It’s pretty cool how cork can take on unexpected characteristics from either its natural growth environment or when cork sealant is added. Does anyone know of any disadvantages to using a cork sealant?

By the way, have I ever mentioned how much I love the American Tackle fly rod grips and reel seats with matching wood trim?! It’s cool to be able to match the trim to the design scheme. Check out the 3UL and Braided Window Fly Seats along with the matching Reversed Half Wells grips. They have become my standard offering!

Charles,
Agreed, cork is an awesome medium for rod grips! It is a totally natural, replenishable grip material which has been used for decades, if not millenniums, to produce extremely comfortable and very handsome rod handles. Hence, it is my go-to material for most grips and handles. Other grip materials may be fine and dandy from a multitude of perspectives, but nothing will ever replace cork, even the less-than-perfect examples available today.
That being said, I ALWAYS apply sealant to my cork grips. While maybe only “blind-faith”, I cannot imagine anything detrimental with such an application; I sincerely hope others with more knowledge will inform me otherwise. I have found sealing (all my) cork with U40 Cork Seal to be a huge advantage across-the-board concerning appearance, longevity and ease of cleaning.

Mark Talmo
FISHING IS NOT AN ESCAPE FROM LIFE BUT RATHER A DEEPER IMMERSION INTO IT!!! BUILDING YOUR OWN SIMPLY ENHANCES THE EXPERIENCE.

There are many options for cork finishing , including Tru Oil, polyurethanes, cork sealers and enhancers, and even wrap epoxy. Wrap epoxy on some of the nicer burl corks is very attractive, and for the right shapes, works just fine in the hand.

[www.rodbuilding.org]



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/17/2021 07:18AM by Michael Danek.

I use U40 on all my builds .

Good stuff, U-40, but it does not enhance much. If you want cork to really stand out visually, one needs to go further.

For me it's U-40 cork seal or nothing.

Michael is correct in that different materials can be used to “coat” cork. Personally, I prefer the natural appearance and feel of cork and do not care for the shiny, clear-coat urethane or epoxy produces. I have tried Birchwood Casey’s Tru Oil with satisfactory results but although cork is technically a wood (albeit the bark), I reserve Tru Oil for typical wood and, as others have suggested, U40 Cork Seal for cork applications. To be honest, I am uncertain how much it “toughens the cork” as stated, but it certainly provides resistance to dirt and stains.
While some may use other products, I would say the U40 Cork Seal is probably the industry standard.

Mark Talmo
FISHING IS NOT AN ESCAPE FROM LIFE BUT RATHER A DEEPER IMMERSION INTO IT!!! BUILDING YOUR OWN SIMPLY ENHANCES THE EXPERIENCE.

I was just pointing out that there are many options for those who want to get out of the box. Industry standard for what? For helping to keep cork clean and making it easier to get clean after soiled? Possibly. And it does a very good job. But it is not the industry standard for all options with cork. One of the advantages of U40 is that it does not change the appearance of the cork significantly. But at the same time that is a disadvantage because "native" cork is pretty dull stuff. If one wants that, fine, it's clear that U40 will do it. But if you want to enhance the contrast, change the gloss, bring out the character of exotic burl, U40 just doesn't do it. There are options that I wanted to mention because many builders, especially newbies, don't know about them and what they can do. My photo shows how striking exotic burl cork can be. That cannot be done with U40.

Michael,
Understood, accepted and even agreed upon.

Mark Talmo
FISHING IS NOT AN ESCAPE FROM LIFE BUT RATHER A DEEPER IMMERSION INTO IT!!! BUILDING YOUR OWN SIMPLY ENHANCES THE EXPERIENCE.

Question,

Do commercial rod builders like G Loomis apply any sealant to their cork handles or are they bare cork (on their bass spinning and casting rods) ?

I think you need to ask them.