Hi, I have a couple of questions. First, what is the best product out there for filling in natural imperfections in cork handles?
Second, I have a nice teak reel seat on a Sage XP that I built. I took a clumsy tumble in the frigid waters of the CO River and managed to put a rather deep scuff/scratch in the finish of the insert. Is there an easy way to restore the finish and make it less noticable? Thanks much!

I can't really comment on the cork filler. I don't use it. I just put a couple of coats of tru-oil on my cork.

The teak insert can be made to look nice again. The first thing I'd do is try to just put a little Tru-oil finish on it. If that doesn't fix it, then you can sand the wood down a little (i.e. to the point of the scuff), and then put a coat or two of tru-oil on it. I'd start with 220 grit or 320 grit to get down to the bottom of the scratch, then go up to 400, 600, 800, 1000, 1500, and finally 2000.

Elmer's Carpenters Wood Filler (sold in squeeze tubes) is easy to use, dries fast and sands well. I've used the Golden Oak color, looks darker than cork when applied, dries to slightly lighter. Have not used it long enough to know how durable it is, but so far so good, and others have recommended it also.

I agree with Tom on the Elmer's wood filler, it works great and if you mix a little natural with the golden oak it matches almost perfictly.