Why are they made so small, smooth and slick?
Allan
:shock: Darned if I know!! Never thought about it before!!
S’pose it’s small 'cuz you don’t want extra weight, and get in the way of casting; smooth to hold the varnish; and slick 'cuz it’s been varnished to protect the wood. You can get them in cork, too, although they’re still small they’re not totally smooth, and not slick.
I would guess because you don’t use them alot and if yo u do there is not alot of pressure most of the time. It allows for less snagging on things that way. If you get up into larger reels they have larger handles with more grip.
jed
You tell me
Think it’s mostly due to the fact that a small tapered handle, Has less tendency to have the fly line hang up on it…I’ve made handles for certain reels that I’ve encountered handle problems with. And I realize now…That I went even smaller and more tapered on those…Hadn’t given any thought to that…Till now. 
I do not like fly rod handles that are too small, I do not like fly rod hands that are too large, I like fly rod handles that are just the right size.
I do not like fly rod handles that do not conform to the contours of my hand grip.
I like fly rod handles that are the correct diameter, fit the contours of my hand grip, and have enough friction; so I can hold the the fly rod in my hand (while casting) not having to grip the handle with a death grip. To exert hand grip pressure, causes your muscles and tendons in your wrist and arm to tighten. When the muscles and tendons are tight, your casting motion slows down, and you have less control of your casting.
That is why I build my own fly rods from blanks, just because I want a handle that let me cast the rod properly. No matter how good your fly rod, fly reel, and fly line is; all performance is determined on how your hand fits the the handle, and the resulting performance of casting the line using the fly rod…
I prefer Burled Cork, it has a rough surface, that gives a nice friction grip, so the hand does not slip while fishing. I wrote an article in the Fly Rod Section, when I was building my first fly rod, when I had to come up with a answer to a question about designing my fly rod handle grip. At the time I could not find anyone who had addressed this situation.
My fly rod handle grip is 1-1/8 inch diameter, it is a well back/cigar front design. I have be accused by some of advocating large fly rod handle grips, I am not advocating that. I only say, "This is your fly rod, it should fit your hand (which never changes shape). The design should be used on all your fly rods, no matter the weight or use.
Each persons hand grip diameter and hand grip contours are unique, the hand grip should mirror these conditions.
Part of it is balance I know that. Another part is the over all look of the reel. I have to agree that I would like a might larger one myself. But I have big hands and believe it or not I like a small rod grips. Ron