapping it with two or three layers would be the way to go, so that you can have some padding in the beginning, and eventually the rope will be beaten flat, though by that time you will no longer need it.

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"To enter is to be born, to retreat is to die."
-An Old Taijiquan Saying

[Grays Anatomy]

As was said before - take your time. No matter which way you do it - take your time.

There are quite a few different methods for hardening the body - some are faster some are slower. Typically you find that the faster methods tend to have long term side effects whereas the slow methods allow the body to change with the conditioning and in many cases prevents the long term side efects. Don't push to have iron hard knuckles over night.

If you take a few years to develop the "hardness" your hands will be much better for the long haul