The school of hard knocks seems to be well attended.
Do not try to save money by purchasing an “inexpensive” (re:cheap) cork grip. The one I was trying to gently ream out was so pithy on the inside it broke, not once, but twice. And that’s how I know the inside is pithy … lots of hollow tubes and holes all through out the grip. I’ll try to glue it up and use it for a base for the rattan finish, but, it’s really not even worth much as a door stop.(old adage from my Mother, sorry!! Guess you had to be there:roll:)
Betty, it just doesn’t apply to those we think are cheap. You ought to see my grip on my Sage RPL, probably the worst cork material I’ve ever dealt with, but it does give me something rough and substantial to hold onto:lol:
I ended up replacing the cheap grip on my nine weight because eventually after a couple years the rings got mushy when fishing and tore. I used burl cork on the new one.
Where has all of the quality cork gone? I to have a tuff time finding quality cork, and when I do it is expensive. The grading system is not universal and nowhere near similar to grades of years past. So, to build a cork grip with all of these expensive rings sure adds up. However that being said I still pay the price most of time.
I think that I am learning, that in the grand scheme of things, 20 bucks extra on a cork grip is a small price to pay over the length of a fly rods life span! A happy fly rod builder is … a happy fly rod builder!!
I’m told no one is planting the trees which provide the thick bark which in the cork we use for grips. However, the biggest use of cork is for what?
Wine bottles. AND with a huge increase in wineries they use more cork, therefore they get first choice and rod makers get what is left. I recall Ron Kusse telling us about a man on the east coast who is supposed to have the best cork, I’ll probably fracture his name, Whitford Straight?