Hey there,
I want to turn grips to fit my customers' hands exactly. What are the best measurements to take? Has anyone found a jig or measuring tool (like the sliding measurer at shoe stores) for measuring the hand? Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks!
Andrew

Hello Andrew

1) What kind of rod is it Spin/Cast/Fly
2)What size real seat
3)How long of a rod

You may find, as I did, that some customers with big hands like small grips (and visa versa). One approach I've taken many times is to ask the customer to take a picture and some measurements from their favorite rod grip on a rod they already own. Then I ask what about that might be improved, and I take if from there. I store that info. in a binder along with other info. from the customer for when they want another rod.

If I had a shop where I made a living at building custom rods (which I don't), it would seem to me that having several sizes of different types of grips on hand for the customer to try would be the best way to give them what they want.

RodMaker Volume 10 #3. You really need to read the article on ergonomics. I spent more money and did more research on that article than anything else that has ever appeared in the magazine. Most everything we've done in the last 100 years with regard to fishing rod grips and handles is wrong. There is room for vast improvement if only we pay attention to the detailed studies that have been done in the last 30 years on human hand bio-mechanics.

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For what it's worth the handle that we ended up with putting on my wife's rod is 1 3/4 inches in diameter. We tried several different sizes before she was able to grip one comfortably, she has arthritis and has pain when holding on to the smaller diameter handles. This is just a way of saying what other posts have said. It's up to the customer what feels right, be that an extreme case like my wifes or just what feels good to the customer. There was an article in RM several months back that delved into the ergonomics of hand size and handle size. It is a good starting point.

I hope this helps,

Andrew,
In addition to the largest size of the grip - it is important to figure the flare of the grip. i.e. a straight grip, flared larger, flared smaller, a power hump, a power dip, a small fore grip; a large fore grip, no fore grip, a split grip, a back grip that gets larger behind your hend; a grip that gets smaller behind your hand; etc.

A very very good idea is to have about 10-30 rods with different grips of sizes and styles so that a client can check them out. Everyone has different needs and wants.

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Also, with respect to the grip - in the case of a spinning or casting reel; it is important to determine the size of the reel seat. Just because you are making a light spinning rod; doesn't mean that a size 16 reel seat is the one to use. Unless the reel seat is coverd; you may find that an 18, 20, or 22 sized reel seat is really more comfortable for the client. If you use a large reel seat for a small reel; you can always trim off threads on the reel seat to better fit the length of the reel.

Take care
Roger

Hi guys,
Thanks for the feedback. I am building fly rods very light weights up to heavy saltwater. I will not be the one filling the custom order so I need to have a system to help other non-custom rod builders to get the right information. Tim, your suggestion is probably best, just have a couple different size handles there on display and let them feel what is closest to comfortable. Tom, I will check out the article. Thanks for the tips. Have any of you actually taken measurements of someone's hand or has the "feeling" approach been sufficient? Thanks again!
Andrew

Here's a great benefit for using cork for your grip material. You can build the grip a little large in diameter, and if it ends up being too large, you can always turn the finished rod in a qualing rod lathe and further sand down the grip to a more suitable size. It's difficult and more-often esthetically unpleasing to add material to increase the diameter of a grip that is intially too small.

Torin.

If I were fortunate enough to build custom rods as a full time vocation, the recent introduction of the poured grip really seems to be the way to have different styles and configurations of grips available for prospective customers to have 'hands-on' selection for their rod. Just a thought!

Excellent point Steve!!

Bill in WV

The trouble with a simple feel test, is that you aren't putting the fisherman's hand through the same exercises that he/she will experience when actually fishing the rod for several hours at a time out on the water. What feels subjectively comfortable in your shop for a few minutes, or a few seconds, won't be what feels comfortable after an hour or two when casting, retrieving and fish fighting.

Do read that article - I think it will open your eyes about a lot of things and your eventual customers will thank you for it.

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Tom Kirkman Wrote:
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> The trouble with a simple feel test, is that you aren't putting the fisherman's hand through the
> same exercises that he/she will experience when actually fishing the rod for several hours at a
> time out on the water.

Tom's exactly right, and this is why I think asking a customer to choose their favorite grip on a fishing rod they have already used on the water will always result in a happy customer. It's about giving a fisherman what they want rather than what you think they should have. Bear in mind also that fisherman get used to certain grip shapes, and over time develop muscle memory that affects how they use a rod. Not just for holding the rod while fishing, but also for sticking a rod in a rod holder, for picking the rod up off a boat deck, for shifting your grip for a very hard cast, etc. If you prescribe something very different, they might not like it even if it's truly more ergonomic.

Those are interesting points, but the Wright-Patterson research study done in 1971 indicated that even those who had grown accustomed to a certain size and shape handle and were able to perform certain tasks with no complaints, were able to perform those same functions better and with less effort when introduced to more bio-mechanically sound handle designs. Although some did not like the new size and shape from an initial subjective standpoint, the report indicates that after using them for a prescribed period that the test subjects then showed a preference for the more ergonomically correct models.

All of the other studies that I purchased for use in preparing the article reported the same thing.

Although we all have different sized hands, the overall make up of the bone and muscular structure is the same for all of us. Thus, there are certain sizes and shapes that work better for all and which most will choose once they use it for a bit. Not always, mind you, but most of the time.

Feel is always a subjective thing and it's very likely that some fishermen will prefer something they've grown accustomed to (and that's fine - the builder will have to use his or her own judgement as to how much prodding to do when, or even if, trying to get them to change to something else). But for the most part, we're not building very good grips, handles and seats, even though they seem to work just fine. We could be doing a lot better in this area and in so doing, really leapfrog the commercial rod industry.

I would agree that we never want to force anything on anyone. So you have to be careful in what you recommend versus what you insist upon. Still, we have lots of room for improvement in this area.

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IMO the Rodmakers article on ergonomics was the most important thing ever written for custom rod builders who really want to stand apart from the crowd and offer their customers something better than they can buy off the rack. But I have one problem and that is the fact that I don't have the skill or the tools to make handles and seats here in my shop. So I have to rely upon what the manufacturers offer. Until they start building more ergonomic designs I'm sort of stuck.

I do try to get my customers to use the correct SIZE and diameter. But with my limited skills and tools that's about all I can do at the moment.

I do realize you can't mold your own seats and things like that, but you can shape and size your own cork, EVA and size the available seats to the customer's hand. This is an area where custom rod builders should excel and at the risk of offending those whose primary work in the custom rod field is threadwork or similar, it's this sort of highly functional aspect such as ergonomics that custom builders should be paying the most attention to.

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Short lengths of PVC pipe, around which you mold a lump of plasticine into a larger cylinder. Get your customer to squeeze the plasticine cylinder to a comfortable diameter, then grip the pipe and plasticine with their "fishing" grip. Thsi should give you an impression of their hand form, which you can then use to gauge the shape and diameter of the grip you're working.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/28/2008 10:54PM by Ted Morgan.

Regarding the ergonomics issue on grip diameters. I read the article and came to the conclusion like the author did that the ideal size for my handles was pretty large. I made two casting rods with variations of shape and with larger than normal rear grips, but still smaller than the numbers predicted. Neither of them is easy to cast WITH ONE HAND because I just cannot seem to grip them securely (WHEN CASTING WITH ONE HAND). I revised one of the rods and put on cord wrap to make the handle even bigger, and lo and behold, it was no better, maybe worse. I then took the wrap off and sanded the handle down to a diameter very close to that of the outer diameter of the standard reel seat and found the rod much easier to cast with one hand. My grip was now much more secure; the rod didn't seem to be torguing against my hand as much.

My experience is more one of actual function than preference. I just couldn't seem to grip the larger diameter grips well due to the larger diameters. When casting with two hands I found the larger grips to be fine.

From my experience I would question the ergonomics guidelines for casting rods-I haven't tried larger spinning rod grips. I know a lot of work and study went into the guidelines, and maybe I'm missing something. Any ideas?

Both rods are split grip 7 foot rods, one a spinnerbait Loomis and the other a Shikari mag bass action. I expect if the actions were softer the larger diameters may have worked better, but from now on I'm sticking with the more normal grip diameters.