I don't see what on a smooth chuck there is to shredded my Palm Walter, not that I hold the chuck in my palm it is held between my thumb & index finger, so the worse I would get is a rubbed burn which I have never suffered from the lathe as it's a natural reaction to let go.
I would also add if you use a 36v cordless drill it's damned easy to get such a burn when tightening up a chuck, but you only do it once.