For the rod builders amongst us, Lance Rogge has kindly given permission for us to publish his tutorial on making a rattan handle to overlay your cork. This is an excellent way to utilize cork that may not be usable on it’s own, and provides a beautiful end product.
Wouldn’t that make things might ‘slick’ (slippery).
BBW … you’d almost think so! And though I’ve not used a rattan grip, I do have a beautiful birch bark grip, that you’d think the same thing of. But it’s not. It’s incredible how it warms in your hand, and isn’t slippery at all!! Guess if the rattan grip wasn’t any good, they’d not be still building them after how many hundred years!!
I just finished putting a rattan grip on the old 'boo rod. It does look sharp and feels nice in the hand.
Outstanding article…kinda gives me an idea for finishing the funky handle on one of my old rods…now to find a bit of ambition.
rodgerole
It takes less than an hour to do and it is easy to do. I would recommend getting fairly small cane, though. I used 4mm binder cane on a cigar shaped handle and it still had a bit of trouble with the curves. 1.5 to 2mm would have been MUCH better. This still looks nice, but the narrower cane would have been a bit smoother and easier to lay in.
My Nunley rod has a ratan grip. It does seem as though it would be slippery, but I havent had a problem with it.
(Of course if your hands are covered with fish slime, I could see how it would become slippery.)
I like nice cork grips, too…but the ratan is a neat grip. And looks nice, too.
Brian