Colville Cork Centerpin Rod Handle- Burl

Our full burl cork grips utilize Black and White mix on the ends of the handles giving you a very customized look only available with custom builders. The majority of the cork is Natural Brown burl that is everyone's favorite. It gives the grip a wood grain appearance that is very very classy. The middle of the grip is wavy cactus burl trimmed with a thin piece of burnt cork. You will not find a nicer burl cork on the market.

6.5” Straight

1.06” outer diameter .250” Inner Diameter

Price: $49.99

9” Straight

1.06” outer diameter .350” Inner Diameter

Price $69.99

6.5” and 9.5” set $99.99

Cork Fishing Rod Grips. Traditionally Beautiful unsurpassed performance!

The material we spend so much time holding and know so little about!

When I was old enough to fish in my own my father handed me a short 6' rod with what I remember to be an Abu Garcia spinning reel on it. I don't remember much about the rod except the feeling and smell of the cork grip. It was soft, yet grippy. It smelled like very unique like dried wood. That handle was in fact cork but I wouldn't find this out until many years later as I became a rod builder.

The Cork Oak Tree, Quercus Super, is one of the world's most coveted materials for many applications. None require a higher quality than the Wine Industry followed by the Fishing Tackle industry. Like fine wine connoisseurs, rod builders and the discriminant fisherman they supply the rods to, all look for the same characteristics in cork. Each tree has a slightly different life history and will face different ecological/natural effects. Cork The bark of the tree where cork comes from can only be harvested every 9 or more years and we have to wait until roughly 40 years old to harvest the trees bark. The tree isn't damaged in the process of removal. The farmers take pride and love their trees. They typically will live for 200 years but some live to be 500 years. That's is tons of great product over their lifetime. More than half of the cork trees come from Portugal due to the Mediterranean climate. As you can imagine with the access to this resource, the best cork products come from Portugal. This tree has a very special relationship to the people of Portugal. Being in the Mediterranean this tree must withstand some warm dry temperatures. One of the ways it combats this climate is by separating it's bark from the inner wood creating a cool air pocket in between. It acts as insulation. This truly is a real life "giving tree." The bark separation offers cork farmers easy harvest of this useful product while dealing no damage to the tree. Portugal is so serious about these majestic trees they are federal protected and harvest is regulated.

Like the feather craze we experienced over 10 years ago, cork is heavily coveted in the fashion industry. Many people are recognizing the properties of cork make this product excellent for it's noise reduction, insulation qualities and sheer beauty. So of course the price continually climbs month to month. Now that covid has turned everyone into outdoor enthusiasts, fishing rods are being produced by the thousands. Luckily the novice angler doesn't see the need for a quality product for a handle until they become deeper entrenched into the sport. The sad thing like many fishing tackle purchases, the consumer doesn't know what or why they are buying something. One of the worst handle materials is smooth graphite but it is one of the most popular. It's cheap and it looks like woven carbon fiber. I hear of anglers struggling to hold this material especially with a centerpin reel because you are lightly wrapping you palm around the handle while extending your fingers into the rim on the reel. It becomes difficult especially if the handle doesn't have good grip or it is thicker.

One way to utilize the good cork pieces that are to small for wine corks or natural rings is to lightly grind it up and reshape it. This allows the producer to make a super high quality cork ring that will perform even better than a natural ring! The best part is these mixed cork rings are incredibly beautiful and much less money. Called Burl Cork or Burnt cork their are many different mixes and varieties. There is even some rubber mixes that are much heavier and durable which is perfect for the top of the grips and the bottom of the grips to protect the material it attached to.

Why Our Cork is the best:

It's simple. We choose the best product for the industry we serve. Typically the Wine Industry sources all of the best cork making it difficult to acquire for other industries. We take the time to find the finest bark that has a lighter composition and density. The reason this is so important for grip material is it is so much lighter weight yet still is as durable.

In the past most of the "burl" cork was made from High Density flooring material. Since it was made to be walked on it was made of the worst quality cork. These manufacturers take this lower grade product and grind it up into small pieces. They would they put an incredible amount of pressure into the cork to make it a super solid piece of cork that had a significant amount of weight. This is a fine product for certain applications but it was far to heavy for the rod building industry.

