I am a big fan of the soft touch matte carbon grips from Northfork Composites. I'm looking for a way to trim them out on a Fuji VSS16 spinning reel seat ( [northforkcomposites.com] ).

First, I like to pair the VSS16 with a KSKSS/ASH hidden thread hood. This setup is actually shown in the grip product pics on the NFC website ( [northforkcomposites.com] ), but not with a 1K matte carbon thread sleeve as I'd prefer.

I believe I've finally found the 1K matte carbon thread sleeve I'm looking for on rodhouse.fr ( [www.rodhouse.fr] ). It's technically for the KDPS but I figure I could trim it down to make it work on the KSKSS. Rodhouse.fr has matte black trim pieces for either end of the carbon sleeve as well. Here's a link to an image of roughly what I'm trying to achieve: [www.rodhouse.fr]

Second, I'd like to replace the foam end inserts in the Northfork soft touch grip, both on the butt and on the VSS grip, with something a little more polished. Ideally, it would be a matte black carbon/aluminum/plastic insert that I could size to the blank. I haven't found these yet.

My questions are: 1. Does anyone know of a U.S. source where I can get the matte carbon sleeve and matte black trim pieces for the KSKSS or KDPH hidden thread hood? 2. Any thoughts about how to replace the foam inserts in the NFC soft-touch VSS grip set with something more polished?

I greatly appreciate your responses. Thank you!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/16/2022 05:42PM by John Nesse.

The American Tackle matte 3K CF fore grip sleeve matches perfectly the NFC 1K grip. Although it’s made for the AT uni-lock hood it does fits the Fuji KSKSS hidden thread hood. You can use the Batson forecast black aluminum or rubber no foregrip winding check for the front of the reel seat. It takes up the space between the hood and the blank, giving a more finished appearance. The new matte twill Fuji perfect fit thread cover matches perfectly the NFC 3K grips. The American Tackle aluminum winding checks for their G2 handles fit the NFC soft touch grips perfectly, and can be used to replace the EVA winding checks that come with the NFC soft touch grips. If you need more info let me know.
Norm

Super helpful, Norm. Thank you!

John,

We are going to introduce a hidden hood sleeve for the soft touch grips in the next month or so...we have already cut the molds...just waiting for some production scheduling to open up.

Thank you for the kind words about the soft touch grips too!

Best Regards,
Aleks


John Nesse Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I am a big fan of the soft touch matte carbon
> grips from Northfork Composites. I'm looking for
> a way to trim them out on a Fuji VSS16 spinning
> reel seat (
> [northforkcomposites.com]
> -2-0-soft-touch/ ).
>
> First, I like to pair the VSS16 with a KSKSS/ASH
> hidden thread hood. This setup is actually shown
> in the grip product pics on the NFC website (
> [northforkcomposites.com]
> /2020/09/IMG_0604-600x450.jpg ), but not with a 1K
> matte carbon thread sleeve as I'd prefer.
>
> I believe I've finally found the 1K matte carbon
> thread sleeve I'm looking for on rodhouse.fr (
> [www.rodhouse.fr]?
> ringrodbuildercolor=8171 ). It's technically for
> the KDPS but I figure I could trim it down to make
> it work on the KSKSS. Rodhouse.fr has matte black
> trim pieces for either end of the carbon sleeve as
> well. Here's a link to an image of roughly what
> I'm trying to achieve:
> [www.rodhouse.fr]
> uploads/9eb92a2711cc2607fcf5581f4ee1d26c.jpeg
>
> Second, I'd like to replace the foam end inserts
> in the Northfork soft touch grip, both on the butt
> and on the VSS grip, with something a little more
> polished. Ideally, it would be a matte black
> carbon/aluminum/plastic insert that I could size
> to the blank. I haven't found these yet.
>
> My questions are: 1. Does anyone know of a U.S.
> source where I can get the matte carbon sleeve and
> matte black trim pieces for the KSKSS or KDPH
> hidden thread hood? 2. Any thoughts about how to
> replace the foam inserts in the NFC soft-touch VSS
> grip set with something more polished?
>
> I greatly appreciate your responses. Thank you!

Aleks - That will be nice.
Norm

Good Information. I can use this for my rod build as well. Looks like the American Tackle Matte 3K is what I would want as well.

I can talk to Aleks Monday to find out when my order is shipping and when the shipping of the matching hidden hood are shipping and see how close they would be. Maybe could use them.

