I have been building for a few years now and have been exclusively using wood for split grip handles as well as butt and foregrip. I have come to realize that I really like the feel of cork in my hands while fishing, but I don't want to lose the wood look. I will be keeping the wood butt and foregrip and use cork for part of the handle. My grips have always been 31/2 inches long off the reel seat. My thought is to use 3 inches of cork from the seat and a 1 inch or 1/2 piece of wood on the end of the handle that matches the foregrip and butt. My question is should I glue the wood and cork together and shape at one time or shape them seperately and glue them together before I install on the rod. I'm guessing that trying to glue them together after shaping would be harder for the pieces to match up. How do you guys tackle this issue when using both on a grip. Thanks

glue them up and shape as one piece. otherwise it will be nearly impossible to get a smooth transition.

I agree with John,
Remember, as you well know cork and most woods have considerably different densities and sand at different rates.

So, when you are doing your shaping on the lathe, be sure to use a backing board on all of your sanding diskw or paper, or use hard surfaced shaping tools.

This will allow you to have a uniform shape with no gouges in the softer materials.

Take care
Roger