custom handle grips (updated january 2015)

Started by alantani, January 20, 2015, 12:34:21 AM

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alantani

there are lots of people that make aftermarket grips.  to give you an idea of what's out there, check with http://smoothdrag.com/handles.html  dawn at smoothdrag has a great line of handle grips.  mine are pretty simple, delron and stainless steel.  i am down to two sizes.  the larger one is 5/0 delron grip, shown on the right and the cost is $40.  the smaller 3/0 size is $30. 



i get a couple of common questions.  the first is what size?  if you're going for lager fish and you anticipate a long fight, get the 5/0 grip.  i put them on my small two speeds. 



if you are fishing light tackle and just want something more comfortable than the peanut that came stock with the reel, get the smaller 3/0 grip.  i put these on all of my salmon and inshore rockfish reels.  it's fine for any reel in a 3/0 size or smaller.  if you're looking at a reel that is the size of a 4/0 penn senator, get the larger grip. 



regardless, either size is better than the stock handle off the 4/0 senator!





if you are bolting this grip onto a stock reel arm, the other choice you have to make is to pick a a spindle that is cut flat on the right, or a spindle that is counterbored like the one on the left.  for the flat spindle on the right, the hole in the arm has to accommodate only the screw, so the hole in the handle arm has to be only 3/16ths inch in diameter (0.1875 inches or 4.76mm).  a 5mm drill bit is not a problem.  for the counterbored spindle on the left, the hole you drill has to be 5/15ths inch in diameter (0.3125 inches or 7.93mm).  an 8mm drill bit would work just fine.  in removing the old handle grip, you may find your self left with a pretty large hole.  in this case, drilling the hole out to 5/16th of an inch or 8mm would work great. 



whatever you decide, send a pm here on this board or an email to alantani@yahoo.com. let me know the number of grips you want, the size, the type of spindle (flat or counterbored) , your mailing address and your email address and i will ship them out with a paypal request.  here's the old post on how to drill out a grip.

Quote from: alantani on April 22, 2009, 10:30:53 PMnow we're going to drill out the old handle grip and bolt on a new kolekar grip.  this dot on the rivet will help.



use a 3/16ths inch drill bit to drill out the rivet. 









compare the old grip to the new one. 



use a 1/8th inch hex drive for this 10-32 hex socket cap screw.



changing out the handle grip is a very important part of this upgrade. 







send me an email at alantani@yahoo.com for questions!

MarkT

Nice stuff but your rights and lefts are switched.
When I was your age Pluto was a planet!

Shark Hunter

These grips are the best thing since sliced bread! ;)
They are always on the top of my list.
Life is Good!

alantani

daron, thanks!

Quote from: MarkT on January 20, 2015, 12:38:22 AM
Nice stuff but your rights and lefts are switched.

that's because i shoot right handed! 
send me an email at alantani@yahoo.com for questions!

Shiftee

Quote from: Shark Hunter on January 20, 2015, 12:47:14 AM
These grips are the best thing since sliced bread! ;)
They are always on the top of my list.

Agreed, I love the ones I've ordered. Need to order the next batch. Eventually I plan on replacing all of my handles with Alan's.

Shark Hunter

I have yet to accomplish that goal Cole. I'm working on it. ;)
Alan, do the 3/0's have the option of the 5/16" countersink? Just like the 5/0's?
Life is Good!

Bryan Young

Quote from: Shark Hunter on February 19, 2015, 07:05:27 AM
I have yet to accomplish that goal Cole. I'm working on it. ;)
Alan, do the 3/0's have the option of the 5/16" countersink? Just like the 5/0's?
Both handles use the same shaft.  If you need 3/0 handles with 5/16" countersunk shafts, just let Alan know when you order them.
:D I talk with every part I send out and each reel I repair so that they perform at the top of their game. :D

Shark Hunter

Thanks Bryan. I've never ordered any of the 3/0's. I just think the 5/0 is a little big for the 113H as much as I like them. I will put in an order for those as well as some of those Gen 2 sleeves.
Good work on that Bry! ;)
Life is Good!

Bryan Young

Quote from: Shark Hunter on February 19, 2015, 07:47:05 AM
Thanks Bryan. I've never ordered any of the 3/0's. I just think the 5/0 is a little big for the 113H as much as I like them. I will put in an order for those as well as some of those Gen 2 sleeves.
Good work on that Bry! ;)
And people thought Alan and I just fix reels.  We do spend time talking about the what ifs....  it all started with my ProGear 251.  I was replacing my drags and Alan said "I wonder if we could fit a 5-stack in that reel.  We took SmoothDrag 's jigmaster metal washers and carbontex 0.5 mm washers for the Daiwa Millionaire reel and so it began...I could easily get a lot more drag out of that little reel, but over 13# of drag would cause the spool shaft to flex and the spool would rub on the frame.  I normally fish it at 8# anyway.

Thanks for everyone's contribution.  It's all of us dreaming that makes any upgrades possible.

By far, the best upgrade was thee lubricant...TSI301 and TSI321 discovered by Jim Nomura.  That lubricant is amazing.
:D I talk with every part I send out and each reel I repair so that they perform at the top of their game. :D

alantani

yeah, kudo's to jim nomura on that one.  the guys is amazing!
send me an email at alantani@yahoo.com for questions!

Army_of_One

#10
I just got my 5/0 handle in!  Thanks Alan!  This thing is pretty big.  I have an ergo handle from a 14-16/0.  It's almost identical.  You do great work, and I'm proud to have so many components from various members of the forum on my reels.  ;D

Another day in Paradise!

skneip49

#11
I need to replace the handle grip on my Penn 30S and want to remove the existing handle shaft from the arm.

Is this a right hand or left hand thread? Oh, yes, and thanks for the tutorials. Helped a lot with the last two.

alantani

it's a right handed thread on the internationals! 
send me an email at alantani@yahoo.com for questions!

MadHatches

Hi Alan, do you still have these handles?  I would love to order the bigger one if available - I do see the 2022 price so hoping.


Thanks,
Rick

alantani

got more coming in on saturday.  send a pm with your full mailing address and what reel the handle is going on and i'll get it taken care of for you.  thanks!
send me an email at alantani@yahoo.com for questions!