What is a blood groove. I've heard of them being put in grips. Is it just a finger indention?
Thanks
Mike

In knives it is an indentation along the length of a blade to allow for blood to escape as well as making it easier to retract the knife from what otherwise be a tight compressed seating. I would imagine a lengthwise groove along a grip could serve to channel excess wetness of water or slime while keeping the raised portion dryer and cleaner. My hunch is that it would be more decorative than practical. I've never heard of anyone spearing a fish with a grip or handle. I hope someone with more knowlegde on this topic will chime in.
Dave

Now that is the kind of out of the box thinking that will interest me on grips - thanks for the idea - maybe someone can refine or give an alternate!

"Blood groove" - other than a knife blade or drain in a cutting board, or butcher's table or ice cooler / or fish hold, I am stumped, too.

"Blood grove" sounds like the slice in your finger when a tarpon zips off with your fly, and your fly line rips you a new one.

Or when you fish a conventional reel, and you make the mistake of trying to use your thumb to press the line into the foregrip to add drag. (Don't!) The beast zips off and you now have a blistered, if not bloody, thumb print to remind you of how fast things can go from bad to worse.

Moral of the story -
Use the reel for more drag, not your fingers.
Finger the spool, not the line. ... -Cliff Hall.

I read in a recent article that the idea that a knife with a blood groove, blood runs through the blood groove and breaks the suction, so the knife can be withdrawn with less difficulty is myth. That the blood groove or fuller as its called on a sword has structural purpose to actually lighten and stiffen the blade. I'll see if I can find the article. I didnt draw a possible application to rod building/grips but who knows.

Somebody's telling you a "story". Blood grooves are used in knife designs - I've actually had one or two that had them. But not on rod grips or handles. Various grip materials purport to give a "better" grip when wet but it depends on your definition of "wet". For that matter, when we fish for blues and spanish and such off the piers, and action gets pretty good, your hands end up covered with blood, slime, and scales. Even if you wipe your hands after every fish the grips and handles load up soon enough. The solution is a quick rinse with water and a wipe-off with a fishing rag (or towel).

Think about big-game rods. Many have hypalon or other sorts of artificial grips and when the guy has been in the fighting chair for a while it's often done that some of the crew (or his buddies) pour water on him and the reel to literally cool them off. But I've never seen "blood grooves" on them.

- hope that helps

Uncle Russ

I've heard the blood groove was found in knives, to allow the blood from the meat/flesh, etc. to drip from the blade, so as not to get all over the handle and the hand of the user. I'm sure if that's the case, there won't be an application for a rod grip.

I know this may be off the subject but has any one tried to flute the grip or reel seat like a rifle barrel? I wonder how the fluting would feel and if it would save any weight? Just asking. Mark

I don't know anything about "blood grooves" in grips, but the old saw about them in knives is easily disproved by actual use in cutting meat or dressing animals. Blood runs all over the place, not down the groove. Fullers were originally put in some forged blades in an attempt to strengthen/stiffen them, period. Hollywood (and teenage boys) added the "blood groove" story. The grooves put in some butchers blades to break suction run across the blade, not along it. This makes sense when you think about how you use the knife.

I have a feeling someone told you about it, but used the wrong terminolgy. I've seen where people use a bit of sandpaper or a triangular file to add concentric V cuts into the grips (I've only seen it used on EVA), but this is only for decoration rather than function.