Greetings fellow rod makers; I am considering using a woven carbon fiber grip on a 9’ 8wt. fly rod I’m building; it’s a full-wells design, so it has a steep drop at each end of the grip. Has anyone had any experience with the durability of these grips and the potential of fraying at the edges? Thanks in advance for any feedback and tight lines, Alec



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/19/2022 07:21AM by Alec Stansell.

They are extremely durable and clean up easily. I have been using them on my fly, spinning, and casting rods for quite a few years, and they still look brand new. They are almost bullet proof.
Norm

I still have and use the first foam-core carbon-skinned grip ever made. It's been on a fly rod and has seen almost 19 years of use now. It still looks new.

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

I slipped and fell wade fishing the other day and slammed my rod and reel down on a big rock to catch myself. The fly reel is pretty dinged up but you can't even find a mark on the carbon grip.

Alec
You might want to think twice re a CFG. Especially if you are fishing in saltwater - they get very slippery in the salt. If you texurize it to eliminate that - it is very hard on the casting hand.
Herb

Herb, are you referring to the carbon fiber grips finished with a coat of hard coat of some sort, or the NFC type that are sort of matte finish, not glossy? I can't believe that the NFC type get that slippery.

Smooth and slippery are not the same thing. The gloss finished grips are actually more "grippy" than the ones with a slightly textured matt finish.

Water will not make them slippery - in fact it does just the opposite. Fish slime will, just as it does with just about any type of grip. I typically wipe my hands off if I've handled a fish and have never had any issue with the grips in fresh or saltwater. In fact you'll find that to move the rod around in your hand-fingers, you really have to relax your grip as they don't slide in your hand as easily as cork.

The other thing you'll notice early on is that your hand will cramp because you'll be gripping too tightly. Once you relax a bit you'll notice that you get better response and distance for your casting input because these grips do not deflect like cork does. You may not think you're working harder with cork, but once you compare the two you'll see what I mean. Relax, use less effort and get better results.

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

I have been building fly rods with them (both purchased and self made) since the first article in Rodmaker, 10 plus years. Never had one wear or be slippery. There are now 3 surfaces on them, glossy smooth, woven surface, and a newer smooth rubber feeling.

I have installed 3 CFG's on 3 fly rods. Before I installed them I tested for "Grippyness" with tap water. They DID get more grippy. But VERY slipperywith saltwater. I took the shine off one of the=m and it got more slippery.
That was 7-8yrs ago.
Then, 2 yrs ago, I bought a custom (to my specs) CFG in Ritz shape with fighting butt - the carbon fiber was left unfilled and was very grippy. But was very uncomfortable on my hand to cast with.
Herb

Shape has more to do with the ability to grip something than does the surface texture. Consult the the RodMaker series on grip ergonomics if you want to know why.

...........

Hello All.

Here is my quicky check, don't know about pt. 5 & 6 (My keyboard is not working right)

19/4 Ergonomics Part 1, Proper Grip/Handle/Seat Diameter. By Tom Kirkman. 24
19/5 Ergonomics Part 2, Proper Grip/Handle/Seat Shape By Tom Kirkman. 24
19/6 Ergonomics Part 3, Pommels and Tapers. By Tom Kirkman. 22
20/1 Ergonomics Part 4, Surface Texture. By Tom Kirkman. 14
23/6 Ergonomics Part 7, Why Shape Matters By Tom Kirkman. 18
19/6 Ergonomics Variation. 25
16/6 Ergonomics, Fishing Rod Levers. By Tom Kirkman. 18
10/3 Ergonomics, Fishing Rod. 10

Tight Wraps & Tighter Lines.

Bob,

New Bern, NC.

Thank you all for your responses. The grip I have is unfinished; that is to say, there is no additional finish covering the woven carbon fiber. I’ve supplied a link to a picture below. I’m glad to hear that it is proven to be durable, as that is my main concern. Thanks again everybody and tight lines! Alec

[www.rodbuilding.org]



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 11/20/2022 04:57AM by Alec Stansell.

Nothing really to add other than double down on what Tom said about them not being slippery when simply wet. I have one that I top coated with the lay up epoxy used to make it, then top coated with Permagloss. It is glass smooth and grippy as all get out, Now add fish slime or weed slime, and it's a different story.

David Baylor Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Nothing really to add other than double down on
> what Tom said about them not being slippery when
> simply wet. I have one that I top coated with the
> lay up epoxy used to make it, then top coated with
> Permagloss. It is glass smooth and grippy as all
> get out, Now add fish slime or weed slime, and
> it's a different story.


Right. Fish slime will make any grip slippery - this isn't unique to carbon skinned grips. But most of us tend to wipe our hands off a bit after landing a fish, if we touch the fish at all. I'm not sure about these guys that are dripping in fish slime. They must be doing something different.

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

On an 8wt rod, you may find that the untreated grip gets uncomfortable as the day goes on, as it has a hard fiber surface that begins to feel abrasive. By the way.....beautiful job on the reel seat and butt !!

I give my CF grips a coat or two of Permagloss. Don’t know if it’s necessarily but it does give the grip a little more sheen and it looks good.
Norm

Tom Kirkman has a video on Youtube showing how he finished those grips with Permagloss.

It's on the RodMaker Magazine Youtube channel.

.........

Here’s the video.
[m.youtube.com]
Norm

Guys - Once again THANK YOU! Great responses and a big help to me. I really like the appearance of the Permagloss top coat that Tom so ably demonstrates in his video - beautiful! Your help is most appreciated and Ive learned alot. Alec