I wonder if some others share my philosophy about handles. I read many posts about perfect cork, inlays and all sorts of good looking stuff. I am very concerned with the length of butt and fore grips and their OD. I am concerned with how well they avoid getting slippery. I use, select grade bleached corks, (whatever that is) at $.30 a cork. I actually like the looks of imperfections in the cork. It gives them character and places to put a hook.

I guess this all goes back to making rods that fish well and not really caring how beautiful they are. I use the best blanks and guides available and work very hard on guide spacing. My thread work is probably not the best, but it is far from the worst. Every time I fish, I think about possible rod improvments.

I suppose if I made rods for a living, I would spend time and money on making them beautiful. I do make and sell a few custom rods but my customers prefer rods that perform to their desires and do not desire to pay more for cosmetic things. John Butterfield

Function should always come first. No matter how nice a rod looks it's not worth much if it's uncomfortable to fish with or won't do the intended job.

Of course, many fishermen want to go beyond mere function. They're happy to pay for outstanding craftsmanship and quality and may even wish to have some cosmetic embellishments added to make their rod somewhat unique.

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John,
You might want to try burl cork rings. They are cheap and make a very good handle. I think they are tougher than cork.

Cheers, Ellis

I'm in total agreement on liking the look of cork's imperfections. Like grains in wood, it just adds to the beauty of cork grips to my own eyes.

I do have a lot of persons who I build for that like me to put a dress on the pig, though, so I do "doll" up most of the rods that I build.

I try the best that I can to tailor the handle grips to each customer. I'm still learning, tho...

Putter

Stain the cork, but leave in the pits. Looks much better. Cherry Miniwax.

Amen to what Don says. I think the stained natural cork handles really look good and Minwax Cherry is also my choice. I did one in McCloskey Tungseal Colonial Cherry but don't like it as well as the Minwax Cherry, darker red and the grain and pits in the cork don't show through.

Thanks John, good post.

I have come to the conclusion that I like fishing a lot more then I like rod building. At the same time, rod building has allowed me to accumulate and fish with rods that I doubt I could have afforded otherwise. I will continue to build rods, not perfect and not fancy but to fit specific applications or fit me better or to fish better. And there is still enormous satisfaction in catching fish on a rod you built yourself.

I build my own handles because I like 'em thick, like my steak...:>)
I think thicker handles are less fatiguing because I don't have to grip them so hard. Additionally, I think the rod handles on factory-made heavy bait casting rods are too long, particularly for women and children. They tend to have better control over the rod and fish when the handles are shorter, but no so short that they can't use the handle as leverage. If I use cork rings with a lot of pits, I leave them way because I believe filled pits are no better than the pits themselves.
Patrick Vernacchio