I have a co-worker who is an avid fly fisherman. Unfortunately he had an accident that resulted in quite a bit of nerve damage and now he has feeling and control issues in his index and middle fingers. He still wants to fish so other than learning to fish with his other hand I thought I'd explore the possibility of making a custom grip that would place his ring and pinkie fingers in a better position on the grip. The point would be to address additional leverage questions but more importantly, would allow him to strip the fly line through the last two fingers. Has anybody done anything like this? Any words of wisdom on material, how to create a sample grip to fine tune the final answer, changes of materials, dimensional changes, etc?
Thanks for any help
Steve

RodMaker Volume 10 #3 - the article on handle and grip ergonomics is the most important work ever to appear in the magazine. It addresses what is most often the weak link in any fishing rod - the grip/handle.

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A grip contoured to his hand could give better leverage to the other fingers. I think expanding polyurethane foam would be the way to go (check out Riley Rods in the sponsor list). I've only made a handful of these contoured grips but for what it's worth I've found that if you contour to the fingers too much then there is no room for shifting your grip and it gets uncomfortable after a short while. I like mine with just a slight rolling surface rather than big ridges and deep valleys. [www.rodbuilding.org] Keep in mind that the epoxy coating will try to level itself and whatever contours you have in the foam core will end up being reduced in the final grip. It may help to get some modeling clay, stick it onto a blank section shaped like a regular grip, and let your co-worker work the clay into what's comfortable for him. Then you can shape your foam like his model and adjust the ridges and valleys for epoxy leveling.

It seems to me that you could also make one out of cork if you started with 1.5" rings.
After gluing up the rings, turn it down to the largest diameter that is smooth, then have him hold it in his hand and trace out the most comfortable positions for each finger.
Take a dowel and wrap it with 120 grit paper and slowly "file" out the sections where his fingers go, taking time for him to hold it and make adjustments as necessary.
Once this is done to his satisfaction, place back on the lathe and shape down to a more contoured grip layout, then repeat the process until satisfied with look and fit.
Final sand to 320 and you should be good to go.

Walt Natzke
Ripon, CA