View Full Version : Cord Wrap


Ian
10-29-2012, 09:09 PM
Sitting at home, drinking and not losing power... has me bored and thinking....

Why do I not see more people using cord wrap for their rod grips? I know factory rods don't offer it (I assume the effort is a primary driving factor) but I think its a really great looking feature, nevermind the functional advantages...

So why don't we see it more?

chefchris401
10-31-2012, 04:31 PM
I've been thinking about doing a rod with it.

If you don't use a sealed twine, then you need to use a Marine grade spa urethane on it, which is a gold amber color, fine on black but another color looks amber or tinted yellow.

It destroys waders/wetsuits as it has a rougher texture to it.

It's touch to get tight and stay tight.

Look at belmo's post on the other site, he does a lot of rods with it.

I would assume you could use a light coat of rod builders epoxy to soak the twine and seal it.

I'm definitely going to play around with it this winter.

Seeker (I think) makes it in a bunch of colors too.

Look at his post, I've been exchanging pms with him too lately about the cord grips, nice guy and willing to help.
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tlapinski
10-31-2012, 06:16 PM
It is popular on the west coast. I tried it but like cork tape & x-flock better.
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Saltheart
10-31-2012, 06:53 PM
Its very hard to wrap the cord tight. Its like a tug of war. Finishing the ends is hard because you wrap the cord so tight its hard to pull the tag end under. Getting the right stuff for the particular rod you are doing is not easy. Some rod blanks are thin and some fat. The right cord varies. Tarred Seine Twine is good but hard to find locally. You need to maiol order it. There are nylon and polypropylene cords that are good if you can get the right size and colors.

In general itsa way harder than cork tape , EVA or shrink wrap. Your hands get all pinched , etc as you have to pull it as tight as you can. I think the best thing to jelp hold in place is double sided tape. Some people use spray on adhesive. Double sided waterproof carpet tape for the Skishers.

Anyway , not easy to do it right. I do it but only on special request at an extra charge.

Ian
10-31-2012, 06:55 PM
Paracord shouldn't need a coating on it and I would assume is soft enough to lessen its effects on a suit/waders.

EDIT: Thanks for all the responses! Looks like my suspicions are confirmed that people shy away from it due to the ease of its alternatives over anything else. I love the way it looks and figure that the effort required is only an issue if I'm putting hours into it for a customer, not really myself. I have plans to reconfigure a rod I picked up a little while ago this winter and think that a cord grip is in its future.

Is it popular on the west coast for a reason or just cuz they like to do everything cooler in Cali brah?
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Saltheart
11-02-2012, 11:54 AM
I wouldn't choose paracord. I know some do but to me that outside braided sahell is too flimsy and looksa like it would aloow water to just sit inside. If I were you I would look at Nylon or poly cord braid or seiners twine.

pbadad
11-03-2012, 04:53 PM
Another alternative is to wrap cord twine on the blank then shrink wrap the entire butt. Just finish a butt for a friend and I have to say I like. Plus it's lighter than cork tape.

Saltheart
11-03-2012, 06:59 PM
Another alternative is to wrap cord twine on the blank then shrink wrap the entire butt. Just finish a butt for a friend and I have to say I like. Plus it's lighter than cork tape.

Yes , and very easy to do.


I still prefer cork tape on my own rods though.

chefchris401
11-03-2012, 08:17 PM
Another alternative is to wrap cord twine on the blank then shrink wrap the entire butt. Just finish a butt for a friend and I have to say I like. Plus it's lighter than cork tape.

Thats a sweet idea, ill have to do try that.

You have any pics billy?

Smulax
11-03-2012, 10:30 PM
I put twine on top of cork tape in an x pattern, then shrink wrap over that. I like it.
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piemma
11-28-2012, 07:06 AM
I still prefer cork tape on my own rods though.

BINGO, we have BINGO!!!

Ian
11-29-2012, 10:43 AM
I picked up a Stealth S1 a month or so ago and it had been wrapped with hockey tape as the handle. I am going to strip that off when my fishing season ends (ever the optimist!) and rewrap with black paracord (I know, I'm ignoring advice on this thread and I feel bad about it) with the inner strands removed. Will post pics and review when complete.

FinS 32
11-29-2012, 12:02 PM
I still prefer cork tape on my own rods though.

yep. same here.

WESTPORTMAFIA
12-06-2012, 10:56 PM
I have a few rods with a cord wrapped butt and foregrip but they all have shrink over it. SH actually built one of them and it came out perfect. Why wouldn't you cover it in shrink? For looks? Just asking.

Ian
12-12-2012, 12:04 AM
Some pics... color isn't my favorite, turks heads could use some work, a few other learning points too. More pics and a better written "report" in the AM.

54016
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makomania
01-09-2013, 10:55 PM
I have a 1327 I wrapped with cord, and fished almost exclusively at the canal. It's AMAZINGLY durable. I used #5 net twine (i believe) white nylon, held under my foot and twisted the rod every few turns to tighten while wrapping.

Used a loop of cord to pull the end under the last 6 turns then twisted it down tight and squashed the butt cap over it. Even had a buddy ask me how it held up, ground it against some barnacles and it was none the worse for wear.

I fished it all season and swam with it and it's not frayed through the outer layer or started to unravel. I didn't seal with anything or glue the ends. It never gets slippery either :)

makomania
01-09-2013, 10:55 PM
Some pics... color isn't my favorite, turks heads could use some work, a few other learning points too. More pics and a better written "report" in the AM.

