It's been mentioned here several times that using all wood for a fly rod grip will result in a slippery when wet grip.

It 'can', but it doesn't have to.

It all depends on how or with what you finish the grip.

On the few of these I've done (for others so far, I personally like cork), I've used Tru Oil to finish the grip. I looked at lots of finishes first. but this one has several advantages over others that I like.

It's durable. It's made to be 'handled'. And it does not get slippery when it's wet.

Tru Oil was made for finishing gun stocks. It was intended to protect fine wood stocks from the elements AND from things like skin oils and chemicals. Since many huters use their rifles and shotguns in wet weather, it had to perform when it's wet.

Properly used, Tru Oil can give you anything from a nice matt finish up to a glass like gloss. It won't be slippery, regardless.

Other fly rod bulders are using other finishes, though, and the 'slippery' tag is not something I've seen from someone who has actually used an all wood grip. My only real complaint about them is that they are heavy.

I've also seen, and 'used' briefly, a couple of the newer expanded polyurethane foam/graphite cloth covered and epoxy finished grips. Lighter than cork, stronger, but feels kind of like a cross between cork and a solid wood grip. Even with a gloss coating of epoxy, though, they were easy to hold and didn't get slick even when wet. Really pretty, too, if you like that look.

Cork is slowly leaving us as a grip option. With what used to be considered just decent quality cork now being sold as 'flor grade' for well over $1 (some up to $2.50) for a 1/2 inch ring, what's left will soon be too expensive for the home builder to buy. The large manufacturers probably ahve good sized stocks on hand. How long that will last, we'll just have to see. THAT should be interesting.

At the hobbiest, small rod shop industry, there will be lots of experimentation, and we will see lots of inovative solutions. I think that golf club grip technology is in our future, but I expect many to want to hold onto (pun intended) a natural look

(Odd, if you look at it objectively..there are several generations of, for lack of a better description, 'holding onto stuff technology' out there. Golf clubs, tools, firearams, etc. All have tried to advance both ergonomically and in materials, over the years to make their items work easier, more efficiently, more safely. Yet, we fly anglers seem to desire, as a group, the highest technology in our rod blank designs, but still want to use centuries old materials and stylings where we 'hold' the fly rod..seems a bit of a dichotomy to me..)

Wood, rattan, what cork is available. Something unseen yet..we'll just have to see.

Buddy