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Cork handle care

Mike Thompson

Mike Thompson

Senior Member & Supporter
Hi all,
I'm sure I have read something before, but couldn't find anything when I had a search. So please forgive me if I am going over old ground.
I have just cleaned a cork rod handle with a sponge and warm water with a little bit of washing up liquid. Amazing how much muck has come of with just a gentle wash. However it now shows up small crevices in the cork surface.
So should I just leave them or is there some simple method of filling these imperfections ?
Also what are your thoughts on sealing the cork.
Thanks,
Mike
 
I think it's cork dust and wood glue and sand. But maybe someone can confirm.
 
Mike, can you just sand a bit of cork (an old place mat for example) to make your own cork dust or do you have to buy something special. When dry do you then use wet and dry sand paper to finish ?
Thanks
 
Thanks Bob, I have some wood filler and was considering having a go with it. Just being a bit careful until I get the hang of it, don't want to spoil a nice rod !
 
I've tended to use Rod dancer pit paste in the past. Prior to (and since) the company being acquired by Mudhole, it has been very difficult to find.
As for sealer for cork, I understand the temptation to use it, but I wouldn't touch a rod that had been treated in such a way with a bargepole. To me, it devalues a rod significantly. However, if you're not remotely concerned with residual values, it's your rod, knock yourself out. The exception to the rule would be the higher end Shimano rods fitted with what they called "Power Cork". It was cork impregnated with some kind of soft rubber/plastic compound. It seemed to work in protecting the cork (and filling pits) whilst managing to retain the feel of cork.
 
Rod Dancer Pit Paste used to available from GuidesnBlanks sometime back, but now doesn't appear on their site.
For big pits or mouse damage is to cut out and replace with a piece of cork pressed into the handle then sanded back- sounds involved but is quite simple to do. You could use a jubilee clip as the clamp
Current cork quality is generally quite poor and I reckon that clear shrink wrapped handles is about keeping the filler in on new rods as well as also masking the quality. The decent stuff is expensive but in my view worth considering on quality rods.
I have a box of 500 cork shives, (1.25 diameter x 12.5 mm thick) but at around a quid each and higher, can cost a price that most are reluctant to pay. You'll need around 45-50 for a handle.
Rubberised cork is a good robust hard wearing alternative but is about twice as dense than standard cork making a heavier handle.
However, not much (if any) filler is required or needed.
Cheers
Bob
 
Guys, just done a couple of tests on an old cheap rod. Mixing cork dust with pva wood glue resulted in a hard brown finish. It was much harder than the cork handle so had to be very careful when sanding.
Mixing cork dust with wood filler resulted in something much easier to sand, but finish was more grey than cork coloured. So added a few drops of wood dye and got a good colour. Sanded first with 100 grade then down to 240 wet and dry, used dry. Very pleased with finished result.
 
're Richard's comment above. A place mat or pan stand is not a good staring point. They are usually made from ground cork and an adhesive. So the material is rather hard and doesn't sand easily. Real cork, like a wine cork, is softer and sands into a fine, lighter coloured dust. You really need a dust because you are filling very small cavities.
The work is quite fiddly and needs care, so do it before you consume the bottle, not after it.
 
Nice one Mike great result. 😎

some pics of your work would be good. Always nice to see a quality repair.
There is something about fixing things to a really nice standard that I love.
nothing more rewarding than a cracking tidy repair job.

There’s also nothing more frustrating when it goes tits up 😂
 
Thanks Richard,
Tried to photo, but to be honest the repairs are so small you could not see them. Perhaps if I had done a before picture it might have shown the difference, but I didn't think about it.
 
Mike, it's not THAT good, it's just on a photograph its difficult to tell a colour change in the cork from a filled in crevice. Once I've had my mucky hands on them for a few trips the repairs will be almost invisible !!!.
But I did enjoy doing it, very relaxing.
One other comment. If you do have a go, make sure you leave the rod over night for the filler to completely harden. When I was first experimenting I started to sand one area about two hours after applying the filler. It felt hard, but was still soft enough to spread a thin film over the surrounding few millimetres which took on a polished appearance and was very difficult to get off.
 
Could use cork dust/granules intended for pop ups am sure quite a few bait suppliers will have in stock?
 
Jason Goodwin said:
Could use cork dust/granules intended for pop ups am sure quite a few bait suppliers will have in stock?
Click to expand...
You’ve beat me to this Jason...I’ve just been on eBay and for a fiver you can get “a litre” whatever that looks like in cork dust ? But i’d Like to offer my services to members by drinking a bottle of red for you if you would like to buy it and you can keep the cork 🤣🤣
 
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