Is there any effective way to dye cork and a "filler" to achieve a consistent handle color? What kind of filler and dye would be used?

try this [rodbuilding.org]

Bill - willierods.com

Phil, i would doubt it, but would love to know about a method if there is one somebody has found that works. I have tried boiling, that just weakened the cork and made it mush. Pressure cooker same.Dye in strong solvents like acetone and some MEK i had lying around. None worked better than a coating of acrylic paint and looked considerably worse very quickly.
I currently use a powdered filler from the wood flooring industry and instead of water use u-40 in it and it dries up good, no shrinkage problems etc. But i am not 100% sure the U-40 makes it dry better than just regular water i would need to put both on the same handle several times then compare and i do not have resources for this.
I no longer try to change the color of both as the closed structure of the cork means dye does not have any penetration.
What has always happened for me is it starts out looking good then after a few months the dye wears off the cork and the filler is still the original color. It now looks worse than ever.
The best i have ever been able to do is match filler color to cork.

Phil,

I have used plain wood stain over the years, after all cork is wood. The best penetration I got was when I built the handles from cork sections. Yo need to thin the stain out as much as possible or all you will do is dye the top layer of the cork. The thiner the stain the better the penetraion has been my experience. You will need to experiment and know that cork paste/filler is a challenge when it comes to matching. Trial and error is the name of the game here.

Tight lines,

John Hernandez

Cork is a closed cell structure and as such will not absorb liquids, otherwise it would not have been used for 100's of years for floats. Any dye or stain will only be absorbed into the open cells on the surface. This may be OK appearance wise if it is what your looking for.

If the issue is old cork, then the suggestions above should help. If the issue is new cork, use good quality exotic cork rings and finish them with Tru Oil and they will look great and last well without soiling much. I use nothing else now and am very pleased. The exotic cork I got from Mudhole is good, and there are others that are also very good. However, stick with reputable suppliers so you don't get the "exotic cork" that looks like particle board- it has no "character."