Cork Filler: A Necessary Evil

Nobody likes filling cork grips but it is a sometimes necessary as the cork produced nowadays is simply not up to the standards that we once enjoyed. I remember when we didn’t have to fill our custom cork handles because the cork from Portugal was blem free. Due to the pressure to produce more cork products has led to the demise of the quality of the cork harvest. Picking out the defect and then filling my newly shaped custom grip with some mixed concoction  was something I really did not enjoy.

Over the years we have experimented with dozens of concoctions to make the filling job easier. Mixing cork dust and wood glue or epoxy adhesive is not the ideal filler. The problem is that this filled voids leave a different in the cork color after your handle begins to batina, better known as getting soiled and greasy from use. The filler we used for many years is no longer manufactured but we did find a very good substitute, Elmer’s ProBond Wood Filler. The color is Golden Oak which is the key to matching natural cork unlike the other natural colors which do not soil at the same rate as this golden oak.

This filler is so easy to use and also sands exceptionally well as not to create hard spots in your handle, and over time blends in very nicely with your cork grip patina. Elmer’s ProBond can be used interior and exterior which insures that the filled areas won’t pop out over time and it resists shrinkage and cracking. This is probably one of the best on the market today. Try it and I think you will agree.