I have several older pre made natural burl cork grips that look really great.The whole grip looks tight pressed,and has very few larger solid chunks in it,so it's like the burling pattern is consistant throughout,instead of looking like there are large solid blotches all over the place,like you get with the lesser quality burl cork.I am now trying to find natural brown burl cork rings with the same quality,but so far I have ended up a bit dissappointed in quality of the rings from the places I have gotten them from.

Unfortunately,I purchased about 50 from one supplier,plus I took another chance on 25 more off @#$%&(which I didn't exactly expect much of anyways)I was hoping to be able to sort out the few really bad ones,and keep the nicest ones,but I soon realised that out of those 75 rings,fewer than a dozen would be the quality I had hoped to find.Almost all of the rings had multiple large,"more rounded" cork chunks in them,with smooth surfaces to the blotches,and an almost white to light tan coloration.Virtually ever ring had these spots on itin 2 or 3 places on each ring,and when a set is all glued up for a grip,it looks like the burl grip is covered in white spots or something,and I know I am not the only one out there who must hate this look,as it is clearly caused by poor cork with too many smooth white chunks built in the rings.

Anyways,I know Lamar has some new burl cork models that all look fantastic,and I was planning on getting some of those as well,but what I really want to find right now are the more common,brown natural burl cork rings that everyone uses,only in a much better quality than my current rings.I want tight well burled rings,with both light and dark areas in them,I just do not want the large round or oval blotches in them.

Does anyone know if Lamar's regular natural burl rings fit what I am looking for?In the picture on his site they look like they might ,but I would hate to order a bunch and find out later that they are merely more of the same rings I have(which I don't care much for).



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/31/2005 10:54AM by Tony Dowson.

I have had good luck and good quality from Custom Tackle Supply and from Lamar. Specifically ask for what you want and both will let you know if they have it. I am guessing you want the granulated or ground cork pressed together?


Dan Grulke

have andy dear of lamar send you some samples of all of his different cork products. i made a fly rod handle from some of his rings and i like the result very much. bolder chunkier ones sandwitched between
his really good quality traditional cork as end pieces and it looks great.

Asking about GOOD natural cork, what do You think of REC´s cork handles, if I may ask.
Thanks! Happy New Years ...

I have received good burl cork from Angler's Workshop in the past. So called burl cork does vary it appears from lot to lot as it seems to dependant on the ingredients at hand when it is manufactured.

Stan Grace
Helena, MT
"Our best is none too good"

I think the Flor grips from Angler's, Struble and REC are about the same quality cork. A good value for the money I think. If you want the best, you have to roll your own, hunt and pay for the good stuff. A custom grip I received from Dan Craft was superior to the above hands down, no comparision.

Tony,
There is no such thing as NATURAL burl cork.
It is a composite of cork pieces glued together and as such is much heavier than natural cork.
If natural cork is what you are after , then why not go with the real stuff?

Spencer Phipps;

Thanks for the advice and your comments based on your own personal experience. I prefer to buy the grips built and shaped ready-to-glue to the blank. I´d rather spend time customizing the wraps of the rods, the guide spacings, and inscriptions.
I like REC since each reelseat has its proper grip to fit, and particularly love their designs.

Thanks again.

I have been real happy with burl cork purchased from custom tackle and from Andy Dear. I have not gotten any real good natural cork from anywhere lately.

It's very unlikely that we custom rodbuilders will ever again have access to premium grade cork. We're a very smalll source of demand in the supply/demand equation - a much smaller customer base than premium vintners, spirit producers, high-level rod producers, etc. We probably need to think of various alternatives, test the ideas & post critical results. Stan

Eden Bromfield Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Tony,
> There is no such thing as NATURAL burl cork.
> It is a composite of cork pieces glued together
> and as such is much heavier than natural cork.
> If natural cork is what you are after , then why
> not go with the real stuff?
>

Sorry Eden,I ment natural,as in natural brown color,which is how they are often advertised as.

I am well aware of the differences between burl cork and natural cork.Sorry for the confusion.

Thanks for the kind words guys,
Here is what most folks don't understand. Traditional Burl Cork (or natural burl cork as Tony calls it) is a granulated cork product just like the exotic material is. What many of you don't know is that these granulated materials can be ordered in varying densities....the lower the density, the lower the quality (more flaking, more fill required etc..), AND the lower the price.
I have no idea what density the other suppliers are selling, and they probably don't either, as many of them buy from a second or third party importer here in the states. We do not deal with an importer, rather we import directly from the manf. in Portugal, therefore we are able to specify the density we require.....500Kg which is the highest you can practically buy without being too cost prohibitive.

Next time you buy traditional burl cork from a different supplier than us...ask them what the density is. If they don't know, it''s a crapshoot at best what quality you're getting.


Andy Dear
Lamar Mfg.

Andy Dear Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> > Thanks for the kind words guys,
> Here is what most folks don't understand.
> Traditional Burl Cork (or natural burl cork as
> Tony calls it) is a granulated cork product just
> like the exotic material is. What many of you
> don't know is that these granulated materials can
> be ordered in varying densities....the lower the
> density, the lower the quality (more flaking, more
> fill required etc..), AND the lower the price.
> I have no idea what density the other suppliers
> are selling, and they probably don't either, as
> many of them buy from a second or third party
> importer here in the states. We do not deal with
> an importer, rather we import directly from the
> manf. in Portugal, therefore we are able to
> specify the density we require.....500Kg which is
> the highest you can practically buy without being
> too cost prohibitive.
>

Andy-

Any idea of a timeline on when you will have premade cork handles? I am interested in these as well....
> Next time you buy traditional burl cork from a
> different supplier than us...ask them what the
> density is. If they don't know, it''s a crapshoot
> at best what quality you're getting.
>
>
> Andy Dear
> Lamar Mfg.