cork rings

[lastchance]

Can anyone recommend a good place to buy some cork rings? I don't need the most expensive nor the cheapest. I've never ordered before.

Thanks for the help,
Bruce

[TampaJim]

Bruce -

The natural cork market is abysmal. The quality is just not there in 95% of the cases. When it is there, the price IS high ... $3.00-$4.00 PER 1/2" thick ring. So a 10" grip will cost $60-80 - NO KIDDING.

IF you want quality looking grips WITHOUT that kind of price tag, buy preformed grips. Believe it or not (and for some mystery reason), you can buy QUALITY factory grips such as REC or Struble for much less than even buying the rings.

IF you must do your own assembly AND you don't want to pay for quality rings that will look presentable ... buy some cork filler and make the best of the situation OR build using composite rings - just be aware the weight is 3X greater.

Sorry, but those are the apples.

TJ -

[lastchance]

Darn: One of my buddies on FAOL sent me a cork lathe setup and I want to use it badly. It figures that cork has gone to the fires of hell.

[fishbum]

Give Peter Jones a try. He has some very nice cork.

pjones8944@yahoo.com

fishbum

Corrected the rmail address.

[ol' blue]

You can always give burled cork a try, too. Sme of that looks very nice, IMO.

[dunfly]

You could try Mudhole.com. They have some decent rings (though not great). The best strategy right now is to mix in some natural cork with "burl" and burnt cork rings. You will end up with some interesting looking grips at a reasonable price. There have been several examples posted recently. Jim is right, for some reason, you can get preformed grips of better quality for less than you pay for the rings.

[lastchance]

Hi Ol' Blue: Is it noticeably heavier than cork?

[MontanaMoose]

Hello lastchance, typin 'cork rings' in the google search and get ready to start drooling !

Cheers,

MontanaMoose

[Midwest Custom Fly Rods]

Give Karen at Bingham Enterprises a call. She uses what use to be Andys cork provided by Lamar (now recently sold to Scott's Rods) but its pretty good cork for a decent price.

Probably the most consistant quality I have found so far. Gotta be carefull with alot of places. If you ask for a picture they will cherry pick the best rings out of the bunch to show ya the sample of, then when you order its never as good looking. Karen doesnt do that...if you ask for a sample pic she will blindly reach in and grab some rings to show in the pic. That way you have a good example of what your gonna be getting and can decide from there.

Steve

[ol' blue]

Hi Ol' Blue: Is it noticeably heavier than cork?

I think it is a little heavier, but it is good looking stuff. Andy Dear's rings (from Lamar) comes in different styles, and I like them all. And I'd second Bingham as a good source of supply. They even have good pics of the 4 styles.