Cork

[Anonymous]

Spent the morning in a meeting with our architect continuing to refine plans for the adaptive reuse of an old industrial building.

[Zach Matthews]

Tim –

Cork is mostly grown commercially in Portugal.

[Carter Simcoe]

That’s funny man, I saw an ad for eco friendly cork flooring just yesterday and had the same thoughts.

The bamboo flooring is really nice, btw.

Zach, concrete is one of the least eco friendly building materials out there.  

[jeff s]

A lot of people are going to get rich over the next few years by labeling their products as “green”.

I’m not sure if cork is any more or less green than hardwood or any other natural product.

[Rick Neilson]

I too, like the look of laminate bamboo flooring.  It’s very strong, durable and I guess it’s as green as other types of wood laminate.  I’ve never heard of cork being used for flooring and am having a difficult time visualizing how it would be used.  It would seem to be way too soft.  I imagine it would be fairly expensive too.  I’d be curious to see how it is used.

Jeff has a good point on green and money.  How do you define green.  Is it recycled material?  Does it have a lower cost to produce or a longer life?  

[Anonymous]

Thanks for all the thoughts.

[Carter Simcoe]

yeah, that’s probably the deal, good first cuts are probably in short supply but they still aren’t pulling them out of the ground.

[Neal Osborn]

Bamboo flooring is $$$$$ but man does it look good.

[stiles]

Bamboo is a lot cheaper than hardwood! Mostly because the install cost is minimal: its pre finished.

That said, bamboo is impossible to re-finish and touch-up. Also, bamboo is laminated under lots of pressure, but over time, it tends to curl up and go back to its original state. After a few years you are left with scuffed-up cupped floor boards.

So, bamboo is great it you want to tear it up and start over in 10 years, but thats not my idea of “green”.

[Carter Simcoe]

So, bamboo is great it you want to tear it up and start over in 10 years, but thats not my idea of “green”.

I’ve got no experience with the longevity of it but as far as “green” goes compare how much bamboo grows in 10 years to your average hardwood tree.

[dusty montgomery]

When I was in the flyshop industry, we began to notice that the quality of cork on our rods was declining. The explanation I received was that the lost quality in cork was due to the massive Tsunami that hit a few years back, effectively wiping out whole crops. I cannot validate this, just what I heard!
Dusty

corrections welcome…

[Jack Cummings]

I just have to!
Someone found a good crop of cork!
I can’t say I’ve seen any better on a fly rod… custom or production models.

[matt_dotts]

I can’t speak to it’s “green” attributes but as a custom rod builder I can speak of corks increased cost over the past few years.

[Anonymous]

I can’t speak to it’s “green” attributes but as a custom rod builder I can speak of corks increased cost over the past few years.  You looking at paying $1.00 or more for each 1/2 inch premium high end ring.  There is no international standard to grade cork so each producer grades they’re own. Some use designations such as fine, superfine ect. and some use numerics numbers such as C1, C2 ect.  One thing is for sure the prices have certainly inflated in the past two years or so and continue to rise.

The price of cork is one reason why your seeing more rods being built with split grip and with synthetic materials such as EVA foam.  Compressed burl cork made with chips and production left over scraps (think particle board) also work great.  

IN the future fly rods with the highest gradings of cork will certainly be a luxury.

I completely agree with you thoughts on cork pricing.

[Author]

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