The benefits of a Tennessee handle (TH) are often overlooked if not ignored in favor of a conventional tube-type seat, be they 1-piece or split / skeleton. As with many others, I initially considered them a cheap, insecure way to mount a reel. But, contrary to the saying, ignorance is NOT bliss!
Quite a few years ago, I was given a beautiful, if not historic, vintage (1950s?) Conolon Missilite“Titlist” (yes, the spelling is correct) spin / fly rod employing a TH with tapered aluminum slip rings, the first TH in my arsenal. While disappointed that such a beautiful rod did not have a conventional seat, that certainly did not keep me from fishing it at the first opportunity. The anticipated, expected reel slippage NEVER OCCURRED, I could quickly and easily mount the reel (spin or fly) at any position along the handle, is arguably the lightest method of holding a reel and discovered it was the most comfortable seat I had ever held = the thin tapered slip rings laid flat on the top of the grip while ramping up and over the reel feet = it was almost as if the reel was molded into the grip. I instantly became a believer and proponent of THs.
But all THs are not created equal! The paramount key to a proper functioning TH is all in the rings, more precisely their shape!!! Simple straight-wall cut pieces of tubing do not work; the taper of the reel feet cock the rings on an angle which digs into the grip and only affords one small point of contact on the feet; the result is a sloppy hold of the reel which ends-up loosening and damage to the surface of the grip as well. This may be the main reason many do not like THs.
The solution is properly tapered rings. I have found 11* (included angle) to perform very well. This is accomplished by either of two methods; molded if plastic (including composite) or swagged if metal. Machining is another possibility but impractical. Additionally, the rings can be evenly tapered from end to end or a protrusion or“bloop” in the surface to accept the contour of the feet.
When starting to build my own THs, I could not find proper taped rings so I machined a dual-tapered plastic mold to laminate woven CF / Aramid rings. I have built quite a few and no one has experienced reel slippage or grip damage. While they work flawlessly and even look quite good and unique, they do require time and effort to produce.
With my last project, the Removable Guide Telescopic Rod (RG Tele), being experimental, I decided to experiment with slip rings from PacBay. I purchased a pair of their aluminum and also a pair of their plastic slip rings, both of which looked nice, and decided to try the plastic rings. Admittedly, I have only cast the rod <50 times during my “Casting Distance of Misaligned Guides” test. During that test, the PacBay slip rings held the reel securely WITH NO MOVEMENT! Although I haven’t used them yet, I suspect their aluminum rings will perform as well. At <$1.00 / ea for the plastic and <$2.00 / ea for the aluminum, they are certainly good values, both in price and performance. Good job PacBay!
In conclusion, while THs may be Old School, possibly older than tube seats, their versatility, light weight and comfort make them a present day pleasure to use. Consider rather than discount them!

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

I'm going to use a carbon fiber TN handle on my first non practice build. I'm building an UL trout/crappie rod.

Hunter,
While the foam-core / CF process has been employed for THs, consider doing a little more research, or hopefully others from this site will offer comments, on how well the hard shell works with slip rings (if you were planning on doing so). It seems to me that the majority of those using a CF handle use tape to secure the reel. I do not care for the tape approach but then I have not built a CF TH. It is kind of ironic that I don't really care for CF grips since I come from the structural composite industry; if anyone should like and appreciate them, it should be me. I have made a TH with birch bark (and that was A LOT of wafers!!!) which is harder than cork but certainly not as hard as CF. While the slip rings DO hold the reel, more force is required to prevent slippage. I would hate to see you spend the time to build a CF TH only to find that the rings slip.

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

The harder the grip the more flexible the rings should be. PacBay made and maybe still makes nylon slip rings. They are fantastic on hard surface TN handles.

Mike,
Thanks for the reply. I can only assume the PacBay slip rings you speak of are the same as I referenced above. They certainly performed very well on my cork and it is nice to know that they apparently work as well on harder handle surfaces such as CF as well.

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

I have done fair bit of researching into T grips and I read multiple places about slip rings not working on CF or Texalium handles. I’m planning on using self adhering silicone tape to attach the reel. But I’ll try that method on an ice rod before I build a rod with that in mind.

Thread and finish is my preference for CF TN handles.

Mark,
Your post strikes a cord.

To change the subject to ice fishing rods and tennessee grips.

Obviously, when ice fishing one is fishing in sub freezing weather, or there would not be ice on which to walk.

As a result, it is nice to hold a rod that is not Cold.

One grip that meets this criteria is a tennessee handle cork grip that uses "tape" to hold the reel in place.

Virtually any sort of ring material that is used to hold the grip in place tends to transfer cold to the hand.

However, one of the least cold materials for this purpose is simple plastic tape in your choice of color.

Place the reel in your desired spot and take the plastic tape and place about 4 wraps of the tape around the front reel seat foot and an additional 4 wraps of tape around the the rear reel seat foot.

Keep a spare roll or two of tape in your tackle box along with a small pair of scissors to make clean cuts and one has a simple reliable "warmer" way to hold the reel to the grip.

The tape gives very little bulk to be in the way of the fingers and hand and the plastic tape tends not to transfer heat or cold from the air to the hand.

Since the tape supplies very little bulk, there is nothing in the way to make the holding or the reel in the palm of ones hand uncomfortable.

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Note:
Depending on the grip material - like Cork, or Eva --- if using tape to hold the reel in place prep the location where the reel is going to be placed by first taking the tape and placing about two wraps of the tape in the exact spot where you are going to install the reel on the grip.

These two wraps of tape are considered permanent. The reason to do this and to not remove these two wraps of tape where you locate the reel, is to avoid removing the tape that is right next to the grip material. Over time the tape can develop a pretty good grip on the grip and if all of the tape is removed down to the grip material, one may rip pieces of the grip out of the handle by the tenacious grip that aged tape can have on the handle material.

But, when changing the tape and or reel, by leaving the initial wraps of tape on the grip itself, the removal of the tape over wraps does not affect the grip material.

Best wishes.

All of my spinning rods have Tennessee style handles and most just use tape to attach the reel. Hard to imagine a lighter more sensitive way to put a reel on a rod. I do have a couple with slip rings because I have a bunch of old reels I like to swap back and forth. Plus, they're fun to turn on my "hillbilly cork lathe"

Cork! It's what's for handles :)