I am in the process of designing a handle for a St Croix SCV 9'6" 4-8lb line rating blank that I will use as a bank drifting rod for winter steelhead in the Pacific Northwest. The guides will be 14 Fuji Titanium SiC microguides tapering down from stripper size 10 to size 3.5 ring sizes. The reelseat will be a Fuji dual trigger reelseat. I have built several rods with these guides and reelseats and am extremely happy with them. This rod will be built as a casting rod and paired with the new Shimano Stile 101XG baitcasting reel.

I am struggling with the reargrip and foregrip design and materials. I do know that the reargrip will be 13" and foregrip 2.5". I would also like to use flor grade cork with various cork and acrylic inlay as well as a steelhead etching on the reargrip. I thought about using carbon fiber for increased sensitivity and decreased weight but I can't do intricate designs with this material and I like the look of cork handles. This rod will be built for my own use and I would like it to be as custom as possible while keeping in mind balance and weight.

I plan to apply a thin layer of guide epoxy, CPXtra or polyurethane on the cork handle to make it more durable. I will experiment with these 3 materials on scrap cork first before deciding on which one to use. I plan to apply several coats of U-40 on the handle first then apply epoxy hoping that the cork would not turn darker from epoxy coating. I understand that the epoxy will add weight to the rod but thought weight might be negligible since it's in the reargrip. The reason why I would like to coat this rod handle is because I find that the cork on a couple of my rods scraped off where my elbow touches the handle. With steelhead fishing I tend to set hook a lot and the elbow can rub against the cork. Applying epoxy will help protect and preserve the labor-intensive handle.

Because it can get subfreezing weather during winter steelhead fishing the epoxy coated handle will be cold to hold. Therefore I thought about materials that I could use right after the reelseat to keep my hand warm when I palm my reel. Because my palm only touches about 1.5 inches of the reargrip when I palm the reel I thought I would need about 2 inches of something comfortable and warm to cover up the epoxy. I thought about using shrink wrap or rod handle tape but wanted something more custom and permanent.

I would like to use something similar to the rubbery-like material that covers the top and bottom sections of the carbon fiber reargrip on the Lamiglas SI rods. There was mentioning of it being called 'handle panel' but a Google search came up empty. Do any of you guys know what this material is and where I can get my hands on some? Or do any of you have any idea on other materials I could use? I thought I would seek info on this forum first before contacting Lamiglas.

Thank you all in advance.



Edited 5 time(s). Last edit at 12/16/2016 04:13AM by Lam Nguyen.

Why not just coat your grip with tru-oil? Works excellent on natural cork and burl, doesn't feel cold in the winter.

You can draw and paint a design on a carbon grip or use a decal design then coat with epoxy.

Don't know what the material Lamiglas is using, sorry. If it were me I'd flock it, lots of colors to choose from and tough.
Good luck.

I'm with Stan, flock it, few if any on the river will have a similar grip no matter where you go and it's not a heavy option. Had this discussion before, long ago, standard wall thickness graphite tube you buy from our suppliers is neither lighter nor more sensitive than cork rings.

Thank you for all the good advice/suggestions.

Jay - I have used tru-oil before and, similar to U-40, I don't think it's hardy enough to prevent my rod handle from rubbing off. I thought a light coat of epoxy will do a much better job of preventing this rub off.

Michael - I agree that I can draw and paint then epoxy on carbon handles....however I can't do jig checkered patterns and carve/etch images on CF handles compared to cork handles.

Stan and Spencer - I have never heard of 'flocking'. Did some reading online and this seems like a really good idea! I will look into it some more and keep this in mind as an option.

I am going to contact Lamiglas today hoping they can sell me a foot or two of this 'handle panel' that they used for their SI rods.

I will also read more about flocking. Just from initial reading it seems like a really good way to coat handles.....nonslip, durable, warm, not a lot of added weight

Spencer, I agree with you about CF handles not being lighter or more sensitive than cork rings. Plus I am more drawn to the look of a cork handle than CF handle. But to each their own and who knows, I may change my mind and go CF route down the road.

Thanks again!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/16/2016 01:14PM by Lam Nguyen.

Winn Grip wrap-on tape would feel good and warm and could easily be replaced if it starts looking ratty.

Lam, What your looking for is a raw hide boot lace handle, Lather up the butt of your blank with a little rod bond and from the reel seat start warping the lacing onto the blank (packing tightly) to the butt end. Wrap the ends with tape until the rod bond cures (3 days for sure). Of course you have to clean any rod bond off that shows with alcohol. When all is clean and dry(cured) chuck the rod in your lathe and buff the rawhide with 120 grit sand paper until you have a uniform texture and then go over it with a 3-M Scotch Brite (red) pad. Depending on the diameter of your blank you may have to add carbon fiber tubing if you like a meat'er grip But this will end your problem of blowing out the section where your elbow comes in contact and the buffing makes it feel like suede. Go easy on the Rod-Bond, you just want enough to adhere contact to the blank.
ooops! I forgot one important step. The laces may have a tanning oil on them, you can soak a rag in alcohol and then run the laces through the rag washing them clean or actually soaking them in alcohol and wiping them clean in a dry rag.
You can accent the handle with a burl or cork end cap.
This may not be what you want but, it is another form of handle material that is not normally used and is truly custom.

Dennis J. Danku
(Sayreville,NJ)

Thanks guys! I will def consider the Winn Grip wrap-on tape and raw hide boot lace as options for my handles.