Hey guys,

I've ssen some photos of fly/spey rods with "feather inlays" on the cork grip itself. Could someone explain to me this process. I'm guessing that they are applied with something like cork seal or the such. Are thee "inlays" durable. or are they a waste of time? I think they look neat, just not sure how durable they could be. I'd hate to think that u would have to coat the cork with a coat of finish, I think it would take away the astetics of the cork. Thanks in advance for any info.

"There is a principle which is a bar against all information,which is proof against all arguments and which cannot fail to keep a man in everlasting ignorance--that principle is contempt prior to investigation."
- Herbert Spencer

Danny,
Where did you see the photos you are talking about? i Just
looked at all 13 pages of the Feather Inlays photo catagory
here and dont see what you are refering to.

Raymond Adams
Eventually, all things merge, and a river runs through it..

Ray,

I have a pic of a JP Ross Spey rod that has Phesent church window feathers 'inlayed" on the cork grip. I'm not sure if its ok for me to post the pic in the gallery, being that its a company's rod and not having permission to do so.(i guess i'm being paranoid) They sent it to me a while ago, before i started wrapping rods, when I was looking into buying a new spey rod.

Hi again Danny,

If that rod belongs to you now there is no reason you cant post a photo ( at least I cant think of one)
of it.
If you like that technique give it a wurl on a test piece and see if you really like it. Personally, I have
never seen anything inlayed in cork and I dont think I would like it. But who knows? I have seen
things inlayed in Ivory, wood, etc. accent pieces but not the cork itself.

Raymond Adams
Eventually, all things merge, and a river runs through it..

If it is a cast or spin handle I can not see why not. A thin base of clear, inlay, another coat of clear Some people do not like the clear on handles ??

I tried this on a rod I built earlier this year. It's on the photo page at [www.rodbuilding.org] I sealed the cork and then wrapped tan thread around it with black trim bands. I then covered the thread with epoxy- let it dry, laid the feathers with CP and recoated with epoxy. It was entirely experimental but I think it turned out okay. I also recently inlayed a feather on a wood handle with CP and then coated with flex coat lite. This seemed to work well. Not sure that this could be done without covering with a finish.