Often a rod may have been degraded not by breakage of the shaft, but by trauma or carelessness to the cork handle. It is not too difficult to repair these mishaps by replacing the damaged cork ring/s. Almost all fly rod handles are built from 1/2" wide cork rings. If the last (bottom) ring has been damaged, it is a simple matter to cut it off the handle and replace it with a new one. Just be sure to put compressive pressure on the ring to avoid appearance of a glue line. Damage in the center of the handle is more difficult to repair, but with care a good repair can be made. Use a razor blade to carefully cut out the damaged cork ring/s. Since rings cannot be slid to place in the center of the handle, it is necessary to open the new ring by slicing through the center hole. One thing that I have found helpful is to not cut straight through the ring, but to cut one arc larger than the other. This way the ring can only be reassembled one way. The cork rings usually come with a 1/4" hole in them. The hole will need to be enlarged to fit over
the blank or whatever is under the handle. It is not necessary to match the size of the underlying blank exactly, since the glue used to cement the new cork ring in place will prevent it from moving once the repair is done.

It may seem difficult to fit the new cork in the space made available by removing the damaged ring since the handle was probably assembled under pressure, thus compressing the rings slightly. Practice- fit your new ring on the rod before using cement. The two pieces you have made by cutting the cork ring will usually be able to be fit to the available space. If it seems that it will be a really tight fit, the cork can be softened by placing it in boiling water for a half minute. While it is still hot, you will notice the increased softness. In addition, the glue will act as a lubricant when sliding the pieces of the ring to place. The cork will not absorb enough water to interfere with the setting of the glue to be used

Almost any glue will serve the purpose; I usually use either SLOW SETTING epoxy glue or a waterproof wood glue. I understand that common white glue is often used to construct cork handles, but I feel better using better glue.

When it is determined that the new cork can be fit into the space available, go ahead and glue it in place. It takes only a fine film if glue to do the job. Any more glue than this will just spill out onto the handle and have to be cleaned up anyway.

Once the new cork has been glued in place on the handle, clean up any excess right away using water for wood glue or acetone (nail polish remover) for epoxy.

In order to avoid showing a glue line where the new cork ring was split, I wrap rubber bands around the new cork to compress it and hold it tight while the glue sets. That's about it. After the glue sets, it is a fairly simple matter to use files and sandpaper to reduce and shape the cork to the contour of the existing handle. I finish the repair off using 400 grit wet-or-dry sandpaper. Be patient with the sanding to use progressively finer sandpaper to completely smooth the cork with each
grit of paper. If you really want to take the time to get the best possible result, you can go to 600 grit for the final sanding/polish of the cork.

I have one rod where a fairly small area of damage occurred on the first ring on the handle. I was able to carefully cut away the damaged area and shape a replacement piece of cork from a new cork ring and glue and sand this in place. I actually have a hard time finding the repaired area of this handle because cork is so compressible.

I would like to refer anyone contemplating any repair of a rod to a fine book in our club library. It is "Bamboo Rod Restoration Handbook" by Michael Sinclair. While this book was written for the repair of bamboo rods, there is much good information to put you on the right path for any rod repair project. This book is easy to spot. It has a yellow cover and is ring-bound.
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