I really do like the NFC soft touch carbon fiber grips. For spinning rods I use their IPS grips, because it has a larger OD than the VSS16 grip and fits my hand a little better. I think it is one of the most comfortable grips I have used.
Norm

Aleks, do you have an estimated date on which the soft touch hidden hood sleeve will become available? I'm anxiously awaiting them!

Hey Norman,

Im doing my first build on an NFC MB 736-1 (HM). I also ordered the 3K VSS Soft touch 2.0. I am a little confused as how to proceed as I plan on getting Fuji VSS 16 and the KSKSS 16. I Know you mentioned that the Fuji perfect fit thread cover would match the 3K pattern. However I was reading in other places about base rings and cap rings. Are those components desired/necessary for this build?

As of now I was thinking

1. Butt grip to
2. Rear grip to
3. VSS Reel Seat to
4. KsKss hidden cover to
5. Sleeve

If the base ring and cap ring were necessary where would it go in the process and how do i figure out the sizes.

Thanks for the help, any advice would be incredibly informing

Morgan

Matagi makes matte carbon fiber sleeves for the kskss/ash hood that will match the 1K grips. Voodoo Rods sells them along with many other Matagi parts.

Thanks Wade, Ill Check those out!

Morgan - The VSS16 reel seat has an ID of 13 mm so it only slides down on the the NFC MB736 to a point about 13.5” up from the butt end of the blank. Thus, it will give a handle length that is probably longer than you want. NFC doesn’t make a soft touch CF grip for either the VSS16/15 or the VSS17, which would fit. However, they do make a soft touch grip for the Fuji IPS seat which will also fit and is quite similar to the VSS17 in OD. In my opinion is more comfortable than the VSS16. So if you want a soft touch CF grip try the NFC 3K-IPS3.75-2.0. I really like it. The KSKSS16 hidden thread hood fits the IPS seat. To trim out the KSKSS16 hood, the Fuji CF thread cover sleeve CTC223M (matte) is a perfect match for the NFC 3K CF. You will need the Fuji perfect fit Base ring BR212, and the Cap ring CR1424 (size 14mm). The Base ring and Cap ring both come in various colors. So the base ring, the CF thread cover sleeve, and the cap ring are all glued to the KSKSS16 hood barrel. Once cured you have your trimmed out KSKSS16 hood.
I check a couple of supplier and could not find Fuji CTC223M. If you can’t find one let me know, I have several on hand and I will give you one.
Check with VooDoo rods they may have a Matagi CF sleeve that may be a match for the Fuji CTC223M.

PS - The soft touch grips all come with EVA winding checks, and need to be reamed to fit the blank. They are a pain to ream for large butt diameter blanks, like the MB736 X-ray. So I have been using the American Tackle aluminum G2 winding checks , which perfectly fit the NFC soft touch grips. You just have to buy the winding check who ID matches the OD of the blank where the winding checks will go. If you let me know where you want the end of grip to end, I’ll check and see what sizes you need

Norm



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/21/2022 08:44PM by Norman Miller.

Thanks so much Norm, your post was super informative!

To clarify the blank I ordered was an MB 736-1 (HM) not the MB 736-1( X ray). I doubled checked the butts and it seems the HM has a butt size of .59 while the X ray is .49. Do you think the IPS 16 would still fit the HM or would I need to go up to IPS 17? I'm still waiting on the blank and wanting to feel it out, but im thinking ill have the reel seat somewhere around 10" above the butt. I'm hoping that I can still use the NFC CF IPS grips. If not I'll have to cancel my order and figure something else out. Thinking I have to figure this part out before proceeding in looking for the sleeves and winding checks.

Morgan

I just measured the butts of the MB736 X-rays (SKU 890) I have and they were 59” not .49”, so a typo in both the catalog and online. Thus, the MB736 X-ray and the MB736 HM both have the same butt diameter, and an IPS16 seat will fit both. The IPS seat only comes in a size 16, but the grip OD where you hold the reel is the same as the VSS17 seat/grip, which is about 27 mm.
Norm

Thanks Norm!! Appreciate you checking up on it!! IPS 16 it is!

John - Here are the options that fit the KSK hoods:

[voodoorods.com]

The Carbon Hood you are looking for is the CB-17 (the matte version) on our site.

In your original post you show one made for the KDPS16 - please note that trim that fits the KDPS16 is not interchangeable with the KSK hoods - they have different OD's even though they both will screw onto a size 16 Fuji reel seat.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/22/2022 09:05AM by VooDoo Rods.

Fuji makes the VSS16-15, which has a 15mm ID.