When I started turning and shaping some woods handles I had two major concerns:
1- Would they be slippery when wet?
2- Would they be painful after one day of “intensive” fishing?

As you can see in my gallery, I have already built three rods with some wood handles and I am now convinced that none of those concerns was a real one but I have discovered a new one: it seems to me that a cork handle enables the blank to work better in action.
I don’t know if I am clear but what I want to say is that sometimes when you are playing a big fish, the rod bends from the tip to the butt and you can see and feel your blank in action also in the handle area….
So my question is: does a wood handle stops the “bending” /the action of the blank?
Does it hurt the blank?

Frantz

I have been using a rod for a couple of years with a wood handle and have not had any problems as of yet.

Frantz,
If the rod is a relatively fast action so that the butt section of the blank is not flexing much I would think that the answer is no that the wood handle will not be a problem in terms of added stress on the blank. However, if the rod is a relatively slow action so that the blank flexes down to the handle then I think that the answer is yes. There will be added stress just in front of where the blank goes into the wood. It is called stress concentration and will occur anywhere there is a stiffer section in the rod.

There is no question that some of the wood handles are beautiful but there is another reason to think about the wood handles if the rod is used in a fishing situation that requires a high degree of sensitivity or feel. The wood will have higher mass than cork and so reduce the rods sensitivity. If you just prefer the wood handles because of their appearance I would at least stay away from any of the denser or heavier woods in these applications.

Emory is right BUT I don't know many (if any) anglers that actually touch the grp while fishing. Most that I know palm casting reels and grip the reel seat on spinning rods. I usually use no (or less than an inch) foregrip so that my finger or thumb can rest on the blank

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!!

Mike,
Just the increase in mass will reduce the sensitivity regardless of how you hold the rod. Think about it like this; to get a given amount of movement at your hand the higher the mass of the rod and reel the more energy must be in the fish's bite.

Emory,
I think that I perfectly understand what you mean and it really makes sense. Actually the rod I am thinking about is a slow action one and the blank flexes down to the handle... according to me now I may use wood handle only for fast action rod and powerfull one, not below a weight line seven, because when i fish with light rods, I use slow ones and I reallly need a high degree of sensitivity or feel.

Thank you for all this inforation

Drill out your wood handle and fill it with cork. It will be lighter and the rod will never know the difference.

Emory,

You are saying that a rigid object, mounted to a rigid object will give you LESS feel than a softer object mounted to the same rigid object...correct? Somehow that doesn't make sense to me?.....

DR

I may be speaking out of pure ignorance here, but if cork is so good at enhancing sensitivity, why is it used to deaden sound and is exceptionally good at deadening vibration under machinery, etc.?? I would THINK that a more solid medium would transmit the vibration better. Emory, I don't doubt for a minute that what you say is scientifically accurate but on the relatively short length of a fishing rod what is the affect that a wood handle vs cork (discounting weight as that can be compensated for by split grip, overboring the wood handle, if desired and using Flexcoat arbors inside)going to have on my feeling a bite when I'm not touching the grip??? It's my understanding the line, guides and numerous other factors have a significant effect on "sensitivity" also.

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!!

Mike,
The amplitude of vibrations in a material will be mainly a function of the mechanical impedance of the material. The mechanical impedance is determined by the mass density and the elasticity of the material. It turns out that cork has a combination of low mass density and low elasticity and therefore a low mechanical impedance and as a result is one of the best materials for a fishing rod handle.
You are right though the issue of sensitivity is not that simple. Everything from the fish to the butt of the rod will affect the amplitude of the vibration that the fish introduces into the line.
Tom has an article on sensitivity that I think that he is going to put in the next issue of RodMaker magazine that should help rod builders better understand sensitivity.
I think that cork is used to deaden sound and vibrations because in addition to low mass density and elasticity it has what is called a low damping factor. Damping factor is a measure of how quickly a material will convert kinetic energy to heat. But the vibration from a fish's bite travels up the rod and through the cork to the fisherman's hand much faster than the length of time it takes for the vibrations to damp out. So the combination of the characteristics of cork make it a good material for both applications, fishing rods and sound and vibration damping.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/01/2007 09:11PM by Emory Harry.

