Fish-Hawk.Net

Since it's been asked lately, and because not all of us go out on the ice or watch videos of dancing girls in bikinis thought I'd share my latest project.

With triple A grade Portuguese cork being seemingly non existent nowadays, if not taking the EVA route, most companies will accept sub-par cork to be used as a rod component.
Unfortunately, the lower grade cork is somewhat pitted from the get go, and companies will fill in the gaps with wood filler.

After a seasons use, or two, handles tend to slowly lose that said filler, looking something like the picture below.






Some will appreciate the distressed and worn out look of the handle, I personally hate it, period!
After reading a few comments online, they recommended Elmers wood filler in "natural" color, so that's what I first purchased.
I proceeded in taping the extremities, and filled in the pitted areas with the filler.






I wasn't pleased with the end result on my first attempt, the tint was to light in contrast to the cork handle.




After brushing off the previous filler, I went and purchased Lepage wood filler in "light oak".
After touching up all my rods, I let them dry for roughly 4 hours.
Sanded off the excess with a 600 grit sand paper.

Very happy with the end result this time around.
I will be sealing all of the handles with U40 cork sealer, it will prevent the pitting and keep them in pristine shape.

I do suggest a practice run on a smaller area before attempting to tackle the full handle.









P.s. works great on them Gar bitten handles!

Thanks for this post, very informative.

About the cork sealer, what kind of finish does it leave behind? I have some generic cork sealer/conditioner, but it seems to be very glossy.

Supernova224 wrote:Thanks for this post, very informative.

About the cork sealer, what kind of finish does it leave behind? I have some generic cork sealer/conditioner, but it seems to be very glossy.

I use it on all my cork handles and here is my take on the finish.
If I had a Glossy Meter that read 1 to 10 with 10 being High gloss and 1 being mat, I would rate the finish at 3.
Velvet type finish. The cork does get darker but the protection you get is excellent.

Supernova224 wrote:Thanks for this post, very informative.

About the cork sealer, what kind of finish does it leave behind? I have some generic cork sealer/conditioner, but it seems to be very glossy.

Originally, I only wanted to seal one rod, it does slightly harden the cork and leaves somewhat of a darker finish.

In the picture above, one is already sealed (it was sealed by the previous owner), and honestly, the margin in feel is minimal.
Hence, I’ll be sealing all of them.
It’s my understanding a very thin layer will suffice and adhere to the cork’s surface.
It will get glossy if you apply in excess.

Not only will it protect the cork, but for a tackle junkie that changes rods every other year, the re-sale value on a pristine looking rod is always better if I do decide to sell.

Also note, there’s filler for exterior applications, I used the one for interior.
If the cork is not sealed, I have a hard time believing they’ll stay as nice, as they presently are, when they come in contact with water.

Great post Mav and the rods look great .. I may give this a try just to pass some time.

Of course, reading your post brings me back to an SNL skit about cork .. but that's another story

lol. I thought about the same skit.

Ed

I just wished I fished often enough to damage cork handles!!!!

Just don't forget, cork soakers are born, not made!

Be careful now Boys .... or RJ will put a cork on it.

Wallyboss wrote:I just wished I fished often enough to damage cork handles!!!!

The damage to the handles are not caused by over-fishing.
It's due to the bashing against the boat deck when he losses a Bass.

LOL!!!!!

Ed. You should really carry this U-40 cork sealer...just sayin'

Plus I need some.

....and great job Mav.

biggs wrote:Ed. You should really carry this U-40 cork sealer...just sayin'

Plus I need some.

....and great job Mav.

X2

X3 I just gave mine a bath last weekend and would give that stuff a try...

Great stuff, thanks for sharing the process. I do have one to take care of... Damn Gar!

RJ