If you compare our corks to the other manufacturers, you will find a superior quality. We offer the most beautiful discs/rings that will allow your builds to be unique. There are really endless combinations and each ring is unique. Our goal is to give you a beautiful product that will last for years to come at the best value.

Cork vs. synthetics

There has been a huge wave of synthetic materials that have hit the market recently. Every one of these products tries to emulate the characteristics of natural cork. Being a fisherman or servicing the fishing industry, we would guess you want to choose the most eco-friendly material available. There is no "Greener" material than cork! Producing the cork doesn't harm trees or the environment. It truly is one of mother nature's best gift to the angler.

Not only is it environmentally friendly but it has a much finer performance than all the other materials.

It's soft quality is easy on the hands, making those long days fishing much more enjoyable. Being so soft, cork is easy to cut. You can get some creative handles and dial in the exact length.

It can be formed to your desired size. It doesn't need to be molded. You can have endless size options. Carbon are made to certain mold sizes….unless your going to invest in huge quantity of grips, you are limited to the sizes offered.

Cork is unique and absolutely beautiful! Every Ring is literally different. Although the coveted Top Flor Grade is supposed to be the most uniform, mother nature just won't allow there to be two identical pieces. This is surprising considering they are cut from the same piece of bark millimeters apart. Even more special when the cork is cut up and formed together, we get a huge range of variance in grain size. Now add a little color and Viola!

Perfect grippiness! Some synthetics are to "sticky" and some are you slippery. Cork offers a slight amount of "slide" in the hand during casts while still offering a grippy velvet feel.

It's plenty sensitive. It doesn't pass the most vibration vs. carbon but with a good rod you will still feel everything you need to below the water's surface. It is more sensitive than EVA and rubber.

It is naturally mold and mildew resistant! Being submerged in water and covered in fish and bait slime this product will last you decades.

You can make it like new again by simply sanding a very fine layer off.

It's light weight! Cork has a 50% volume of air! Cork has a honey comb structure with many empty cells making it one of the lightest natural products. Where rod balance is key cork gives you minimum, causing less fatigue.

Cork is Eco Friendly! Don't you want to use a material that doesn't harm the environment? Cork trees are protected in Portugal. Many animals use Cork Oaks as homes! Cork Oaks are dubbed as Portugal's lung.

Cork Floats! If you drop your rod in the water a rod with a cork handle will sink much slower than one with a synthetic handle. Many times the reel is light enough the rod will stay at the surface long enough for you to grab it before sinking.

It's warm! There has been a recent campaign for carbon over cork for it's warmth. I can tell you first hand as an steelhead angler that carbon isn't any warmer than cork is. Take a natural piece of cork and a carbon fiber grip and put it into the freezer. Pull them out and hold them in your hand. You will see cork is superior yet again.

Cork is heat and flame resistant. If you leave your rod in the car on a sunny day, the guide epoxy may become soft and yellow. You can be sure your cork handle will stay perfect. Also if you are artistic, grab yourself a burning tool and burn some designs into your grip. What other material can you do this with?

Cork is Bug resistant! Bugs don't like cork! Many anglers keep their rods in their garage or boat. You can be sure you will not have any bugs destroying your rod handles!

There is no maintenance! Cork Repels water. It is so porous it will not absorb water! Cork requires no finish.

Cork has the longest life cycle of any other handle material. After many years of use you can still use the cork on your old grips for other projects. Currently I am working on a project to mix resin with cork that will give me some incredible material. You can also use them to mix Into soil to promote proper drainage for your plants. The possibilities are endless.

Cork is WATERPROOF naturally. Cork does not absorb water! You will not have your grips shrinking and growing like other wood products. You get the beauty of cork without have to make it stable and waterproof. Often times when I add hardwoods go cork I will feel the handle swell at the those sections. Cork maintains it's size and shape.

There is a reason that cork has been used as fishing rod grips for hundreds of years. The velvet feel cork provides is the target feeling that the grip manufacturers try to imitate with synthetics. There is evidence that cork was even used for fishing floats in China as early as 3,000 BC! This truly is mother nature's gift to fisherman and wine enthusiasts alike! Next time you are looking at getting a fishing rod made or one from the store, remember all the reasons why cork is a far superior material to the synthetic options. One thing we can assure you is you will find no better made cork rings than from Colville Outfitters and Custom Tackle. We supply the USA with the finest rings and pre made handles available.