I have a couple fly rods that I really enjoy using and the cork on both has depressions where I assume filler has come out or just poor cork and I would like to know what product I could purchase to fill these holes/depressions in the cork handles to make them smooth again and feel better in the hand while fishing. Any suggestions and help will be appreciated.
Thanks
Warren have you tried taking an old piece of cork and rubbing it with sandpaper. Then take the the fine ground cork pieces and mixing them with regular wood glue. Then take the mixture and fill the holes.
Tim
Warren you can just get some wood filler from any local hardware store to fill the pits in the cork. It comes in a number of shade colors so you can match one up to the shade of the grip. You’ll need to lightly sand it once your done and the filler is dry.
Steve
Panman, Midwest Custom Fly Rods-
Thanks to you both I have a starting point to repair the cork handles. Once sanded, do I need to apply any type of sealer or just go fishing?
Nope you don’t need to put any cork sealer or anything on it. Sealer will actually make the filler more noticeable so I would leave it off if I were you.
Steve
Steve,
Thanks a bunch…Since the weather here is not going to be good tomorrow, I will work on my cork handles.
I really appreciated the help…
Hey Warren,
Panman’s suggestion to use cork dust and wood glue is an old woodworkers trick. That was how one made wood filler before the invention of commercial wood putty. I really like that option because you not only match the cork, but you will get the “feel” of the cork as well. It maintains the porosity of the material and the color is almost perfect (even if you do use sealer - I wouldn’t because cork feels better without it.).
Good luck and happy fishing.
Dave
Sorry I didn’t get to this thread earlier. This stuff works great and the color match is perfect for cork…http://www.elmers.com/product/detail/E861
In my experience you can work with the application and start sanding minutes after you put it on the cork.
The elmers Wood Filler is what I have used. I use the natural though. Looks to me just like the the U40 pit paste when dried.
Since I have 2 rod handles to work on, I will use the Elmers on one and cork dust with glue on the other one and see which looks and works the best. Once again, FAOL has come through with sharing people. This is a great site with good people.
Thanks all,
I have used the sanded cork and glue trick myself in the past. The reason I did not suggest that method is because Warren is working on some grips that are on already built/used rods, so he is not able to chuck the grip up in a lathe or drill to spin it when he sands it. Most wood glues are pretty dense when dry and will require a lot of sanding by hand since he can’t turn it in a lathe. That’s why the wood filler would be the best choice for him IMO since these rods are going to require hand sanding and trying to keep the grips OD perfectly round while hand sanding.
Steve
I would definitely agree with you Steve on that method, less of a chance of making a mess out of the grips.
Warren, I would just use the wood filler for now, lightly sand so you don’t oblong the grips, go fish!! When Don get back from vacation, have him smooth the grips out on his lathe…go fish once again 
First, so people do not think I am too particular about my rod grips, I have other grips that have some bad spots and they do not bother me, but, this particular rod that I really enjoy using has some very bad cork and since I am such a line watcher, I was getting distracted everytime I could feel one of the grooves and holes in the cork. To be honest, I had given thought to sending the rod back and paying to have a new cork grip put on it. It made no difference where you held the grip, you could feel one of the bad spots and the rod fishes so well and is such a joy to use, I needed to do something with the cork.
I decided to go with purchasing the Elmer’s Carpenter’s Wood Filler in the Golden Oak color. I discovered that I could dampen my finger and it would liquidfy (not sure that is a word) the filler and it just flowed into all the imperfections in the cork. Once it was dry, I lightly sanded it with 320 Fine sandpaper and was very pleased with the results. So pleased, that I applied another coat over the whole grip and sanded it one more time. I now have a cork grip that is very smooth to the touch and is no longer distracting while I am using it.
By the way, the rod that I am referring to is the TFO BVK and if you have not tried it, you need too! There is no way I can explain why I enjoy it so much. It is just one of those rods that you must try to feel the smoothness in the casting and fishing it provides. I really like the BVK series and own the 5wt and the 7wt. TFO is a sponsor too so that makes it a win-win situation!
Thanks to all who responded and know that I really appreciated the help…