I have never done anything to a cork grip. Now I have a new rod and the cork looks so new…I sense I want to treat it or seal it with something before I fish with it. Would someone please tell me what to do? Careful now…
I have been told or read so many different things. I do not wish to just pick a method and do it to my new rod…and then be unhappy with the results.
Do nothing…let it wear in like a good old pipe or coffee cup…
Treat it with a cork sealer like something from Trondak I think I read
Rub it with Ture Oil…a gun oil…
Rub “Guberod Rod Varnish” into it. ( I have never heard of Guberod Rod “Varnish”. Perhaps there is one.
I have not searched as am camping and no internet. So this a quickie question. I know there is a
Guberod “Rod Cement” and a Guberod Rod “Finish”. If Guberod has a rod varnish then how about
any old varnish?
I am wondering about just smearing it with soy sauce.
Any suggestions would be helpful and appreciated. My goal is just to coat/treat it with something before I take it out fishing in water, mud, brush, rain…etc. I just feel the desire to put something on this brand new looking cork before I use the rod.
Like putting an oil or varnish finish on wood, it will accent the grain in the cork a bit. I like that look. I am not fond of the super fine and pretty uniformly colored cork grips. To me they are painfully plain and drab looking. It isn’t a stark difference, just enough to add some interest and the grip stays looking nice a bit longer.
But then with me dying cork, rattan wraps, gluing up exotic cork grips and the like, no one would ever think I like a bit of pizzaz in a grip. :rolleyes:
Thanks loads Kevin. I have a lot of rods I have not fished with yet…if ever. I have my answer. If I decide to fish one I will give it the U-40 treatment.
I also have intentions of building a few rods. I have several blanks. So I wanted to know more about treating the new looking cork…because I intend to build some rods to fish with.
I am just trying to build fishing rods. After seeing some of the class work you and others do…no way am I going to ever get that good. So I am just going to enjoy building them to suit me…ie grip choice, guide choice and placement, etc…
Thank you very much Kevin. You have been extremely helpful to me…whether you know it or not. Nice…
Now I know what I wanted to find out…and can just move on with it.
I use U-40 as well. Even when applying it to the cork it doesn’t look wet or darken the cork like you would expect. Once it dries you really cant see any change. U-40 soaks in and strengthens and toughens the cork.
I use Guberod rod varnish but not on cork. It’s thicker and the only think that it would do is give the cork a clear shiny covering. It would look like a new rod with plastic shrink wrap over it.
If it is a good quality, clear cork, I wouldn’t do anything to it. If there are flaws in the cork (not necessarily a bad thing) and the grip includes some burl or mixed rings, I normally put Tru-Oil on it to bring out the features. A couple of applications of Tru-Oil will darken it slightly and it will be shiney at first but will not be slippery.
Thank you for the information on how True Oil affects the cork. Sounds nice. Now it is a toss up. Well, I have some cork to experimet on. Think I will try three things. Soy Sauce, True Oil, and U-40. Just for the knowledge. And yes, the grip I wanna do…is a two hander with mixed rings. I will wait till end of my experimet before I do my switch rod.
Great information. And it’s appreciated. Just one of the things FAOL is good for…getting help.
I am not looking to be an expert or pro. So this is terrific. I know enough now to satisfy my needs.
One word of caution about using most food products is that they can go rancid. Thats why you never ‘season’ a wood cutting board with vegetable oil and should always use a food grade (non toxic to humans) mineral oil.
Where did the Soy Sauce idea come from anyway? It may act like a dye, but with such a high sodium content I would think it would like a desiccant more than anything else.
Not only do food oils go rancid, they attract critters, little critters with sharp teeth that like to chew. Back in the saddle making days, I had a customer bring in a saddle that had been pretty well munched up by mice. Neetsfoot oil is what they should have used, but they used corn oil. It softened and penetrated the leather very nicely, but the mice found it to be a tasty buffet.
Anything salty like the Soy Sauce will also attract critters. It would be a shame to pull your rod out one day to find blank where the grip should be. Besides that, I think Soy Sauce smells like old dirty socks. :lol:
Stick with finishes like Tru-Oil, Tung Oil, or Cork Seal. If you want to dye cork, spirit type leather dyes (Fiebing’s) from Tandy work very well.
True Oil does a nice job on walnut, several coats are needed for a good durable finish on a long gun. I alway rubbed it down with 00 steel wool to reduce the shine. I always thought part of the benefit of cork was the slip resistant of the natural sanded finish. That said I would like to try a fly rod with on of the graphite grips I saw on a website yesterday. It wasn’t pretty but the functionality was emphasized.
Now this is just absolutely unbelievable.
You musta released that grass trout and it must be a mighty powerful upstream swimmer
because I caught that exact same one in North Carolina!!
Isn’t fly fishing phenomena never ending? Maybe our grandkids will one day pass in the night and bump into each other?
That got more than a chuckle I have to say. And my first thought was then ‘how about lemon and butter flavored handles?’ But if that concept caught on, the C&R stats would likely drop in proportion as well!:?
I just have to ask (this will be kept between you, me and the wall) but what did you catch that elusive Florida grass bass, I meant trout on? Mums the word - honest!!! I’m thinking about coming down there and trying for them. Will I need a guide??? LOL.
Ok, now that I got that out of my system, I would have to say that I would not put anything on my handles either. I seem to recall many years ago getting a rod with some kind of varnish on the handle and having problems with developing blisters. Iv’e often thought that an all- wooden handle would cause excessive heat generation leading to blisters. I don’t recall hearing anything specifically mentioned on this forum about wooden handles and the potential for blisters so I will assume that it is not a problem. Am I right?
I can only speak to fishing one rod with a wooden handle.
It was a Heddon Model 60. It was loaned to me by a good friend.
I fished it three times and had no problems with blisters, etc. The Model 60 is a beautiful rod with checkering executed by Remington, I believe.
Here’s a photo of a rod with a wooden handle by current builder Stephen Kiley.
Ain’t it a beaut?
:rolleyes:
