After looking closely at some cut cork I could see that flaws we see in surface are actually holes that run lengthwise - with the grain. Are these imperfections actually insect damage? Looks like wood borer or pine beetle damage in old lumber or an old log where beetle larva eat there way through wood in the direction of the grain-leaving their waste behind them as they go. Cork quality could be suffering as a result of greater insect infestations as time goes by. If this occurs in a living cork tree-you can't control it without killing the tree. Pine beetle infestations in this country can only be controlled by cutting and removing infested trees. Just curious to see if someone knows. Cork trivia, I guess.

No, they're not caused by insects. Cork is bark, peeled and dried and then cut/bored. The quality of cork now is pretty much what it has always been. The bark of the trees overall hasn't changed. The age of the tree the bark is peeled from has a lot to do with the quality. As trees near the century mark and have been peeled numerous times (7 to 10 years inbetween strippings), the quality diminishes. At about 150 years, no further debarkings are possible.

RodMaker Volume 2 #1 has an in-depth article on cork, the trees and the process by which cork rings are processed.

............

I suspect those holes are part of the threes system for getting water and nutrients upstairs. Most trees use their bark and underbark for that purpose. Sort of like the trees plumbing system.

Been too long since biology class and can't remember the technical names but thats what I always thought the little system of holes in cork was for.

Ray

Did a little further looking into cork growth cycles, etc. Found out that cork prices have risen in recent yrs. as a result of wineries returning to using natural cork for stoppers vs. several different synthetic substitutes. 60% of cork harvest worldwide goes into making wine corks. That's a lot of wine! The wineries have their own cork grading scale-which is based on flaws-that are caused in part by-based on this info - insect damage-worm holes. [www.corkqc.com]

It also says the best cork, for wine stoppers doesn't start until the third growing cycle, when the tree is already 40 years old. It then continues for about 150 years after that. It sounds like the virgin cork is junk and the second is not so great, but used for flooring, etc.

[www.corkqc.com]

My question is this - is the cork used in handles the same quality as used in wine stoppers?

I wondered if the increase in cork flooring had an impact on price. From this, I'm assuming no because it comes from the second cycle.

Thanks for the link Chris. Interesting stuff.

Actually, worldwide demand for cork is on the downturn. For this reason, fewer new cork trees are being planted and many that have been in operation for many years are being changed over to other "crops." The demand for cork will continue to decrease, but so will the supply. For this reason prices will continue to rise.

................

Chris .......... that's interesting ........ I have a couple of rings/handles that looked like they had a couple of worm holes .......... the grading scale seems to support that ......... guess some of my cork is not the highest quality ........ that's ok though because I like the rustic look and feel ................. thanks for the website ......... interesting read ........

Tom - this website seems to contradict that statement somewhat.

[www.corkqc.com]
"Cork production has shown significant expansion in recent years - reflecting the impact of approximately 120,000 hectares of highly productive, new cork forests in Spain and Portugal. "

"The Domestic market shows steady growth, with estimated usage of natural corks exceeding 900 million this year. The market continues to expand with the growing premium segment of the U.S. wine market. Growth in the market is estimated at 7% annually."

Cork flooring is also on the rise.

With an increase in demand, and given the first good cork, the "amadia cork" isn't available until the tree is about 40 years old (no harvest first 25 years then two 9 - 12 year cycles) making it a while until more cork is available, wouldn't it make more sense that demand is outpacing supply causing a rise in prices? Textbook supply/demand in action.

Apparently there was also a drought in the 90s which slowed production, reducing supply by interrupting the gorwing cycle.

I'd have to question that article. That's not what the plantation owners in Portugal are saying. Many of them are converting their land over to other uses. I know a couple of them.

New cork plantations are being started in Indionesia and there have long been a few there.

.............

Should also add that there was an excellent article on Portugal and the cork plantations in an issue of National Geographic about a year or so ago. It was also in complete contradiction to what that internet article stated. I'll see if I can find the volume and issue number.

..............

Interesting at the contradictions.

Two sources - two stories... not the first nor last time that will happen.

If memory serves, cork bark can be processed 2 main ways: with the grain and across the grain. Were the terms not specie cork, and mustard cork? I believe specie cork is used for cork rings, and mustard for wine bottle stoppers?

Last night I opened a bottle ob Bolla Valpolicella and noticed that the cork was a very high quality cork and I wondered if I could find a source for sheets of this quality at reasonable prices ........ so this well timed thread naturally raised my curiosity ........... according to several sources ........ there was very high production (record) in 2006 and 2007 and Portugal has a reforestation program that is replanting about 10,000 hectares per year ........ so there does seem to be a conflict ......

Here are some of the quotes:

Q: Is there a world shortage of cork?
A: There is enough cork in the cork forests of Portugal to last more than 100 years. The introduction of new products such as Twin Top® corks for commercial wines allows even better utilisation of existing cork resources. A reforestation program means that the forests are growing by four per cent a year.
Source: Corkfacts.com

Portugal has been implementing important reforestation projects, the current rate of reforestation being estimated at 10,000 hectares per year.
* Source: APCOR Year:2005

2006 Cork Harvest Biggest in Latest Nine-Year Cycle
Benicia, CA, August 21, 2006 – While Europe had another hot summer in 2006, it also had the biggest cork harvest in the last nine years, bringing in a total of 140,000 tons of raw cork, according to Jochen Michalski, president of Cork Supply Group, the nation’s largest provider of premium natural cork wine stoppers.
“The 2006 harvest is well over 50-percent larger than last year,” says Michalski. “This huge increase is welcomed since last year’s harvest was so low.”
Source: www.brownmillerpr.com

Quality Marks the 2007 cork harvest
Published by
Editor
October 24, 2007 in Press Releases.
Milder temperatures this summer helped harvesters bring in a total of 220,000 metric tons of raw cork from both Portugal and Spain, according to Jochen Michalski, president of Cork Supply Group, the nation’s largest provider of premium natural cork wine stoppers.

In Portugal, the largest producer of raw cork, the harvest was exceptional with a yield of 150,000 total metric tons of corkwood, says Michalski. “This summer was wetter than usual and extended the harvest from its normal close of mid-June to the end of July,” he said.
“The 2007 harvest was about 16 percent less than last year, and since demand from wineries for the high-end corks is increasing, it is driving up prices for top-tier wine corks,” says Michalski. “As a result, we are getting more fastidious about the quality of wood we are sourcing to produce our premium wine corks. Our foresters are concentrating on the highest quality cork wood from forests such as Coruche, Grandola and Algarve, so we are getting more of the high-quality cork that wineries are demanding.”

I also found that there are 7 other countries in the Mediterranean area in addition to South America and Australia ....... I was wondering ...... do these other countries produce quality cork? Do rod builders have sources in those country too? Are their prices any cheaper?

No, there's not really a shortage of cork. But you have to remember that what we seek for rod building is not what others seek for their own cork uses. Cork with blemishes and flaws is not poor quality - it's fine for most uses and is how most cork appears. In fishing rod handles, we simply seek a very clear cork, which has never been plentiful because it does not occur naturally in large quantities. Never has.

I think if you do enough research you'll find that wine bottles, percentage wise, are actually using less cork than ever before. Cork flooring products have made a nice comback. Fishing tackle manufacturers are by and large, switching to other products including foam core, cork veneer grips.

Gene Bullard's article in a past RodMaker on cork quality and what was available during the 70's and 80's is very interesting. The idea that perfectly clear cork was once available in large quantities doesn't hold water. That stuff has always been difficult to obtain.

You'll have to forgive me if I don't trust internet articles to the same extent that I trust well researched articles in publications like the National Geographic. There is plenty of information out there, but between a well researched National Geographic article, and online "pandafacts" articles, I guess I just tend to trust NG a good bit more. But that's just me.

For anyone interested in the process, the following is a pretty good synopisis on cork from a company that has been dealing in cork for fishing rod handles (and other things) for a long, long time.

[www.pacecork.com]


...............

Tom the National Geographic magazine article was from further back than you might think, back in the summer of 2002. Time flies. I kept it and have it in my shop--- somewhere. I remember the article and it was pretty in depth. Probably better than the short general info articles on the internet but I really can't say. I'm not a cork expert and only know that when I can get good cork I try to do that. But now I limit the best stuff to use on fly rods because I can't really get the price I need to on the bass and saltwater rods. For me that's the big problem right now. The cost. A single really good fly rod handle can run the builder $30 or more just in cost alone. Translate that to a longer 12 to 15 inch saltwater grip and it just gets out of hand. For bass rods you either use lower grade cork or something entirely different. Not many bass fishermen I know want to sink $50 just into their cork handles.

I thought it was much more recent that than, but I have no doubt that you're correct. Time does fly.

Most fishermen other than fly fisherman haven't been treated to the better grades of cork and thus don't really demand it. You can generally do what you have to do there easily with CG2 or even CG3 and still give them a better grip than what they find on most commercially made rods.

.............