Anyone know what burnt cork and burl cork rings are actually made of?

In working with them the burnt cork is a little prone to crumble, and I can't tell what it really is. The burl looks like some kind of laminated cork shavings.

I am liking the burl more, and am looking for harder material to add to Tennessee handles.

Thanks - Marc

Keep it simple - that's all I can handle!



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 04/02/2015 08:00PM by Marc Morrone.

Hi Marc,
I have used burl cork and exotic burl cork in place of high grade cork. I especially like it for saltwater rods. As I understand burl cork is made from pieces of cork mixed with a resin and formed into blocks. These blocks are then cut into rings. A couple of years ago some suppliers were selling the burl cork blocks. Like you I found the burnt cork to be too crumbly. On some rods I mix wood grips with the burl corks just too give a bit contrast to the look of the rod handle. I hope this helps.

Mike Blomme

"Burnt Cork" is chemically treated and the process results in the cork becoming slightly brittle. Once you get it glued up and shaped, it's pretty durable, but getting to that point requires a bit more care than is required with regular cork.

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

Thanks Tom. Any idea what chemically treated is?

Also, am I right in saying the burl looks like cork shavings glued together?

Thanks - Marc

Keep it simple - that's all I can handle!

Marc,
If you want a tougher cork replacement, use rubberized cork.
Very tough, and very suitable for trim work.

It is made with ground up cork and rubber based cement, which makes it about twice the weight of conventional cork. But it is very suitable for trim use and is much much tougher than either burled or burned cork.

Be safe

Thanks Roger!

Thanks - Marc

Keep it simple - that's all I can handle!

NOTE I was told to not use any BURL cork rings on the ends, it breaks off, use natural rings or RUBBER cork rings, will hold up longer ,
not all rubberized rings are the same color, there are light an dark rings depends of the supplier , this only goes for the start an stop rings
on your handles , if you use color BURL rings the color fades fast as the color is on the cork not in the cork ,

William Sidney
AK

William,
Actually good advice.

I have used burled rings for a few of my own rods, but I am pretty careful, not to beat up the butt end of the rod.

Take care

Hello Marc,

burnt cork is prepared at 300 degrees celcius which causes the granules to lose its natural characteristics , so that cork is normally more fragile with respect to any other type of cork .
as to the decorative disks ( burl ) are produced with various types of granulated cork, virgin and amadia . this compound is placed pigmentation with the color you want and produces the block.
the block is then laminated to the desired thickness and is produced discs .
These blocks normally have a density of 400 - 490kg per cubic meter, depending from factoryt to factory-
burl discs are strong but heavy in relation to natural cork rings.

Joaquim Loureiro
cork4us.com