54016
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Looking good! I got some yellow cord to do a 1328 this winter

Krispy
01-10-2013, 10:37 AM
I have a tog rod wrapped with paracord and I really like it. Cleans up easy and was simple to put on.

Ian
01-10-2013, 12:49 PM
Looking good! I got some yellow cord to do a 1328 this winter

Thanks. Little update, took it out a lot in December and the butt section is wrapped over cork tape and is bullet proof. The foregrip is wrapped on the blank and started to come unraveled. I used some thin ca glue on it in quite a few locations but I think the blank surface was/is too slick. I might remove and retie over some cork tape/double sided tape to handle the problem...

makomania
01-12-2013, 11:10 PM
Thanks. Little update, took it out a lot in December and the butt section is wrapped over cork tape and is bullet proof. The foregrip is wrapped on the blank and started to come unraveled. I used some thin ca glue on it in quite a few locations but I think the blank surface was/is too slick. I might remove and retie over some cork tape/double sided tape to handle the problem...

i did my 1327 right over the slick blank, the trick is to wrap the cord as tight as possible and twist it down towards the seat to tighten even after it's tied off.

I have heard people using the tape method and it's not a bad idea, I know spray adhesive can be used as well. Spray on and wrap over

Rob Rockcrawler
01-13-2013, 10:13 AM
Does it add much weight to the rod?

makomania
01-14-2013, 03:19 AM
Does it add much weight to the rod?

I don't think so, probably no more, maybe less than x-flock over cork tape. I like how it feels so an ounce or 2 doesn't really bother me :)

I have a stella 10kFA (over 30oz) or a VS 250 (23oz) on the 1327. I can plug the canal all day or RI all night with this setup with no problems.

I have 27" of cord for the butt and 7" for the foregrip.

makomania
01-14-2013, 03:23 AM
Some pics... color isn't my favorite, turks heads could use some work, a few other learning points too. More pics and a better written "report" in the AM.

54016
54017
54018

are you coming to the CSA day? I'll be there and can help you with the cord wraps. If that's a 2pc, bring it down, I'd like to see how that cord feels compared to what I have. :)

If there's space/time, I can do a basic cord grip demo if anyone else is interested. Leaving gaps and shrinking over it is also a good grip style.

Ian
01-14-2013, 09:10 AM
are you coming to the CSA day? I'll be there and can help you with the cord wraps. If that's a 2pc, bring it down, I'd like to see how that cord feels compared to what I have. :)

If there's space/time, I can do a basic cord grip demo if anyone else is interested. Leaving gaps and shrinking over it is also a good grip style.

I'll be there, but I'm telling you. At least with the fore grip, it needs to be wrapped over something or weaved. I wrapped it as tight as I could and used drops of Zap a Gap thin in spots. I tied a VERY tight Turks head at the top to anchor it all down and it STILL came unraveled with all the torque on the fore grip. I still like the style, I just need to re-wrap over something that provides some friction.
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makomania
01-15-2013, 12:12 AM
I'll be there, but I'm telling you. At least with the fore grip, it needs to be wrapped over something or weaved. I wrapped it as tight as I could and used drops of Zap a Gap thin in spots. I tied a VERY tight Turks head at the top to anchor it all down and it STILL came unraveled with all the torque on the fore grip. I still like the style, I just need to re-wrap over something that provides some friction.
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the 1327 doesn't have a lot of taper in the butt...I'm wondering if my wraps didn't slip bc of that....I fished this rod all over and swam with it, worst unravel I had a was a little slippage fixed by spinning the cord tighter.

For the rest of my handles, I'll be looking into some sort of adhesive or sealer just to be safe.

Ian
01-15-2013, 12:20 AM
the 1327 doesn't have a lot of taper in the butt...I'm wondering if my wraps didn't slip bc of that....I fished this rod all over and swam with it, worst unravel I had a was a little slippage fixed by spinning the cord tighter.

For the rest of my handles, I'll be looking into some sort of adhesive or sealer just to be safe.

I don't like the concept of sealer, but as long as you wrap tightly over something with texture (which I have on the butt section of the rod in this thread) the wraps are damn near bombproof. The fore grip is slick untreated blank and the wrap is starting to spin and loosen. I will be taking that section off and treating the blank with something like cork tape, double sided tape, etc. Something that keeps every last piece of the spiral wrap in contact with a surface that creates a lot of friction. Topped off with a turks head that wrap won't come undone through even the toughest wear.
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makomania
01-15-2013, 12:54 AM
I don't like the concept of sealer, but as long as you wrap tightly over something with texture (which I have on the butt section of the rod in this thread) the wraps are damn near bombproof. The fore grip is slick untreated blank and the wrap is starting to spin and loosen. I will be taking that section off and treating the blank with something like cork tape, double sided tape, etc. Something that keeps every last piece of the spiral wrap in contact with a surface that creates a lot of friction. Topped off with a turks head that wrap won't come undone through even the toughest wear.
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I'm liking the idea of double side tape, I'm thinking auto trim tape? It's very sticky and should be waterproof to an extent

are you using a jig for the turk's head? I want to teach myself how to do them

Saltheart
01-15-2013, 12:23 PM
Double sided waterproof carpet tape.

makomania
01-18-2013, 11:08 PM
Double sided waterproof carpet tape.

cool, I'll be trying this very soon