removing foregrip?

[Red]

would removing a foregrip on a rod mess it up much? i am talking cheapo berkley rods....i would like to do it so when i am palming my reel my index finger is on the blank....would this small amount of weight be noticible? and is it recommended to have no foregrip on a rod with a full(not split) handle?

thanks

Cliff

[flechero]

Once you get the cork (or EVA) off, you'll still have a layer of old epoxy.  It will look like crap and probably have sharp edges that would require sanding.  (and if you hit the blank itself while sanding, you may give the rod a death sentence!)   Also, there won't be any sort of finished edge to the reel seat so no telling what you'll have left there.  

If it were me, I'd provbably leave it.  

Do a search in tacklemaking for rod mods by "justtrying" - he took a bunch of of rods and removed foregrips and even split the rear grips... did a good job as I remember.  If you decide to try it, read his old posts, he gave a detailed account of what he did and what challenges he faced.

[Red]

well, i did it...first off...FYI...berkley cherrywood rods DO NOT have real cork grips, it is some sort of foam stuff that only looks like cork on the outer layer.

what i did to three rods was remove the forgrip and split the rear grip....i used pliers to remove the grip, then a lighter and knife to scrape off the epoxy(came off easier than i expected)  then i lightly sanded the new exposed blank...i also mounted the reels and cut the threads of the reel seat to length.

on the foregrips i took the little o-ring looking deal that originally finished off the foregrip, and slid it down to finish off the reel seat(super glued in place)...then i sanded the epoxy edge where little o-ring thing was down smooth with the blank

on the rear grips it was the same process for removal of the cork, then i sanded the cork down to form a nice tapered grip...

the berkley bionix rod DOES have real cork grip so this one came out pretty good, the other cherrywoods kinda look crappy cuz that foam stuff does not sand well, plus you have the original cork look a like layer blended with the foam, so it looks bad....but i planned to replace these rods soon anyway  

all in all it wasnt a bad deal, didnt take too long and wasnt very difficult....the only downfall was that two of the three rods didnt have real cork...all three rods seem to balence well right at the reel so i dont think i will notice much as far as weight difference, but i hope i DO notice a difference being able to put my finger directly on the blank while palming my reels

anyway it was a fun experience and i will probebly do it again as long as i know the rod has real cork grips

thanks

Cliff

[Red]

forgot to post a pic, the one in the center is the bionix rod that has real cork, that one came out pretty good i think, the other came out ok but just look crappy due to not real cork

Cliff

[.dsaavedra.]

i gotta say... good job! the middle one looks natural! the other too...not so much...but you did your best, because of the not real cork...that screwed u over. anyway, they look good. how come on teh middle one, the exposed blank looks like its got residue of some kind on it? u should try to remove that if you can.

[Red]

yeah i noticed that, i am sure its epoxy...after i got done and wiped it down it looked good, now it has dried and it appears it needs a bit more claening...i noticed that the $20 cherrywood has far less epoxy then the @50 bionix....are wally world rods bult by hand?  seems like if they were all being built in the same place stuff like that would be the same on each rod...or close anyway

thanks

Cliff

[Red]

update...dont do this if you dont know what your doing!!  lol....i am glad i did it to cheap rods....they work fine but it seems i didnt leave enough cork behind reel...very uncomfortable and it fatigued my hands very fast....but i do like not having the foregrip on there, seemed much more sensitive with having my finger directly on the blank.....dont know if i will do it again, i may try it once more and leave more cork so when i am casting i am holding all cork, not half cork and half exposed blank...or i might just remove foregrip and leave it at that...anyway i learned a lesson and now i get to buy new rods!!

Cliff

[Bassn Blvd]

Dude, just buy a rod with already exposed rod through the reel seat.   Be very careful heating up the blank because you can melt it.  

[David P]

I was going to say, you didn't leave enough behind the reel, I knew that would be a big problem.

I tried doing this to a cheap rod, and screwed up a bit, BUT in doing so found an easy way to do this.

Buy a kit, they're $24.99, remove the current cork, and just sand it down properly so the whole blank is exposed, and slide this guy on (of course with glue or some adhesive you pick).

Much better look, and easier.

[Red]

Dude, just buy a rod with already exposed rod through the reel seat. Be very careful heating up the blank because you can melt it.

nah, for several reasons, they are expensive, and the fact that two fo my rods got slammed in the car door yesterday, both are fine(it seems)...if that happened to a $150 rod i would be very upset

Cliff

[Red]

I was going to say, you didn't leave enough behind the reel, I knew that would be a big problem.

I tried doing this to a cheap rod, and screwed up a bit, BUT in doing so found an easy way to do this.

Buy a kit, they're $24.99, remove the current cork, and just sand it down properly so the whole blank is exposed, and slide this guy on (of course with glue or some adhesive you pick).

Much better look, and easier.

you got a link for these?