feltman Posted May 31, 2002 Report Share Posted May 31, 2002 i recently bought a new rod (9' ron arra, thanks tim) and had it shipped to my office. one of the partners walked in, picked it up and said "nice rod, too bad it'd got those skinny f-ing tape grips. i hate those things." i argued that i had small hands and actually preferred them. anyway, we got into a whole debate about the issue and it got me thinking, "why do surfrods pretty much exclusively have thin cork-taped grips?" i posed this very question to the 'ask al goldberg' forum and was told that because originally these long rods were so wide at the butt, a thinner profile grip was needed, it became something of a tradition and now most manufacturers use them on premium rods, however the practice has been taken to the extreme on some of the smaller thinner rods making them uncomfortable. i was just wondering if anyone else had any opinions on this issue. what do you think of cork-tape? -feltman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
feltman Posted May 31, 2002 Author Report Share Posted May 31, 2002 btw, i have that 7' ben doerr rod w/cork tape grips and i love it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WorcBoy Posted May 31, 2002 Report Share Posted May 31, 2002 Felt, Most of my custom rods have cork tape and I love it. The last few years I have been using 2" "mooseskin" grips from Merrick tackle to put on the ends of a the reel seat. Makes a nice transition. Also on the lite 7ft or 8ft rods I double wrapped the cork tape to build up a bit. Did a 9ft lami graphie spin rod for a friend that was tall and double wrapped the cork tape for him. Works great! WOOSTABOY Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Naj Posted May 31, 2002 Report Share Posted May 31, 2002 I like the feel of cork tape and I like that fact that it is relatively easy to replace. There are 2 different thickness available. I believe they are 1/16" and 1/8". Depending upon the blank I've sometimes used a double layer of some combination of the two to get just the right thickness. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
surfratny Posted May 31, 2002 Report Share Posted May 31, 2002 3M saftey tape is great and I also like the rubber shrink grip stuff both work good even when wet I seem to moving away from cork hard to clean and can get slippery when wet I have converted most of my rods by now with just a few more to go Hey Feltman how do you like your new ron arra ? they are perfect for Jbay Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
feltman Posted May 31, 2002 Author Report Share Posted May 31, 2002 it's sweet. gonna test it at j-bay in short order. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dubs Posted May 31, 2002 Report Share Posted May 31, 2002 I've done the same thing as Paul and Worcboy by double wrapping the cork tape on the thinner blanks. I love the cork tape and wouldn't have it any other way. ------------------ ----------------------- Dubs a.k.a., Charlie SOL #25 dubs@stripersonline.com Dubs AKA: Charlie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
feltman Posted May 31, 2002 Author Report Share Posted May 31, 2002 when you double up, how do you smooth/round the transitions by the reel seat and grip top? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Goldberg Posted May 31, 2002 Report Share Posted May 31, 2002 Whether you use cork tape or any other type of grips, the diameter of the grip is critical for comfort and performance. This is tough to do on a production rod but is a necessary step in fitting up a custom rod. Specifically with cork taped rods, i do the same in double wrapping them to get the proper OD for the grips. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richs Posted May 31, 2002 Report Share Posted May 31, 2002 i have that industrial shrink tube, that's indestructable. pretty happy but can't get reel taped on solidly. may go to wrap on reel seat. ------------------ Fishin' ain't easy, but it sure is fun. No more skunks. Maybe you didn't hear about it, you been gone a long time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dubs Posted May 31, 2002 Report Share Posted May 31, 2002 when you double up, how do you smooth/round the transitions by the reel seat and grip top? Use a larger size reel seat, you can usually get the tape to fit perfectly with the seat. ------------------ ----------------------- Dubs a.k.a., Charlie SOL #25 Dubs AKA: Charlie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richs Posted May 31, 2002 Report Share Posted May 31, 2002 Or bevel it with a razor and smooth it with epoxy. ???? [This message has been edited by richs (edited 05-31-2002).] [This message has been edited by richs (edited 05-31-2002).] No more skunks. Maybe you didn't hear about it, you been gone a long time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luis T Posted May 31, 2002 Report Share Posted May 31, 2002 Everyone of my rods has a cork tape handle on it, I love em'! Luis T Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DMacLeod Posted May 31, 2002 Report Share Posted May 31, 2002 Like Al G . said. Double wrap the tape. Two of my Arra's are wrapped this way and I love it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveC Posted May 31, 2002 Report Share Posted May 31, 2002 Double wrapped cork is good for me! ------------------ DC ><}}}}> Berkeley Striper Club...Seaside, NJ DaveC <0))))))))))))>< Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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