" the vibration from a fish's bite travels up the rod and through the cork to the fisherman's hand " If my hand is NOT on the grip, what's the point? Also, if my hand is on the grip but my thumb/finger is on the blank in front of the grip, then the vibration would reach my hand BEFORE it reached the grip. I think that this is much like arguing whether a one grain difference in the weight of a guide makes a difference. I'm sure that technically it does, but practically, I very much doubt it. It's like the dog whistle that makes a noise but no one can hear. I don't dispute that all of this is correct but does it make a difference that can be actually felt??

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!!

Mike,
I agree that if your hand is not on the grip then the amplitude of the vibrations in the grip material is not the issue. But added mass is still going to reduce the sensitivity. How much is partly a function of the angle that you are holding the rod. If you are holding the rod at a very low angle, parallel with the water, so that the line is coming directly through the guides to the reel and almost none of the energy in the fish's bite is transferred through the guides to the rod then the properties of the rod have an insignificant effect on sensitivity except to the degree that mass is added. At this low angle sensitivity is almost completely a function of the mass regardless of where you put your finger and thumb.
Yes, it can definitely make a difference that can be felt. But I guess that you can choose to believe or to doubt anything that you choose and can make rod handles out of anything that strikes your fancy.

Duane,
I am not sure that I understand your question, it is not really softness.
Maybe this will help. Think about it like this. What you sense at your hand is movement. The stiffer an object is the more energy it will take to move it a given amount and the more mass an object has the more energy it will take to move it a given amount.
If that does not answer your question ask again and I will give it another try.

Emory,

If it's "all about movement" that would make a softer rod move FIRST and give better feel than a stiffer rod. Still makes no sense to me in the real world. I dont think a fish bite can be classed 100%as "movement", take a jig for example, the bass engulf's the lure, the lead hits the back of its throat and you get a sharp vibration from that hit, some call it a "tick". I guess you can say the jig moved, but the line/rod may not have moved on YOUR end. I know from years of fishing that too soft of a rod when fishing a jig will deaden the feel of the bite from a fish-again just real world.

Take braided line for example: the no stretch from spectra gives you WAY WAY better feel than any of the nylons (monofilaments) made today and there isn't a soul that wont back that 100% The line doesn't give or move without your knowing it with a braid, yet with the give and stretch from a nylon a fish can bite and you'll never know it happened in comparison. This does sound like it's all about movement Emory....you may have something there.

Now how can an object that is softer-gives more-provide a better transition of feel over a hard object?

DR

Duane,
I guess you can use the word softness if you mean by softness less stiffness. If that is what you mean by softness then I think that we agree.
I do not know what else that you can sense other than movement unless you have some 6th sense.
You are right about the braided line versus monofilament and the reason comes down to mostly the same thing. The braided line transmits vibrations or movement much better than monofilament because it has lower impedance to the vibrations because pound for pound of strength it has much lower mass density and also much lower elasticity. There is also one other variable when it comes to line and that is the tension on the line. The higher the tension the better the line will transmit vibrations, the lower the tension on the line the poorer it will transmit vibrations.
As far as the last part of your question is concerned, I simplified the variables that determine the mechanical impedance some but if you will wait until the article comes out in RodMaker I think that you will see what I mean and will understand.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/02/2007 02:56PM by Emory Harry.

I too think we agree Emory on part of it at least, and I'll be glad to "wait" for the RM zine.

DR

One thing to consider is that not all wood has the same density and mass. I work with some wood that it pretty dang light and is not very much heavier than cork of the same size. But if you are talking the real dense hard woods, I agree that the weight would be a damper.