Does anyone know where I can buy Florgrade cork atleast 100pices of both 1/4 and 1/2. I am looking for great quality at an attractive price.

Thanks in advace!!!

Flor is not necessarily "great quality." Keep in mind that there is no standard behind it so Flor can be whatever the dealer decides it is. Some cork sold as Flor is great, other cork sold as Flor is not so great.

Try to find CG1 grade if you want the very best. There is a photographic standard behind that grade.

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Amen. I never have been able to get anyone to tell or show me just what flor grade cork is supposed to look like. It seems to be whatever the dealer says it is. Some good, some bad.

Andy Dear has some pretty good cork and so does Golden Witch. High graded stuff. I'd shop one of them for your cork.

Generally Flor is assumed to be very good cork, free of major pits and blemishes. But this is purely subjective and there is no doubt that much badly pitted and blemished cork is sold as Flor, and due to the subjective nature of a non-standardized grade, it would still be correct.

This is the strength of the RM Cork Grade Scale. There is a published standard, both photographic and percentage oriented, behind it. It leaves only a tiny window for subjective opinion.

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This may sound silly, and it's not meant to be, but why are the pits in cork seen as unsightly? I think pits give the cork some character. Is it purely a subjective thing?

When I was at Angler's Workshop in April, they had some very nice looking "flor" grade rings at what I thought at the time was a great price. I'm sorry I don't remember that price now, and they may have sold through them by now, but it may be worth giving them a call.

Bruce,

That's a good point and it should be remembered that perfectly flawless cork doesn't occur naturally - cork has pits and blemishes. It's like wood having grain or figure.

But too much in the way of deep holes or pits can actually be uncomfortable to hold. I look for cork with fewer imperfections and with shallow ones at that. I rarely expect a perfectly flawless ring because that's just not something that occurs in nature very often.

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Andy Dear high grades his cork and when enough of it is available he sends it to people on the waiting list, Angler's Workshop does the same thing, and I'm sure others do to. Be prepared to pay accordingly.

Andy also uses the RodMaker Cork Grade Scale so you can see what you're getting before you actually get it.

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Tom,
Where can we view this scale and see the associated samples? Is it available on line or is it published in a back issue?

Mark Boggs

Springfield, OR

Volume 8 #2 has the photographic standard in it.

Some dealers also have it on their websites, or so they tell me. Either way, you can see what you're ordering rather than just guessing at how good, "good" really is.

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I'm glad that Bruce made his comment. I also like cork with a few more narrow pits--I think it gives the cork more character. Wide and deep pits do get a bit unsightly, but the smaller stuff is interesting to me. I've found that I'm often very happy with a vendor's second grade, when the "flor" or CG1, is not available.

I was turning wood before I ever started building rods, and I was in the habit of looking for a piece of wood with the most grain variations. So, when I started turning cork, I was surprised that people wanted it with no "grain" (i.e. natural pits). Still seems like a "perfect" cork grip is rather dull, IMO.

I found some real good cork for 40 cents I am happy with. Thanks,

"Still seems like a "perfect" cork grip is rather dull, IMO."

yeah andrew, but it feels like BUTTAH! ;-)

e

Greasy and Slippery???? Sorry Eric, couldn't resist!!!!

Mike (Southgate, MI)
If I don't want to, I don't have to and nobody can make me (except my wife) cuz I'm RETIRED!!