Wrapping the cork

[THeBLender]

I've got a book on rod building that suggests you use a razor to narrow down the tip of the cork where the blank emerges and then wrap thread from the blank up onto the grip about 1/4"? Has anyone seen this done? Is that to take the place of winding check if you don't use one? Strictly Decorative?

[Jason]

That doesn't sound like a typical thing to do. In fact I've never heard or read anything like that. If I were you, I wouldn't do it. Just put your handle on as is and put a winding check up against the cork. Then you make your thread wraps up against the winding check.

[Curtis Fry]

I've heard of people using sandpaper to taper the cork, but never such thing as actually wrapping the cork. My favorite thing is to get a nice winding check and, like Jason said, wrap up to the check.

[Copper John]

I have seen it done before on a custom rod by some guy I can't remember. Honestly, it didn't look good and when I picked up the rod the wraps were a little rough on my thumb. I have opted to always use a winding check and taper the cork with sand paper. If you want to be real precise you can use a mount your handle to a cordless drill, glue your sandpaper to wooden dowel, and sand your hand down like you were running a lathe. It works pretty well. Of course, I could be obsessing.

[FlyGuy]

I've done it on all but one rod and I think it looks much more custom than the ol' winding check, and I've received some nice compliments. I think it's just about as by-gone as the cane rod in our day of production efficiency.

The "trick;" however, begins by making your own handles. When I build rods, I glue cork rings, one-by-one and clamped, right onto the blank and I use 15 so the last 1 and a half rings can be sanded down to meet the blank. I sand the grip to shape right on the blank. I then put a small bead of epoxy along the ridge you can't quite sand to nothing so there's a smooth transition onto the blank. I then wrap from the lower side of the hook keeper right onto the cork and finish the whole thing with flex coat just like the guides. For me, this provides not only a great looking transition, but also a front taper that doesn't end abruptly like all the "pre-made" ones as I sometimes like to extend my index finger up the rod for delicate/accurate casting. It works best with dark thread so the cork doesn't show through after it's finished.

I'm not sure if it's thread like I've done, but the Cabela's Stowaway rod handle will give you an idea of the look and taper I tried to describe.