I wonder if ,someone can help me out with some kind of how-to about pistol grips..and also in the question of the proper lenght of the blank for this type of rod...6' will be ok or is too long and I will have problems with tip heaviness?

I was thinking to use a St.Croix SC II 2pc. ML blank that in my opinion is pretty light "barefoot" and hopefuly ,with micro guides will remain as such,and will not cause wrist fatigue after hours of use.

But ,as I never had one rod with this kind of grip..Im not so sure about .

Thank you

Gabriel



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 05/31/2012 10:13AM by Mihalyfalvi Gabriel.

They were very popular for many years, decades actually, before falling out of favor to longer, straight gripped rods in the early 1980's. The longer straight grips, offered better fish fighting leverage and two-handed casting.

Few pistol grip rods were longer than 6 feet, most of the last ones built came out at around 5 feet 6 inches.

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

Thank you Mr. Kirkman for your quick answer,but im not quite sure if I get the message . You try to suggest its an old and ineficient type oF build with not enough leveridge to
fight the fish..and did not worth to do it?

Im sure its not populare in the present but im trying to make a rod to fit my lazy style of fishing. Im casting one handed most of the time and what can fit.better if not a pistol grip ..?

Forgot to say. ,the grip will be made from hard wood.
Im hoping for some how to or any personal experience with this rods/grips.

Thank You



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/30/2012 08:53AM by Mihalyfalvi Gabriel.

You'll have to decide for yourself. Take any blank you have and attach a light weight to the tip, perhaps a half pound or so. No hold the rod blank at the extreme butt end and lift. Then slide your hand forward a bit and put the butt of the rod under your forearm and lift again. Consider the difference you feel between the two.

Pistol grips were used for many years. They're certainly functional but you may find that you don't like them as much as you think you might.

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

Hi Gabriel,

Back in the 1980s, custom rod builders made some super looking wood pistol grips. I believe they carved them by hand to fit the user and used Dremel Tool burr bits to give texture. Here are some pics:

Justis:
[www.rodbuilding.org]
[www.rodbuilding.org]

Clemens:
[www.rodbuilding.org]
[www.rodbuilding.org]

Childre:
[www.bassmaster.com]
[www.bassmaster.com]

I don't know how they were constructed, but it looks like they either used an existing pistol grip and removed the rubber handle or used a casting seat and glued the grip to the rod butt.

Hi Gabriel,

I think you have to consider 2 things, fishing method and rod length . I believe that pistol grip rods fell out of favor with many fisherman because of weight/balance issues and the change in fishing techniques/methods. When I was a salesman at Bullard International in the 1970's we sold tens of thousands of Fuji, Fenwick and Featherweight pistolgrip handles. None of these pistolgrip handles were blank through reel seat design . They all relied on a glued on ferrule to adapt the blank to the handle. If you wanted a pistol grip reel seat prior to the late 70's your only choice was a chromed brass Lakeland or Varmac. These seats were heavy and prone to the trigger breaking off of the seat because it was brazed on. With the advent of the molded "graphite" reel seat from Fuji you could build a blank through reel seat which was lighter and had better balance and allowed you to build a comfortable fishing rod in lengths over 6'. Fisherman everywhere were using new techniques like deep cranking, Pitch'in, flipp'in, etc. and thus the pistol grip fell out of favor. In the fishing industry like all others styles and methods run in cycles, maybe it's time for a pistolgrip resurgence?

With all that said, there is no reason you can't build a great fishing rod with a pistol grip, if you don't mind the length/balance constraints. I would suggest looking at using a PacBay Minima Trigger reelseat with a cork pistol grip and either a small foregrip or no fore grip assembled on 5'6" blank. You would probably need to cut down an existing Spinjig or MagBass 6'6" or 7'0" blank to get the best action. This type of rod would be suitable for many techniques and might be perfect for your style of fishing. If you or any other rod builder builds any rods for children then you should consider this type of rod in a slower action paired with a pushbutton spincast reel. Small children have no problem getting two hands behind the reel and often find it easier to cast with a pistolgrip style rod.

Vic

I saw a picture of a grip done with a pistol grip. The rod builder drilled through it and used it as the top section of a split grip. This gives you the feel of the pistol grip without the balance issue. I believe the picture was on this forum.

So,I tested what Mr.Kirkman suggested... and no doubt about it ,the more you grip the blank higher, more leverage you get... Common sense tells me.. Theres just one way to fight that...the weight of the grip as a balance. And...As already said I want to use hardwood(nut) ... So atached temporarly the piece of wood to the blank put the reel seaton with the reel and...surprise...Actually when I palming the reel in my usual way ( so the grip is more behind ... i get an extraordinary balanced rod...given by the weight of the wood...wich of course have a negative on the global/final weight of the hole rod....but not in that manner ,to be useless...and beleve me, Im sensible when it comes about rod weight.

So, I will have at worst a little tip heavy rod just in the moment of the actual casting(when I'm not palming the reel). In the retrievel time will be(as I felt when tested) a very good balance.... I dare to say, even more balanced than a few 7 footer with the more popular short rear grips.

About leverage(in terms of fighting fish), yes of course there's a lack of it...but this rod is ment to be a ML , for catching average bass size of fish with no long and exhausting fight....In that case I admit this type of grip would be a very unconfortable tool.

I'll give a shot...even if Im not in clear with all the details of the build....Like..I'll apreciate if someone could tell me...it is enogh to bond the blank in the wood grip , in the usual way...it will hold up like that?...'couse I'm thinking there will be more and bigger forces, when it comes to cast....as in a "normal" grip.

Thanks

Gabriel



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 05/31/2012 10:04AM by Mihalyfalvi Gabriel.

If you properly size the bore in the grip to match that of the blank, and properly prepare your surfaces (article in online library here) then the grip will be, for all intents and purposes, a permanent part of the rod.

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

Thank you... I'll do that..And will give feedback with the results , if someone is interested, of course :)

if you could send me an email I might have some suggestions for ya. I use these type of rods on a consistent basis and may be able to help.

Tom

Email sent.

Thank you