Rod Builders Cork, and Grip Accent Materials

There are basically two families of cork: Natural cork, and composite cork

Natural Cork

We have been importing cork rings for our rod shop directly from our Portuguese brokers and growers for over 20 years. We have purchased hundreds of thousands of Flor grade cork rings over the years. We know the business, and have reliable sources for the world's very best cork materials. All of our rings are pre-graded by the producers as Flor upon their arrival. We then personally hand select from the initial gradings to guarantee the very highest quality for our own marketed inventory.

We offer four grades of natural cork: Flor grade, Flor grade 1, Flor grade 2, and Flor grade 3

Select Flor Grade 1 is the highest quality, personally hand selected cork. It will be essentially free of flaws ... As perfectly clear as natural graded cork can be. This grade is only available in very limited quantities, and to be used by builders that simply want to use the very best cork rings on their rods.

Select Flor Grade 2 is an extremely fine grade of personally hand selected cork. It may have some very slight discoloration, and minimal pitting. This is the same cork that we have typically used for all of our Standard and Custom Build schedule R.B. Meiser Rods, and building kits over the past 20 years.

Flor Grade is the grade of cork most commonly used by the majority of high-end fly rod manufacturers. This is the graded selection of cork that we receive directly from our Portuguese suppliers as “Flor Grade”. This selection will have an equal combination of Flor grade 1, 2, and 3 rings. Our select Flor 1 and 2 cork rings originate from our bulk orders of this grade.

Select Flor Grade 3 is selected from our bulk Flor grade cork. It is a very cost effective, solid cork ring grade that will have some color imperfections, slightly more pitting, but no voids or cracks. It is an extremely durable grade of cork that will build up into a solid, 100% void free grip. Flor Grade 3 may require some cosmetic fill, but overall these rings will mill up into a fine quality grip assembly.

Composite Cork

Composite cork is a material made by binding granulated cork particles together with a natural or polyurethane adhesive.

We offer a wide variety of composite cork rings. A few being very use specific, but most chosen by the builder purely for cosmetic applications to create a unique, personalized grip assembly. Composite corks are available in two basic families: Rubberized cork, and Burl cork.

Rubberized Cork

½” and ¼” rubberized cork rings are generally used in those high use areas that need protection from abrasion and concussion. This is the most durable of all composite cork material. They are most commonly placed at the top and bottoms of the upper and lower grip assemblies. They are very heavy and should be used only minimally for functional applications.

Burl Cork

½” and ¼” burl cork rings can be used within the grip assembly to create a unique, personalized pattern, or as an accent to natural cork. It can also be used as the primary grip assembly material if desired. We have these available in Natural Brown Burl, Vertical Cactus, Horizontal Cactus, and Burnt

R.B Meiser <> “Buster Wants to Fish”