Quality cork is an increasingly scarce and expensive commodity, but a blank with anything but cork for a grip to me is a fish pole, not a rod. I have used cork powder in a matrix of epoxy to fill holes in a cork grip. I take wine corks (I get them from my neighbor) and sand them into powder using 120 grit sandpaper, then thoroughly stir the cork powder into a minimal amount of mixed, slow setting epoxy paste. I use a small Dremel bitt to ensure the bottom of the hole in the cork is slightly larger than its opening. Then I use a 1/2 inch wide spatula to pack the thick, cork-dust/epoxy paste tightly into the hole in the grip, leaving the surface of the "patch" slightly higher than the cork. Once the patch hardens I sand it flat to the curvature of the grip. The patch is very durable and hardly noticeable - and lots tougher than foam rubber.

I agree. But sometimes, usually because of a budgdet, I have to use EVA.

Phil,
That works and works pretty well.
But Epoxy is much much harder than cork. As a result, it is often difficult to get a really nice uniform grip due to the hardness differences between cork and epoxy.

As a result, many folks do the same thing, except that they use Devcon household cement. Effectively, this is the same cement that some folks refer to as model airplane cement. It essentially has an acetone base.

The hardness level of this glue is pretty similar to that of cork. However, no question about it, this glue is not nearly as strong as epoxy, but normally it stands up fine when used as part of a cork grip.

Best wishes

I have in the past mixed cork dust with Elmers Wood Glue.
I will do the same with lures except use balsa powder.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/06/2022 09:11PM by Chris Catignani.

My bad - There is a type of epoxy which sets up "rubbery", not hard - that's the stuff to use.

I quit using cork many and now really like Eva,.it,s so trouble free, feels good, cleans easy, hardly shows dirt, and no pits to repair. What's not to like. Even if cork cost the same as eva, i would still use Eva.

Ben,
What is not to like with EVA.

I simply don't like the look of EVA, nor the feel of EVA compared to cork.

Other than that - EVA is great.

To each his own and that is just fine.