Where to find hard/dense EVA foam to make reel knobs

[oc1]

am wondering  about chemical and abrasion resistance.
-J

PM your address and I'll mail you a piece to play with.  With a thin coat of resin it would be tough.
-steve

[Tiddlerbasher]

A bit left field  maybe - but if you've a knob shape you like cover it with shrink wrap/Xrap

[philaroman]

there's this playdough "stuff"   ...mentioned somewhere(?) on here
you get reasonable time to shape it & then it sets/cures
don't know if the result is hard/dense/durable enough for reel knobs
might work w/ a metal frame/skeleton & you mold a knob onto it

[jurelometer]

am wondering  about chemical and abrasion resistance.
-J

PM your address and I'll mail you a piece to play with.  With a thin coat of resin it would be tough.
-steve

Thanks for the offer Steve, but I think I need something on the rubbery side, just not too elastic.

there's this playdough "stuff"   ...mentioned somewhere(?) on here
you get reasonable time to shape it & then it sets/cures
don't know if the result is hard/dense/durable enough for reel knobs
might work w/ a metal frame/skeleton & you mold a knob onto it

Sugru.  It has the tear strength and adhesion of  silicon caulk, of which it it is sort of a derivative.  Not very durable.  A bit too rubbery.

BTW:  I did find a a nice UV resistant rubbery urethane that looks like a good candidate for pouring hard rubber knobs,  maybe a replacement for those Shimano/Avet/ etc. knobs that got sticky.   A sample held up well after 9 months sitting out in the sun in my backyard.   Just need to do some chemical resistance testing.

Appreciate all the brainstorming and  sample offers!  I will post a follow-on that describes what properties I am looking for and why.

-J

[jurelometer]

So a bit more on what I am up to:

Most fly reels, including big game reels do not have an anti reverse mechanism.   The knob is mounted directly on the edge of the spool, with a counterweight opposite to provide balance.  When the fish takes line, the  spool and knob starts spinning  backwards.  It is a bit of an art to  pull your fingers out of the way before the knob spins around and whacks you.   once you get into bigger fish,  the chance of injury is quite real.

The better knob designs allow you to more easily pull your fingers clear to the side while you are still releasing the grip.   But there is a tradeoff.  These designs require a smaller diameter, smooth knob that does not stick out too far, making it hard to wind under load.   This was originally not a big deal in most cases, as  fairly light leaders were deployed (20lb max),  and the rod was  used to lift the fish.

But fly rods are terrible lifting tools.   Big game fishers resort to "heavy" rods that are a pain to cast very frequently, but they fish in situations that do not require much casting distance (e.g.,  flopping the fly into the trolling spread when a marlin pops up -  if the boat is out of gear but still moving,  the IGFA counts this as a cast fly and not trolling    , but I digress.) Add in  a bit of boat maneuvering to cause some planing,  and a  large fish can be landed.

But if you want to cast to and land larger fish with a fly rod from a drifting or anchored boat,  the reel has to do some of the work.  This is especially true with Tuna.  I haven't caught loads of yellowfin on the fly, but so far, I have found that over the thirty pound mark, keeping the tuna's head pointed upward during the spiral gets increasingly difficult (the rod and fly line are too elastic to make pumping very effective),  and the fight can turn into a ridiculous (IMHO) stalemate.   I think I have tried all the bluewater fly rod fighting techniques, and some  work well for me until this last stage of the fight.

  Rather than switch to a 14wt,  I want to improve my ability to wind the reel under a bit more load.   This means a proper winding knob, with the following properties:

1.  Large enough to to grip with more than the fingertips.

2.  Light enough as to  not cause a balance problem with the counterweight.

3.   A shape that allows line that gets trapped around the knob to be easily cleared(especially when clearing slack line after hookup - it has happened a few times to "this guy I know")

4. Less fatigue factor when gripping tightly.

5.  Reasonably easy to release knob when fish runs.

6.  Durable:  abrasion/tear/UV/ chemical exposure resistance.

7.  ( bonus)  Less finger damage if the knob whacks the finger during a run.

So EVA, or something similar fits the bill.   It is light enough that I can make a larger knob without causing balance issues.  It has just the right amount of grip that I am looking for, and it is light and soft enough, that if it does whack my fingers, I should have a lower risk of breaking a finger or loosing a nail.

I made a prototype with the hardest rod grip foam that I could find, but it deformed more than I wanted when subjected to the amount of gripping force that I would use to wind a big fish.  It seems that a width between .4 to .5 inches is about right.   A length of 1.25 inches is best for winding, but I don't think the post is strong enough, so I have to go a bit shorter.

I have a couple of conventional reels with the new hard EVA foam knobs, and that material looks just about perfect in terms of what I am looking for. 

Since I would just  be making a couple for myself,  I think am going to bite the bullet and just buy a couple aftermarket conventional reel replacement knobs,  turn them to shape, and sleeve the shaft to fit my reels.  Finding the raw stock material would be better, but I am guessing it will require weeding though several options, samples, and then a bulk purchase.   

But if there is a good source for small amounts of extra hard EVA  stock, i suspect that other folks here might find it useful for making custom knobs as well.

-J

[Tiddlerbasher]

What about this type of product - I know this is a UK company, but there should be similar in the US.
It would certainly be cheap enough to try

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Yoga-Block-Set-EVA-Foam-Brick-With-D-Ring-Stretch-Strap-Belt-Core-Balance/113909172969

or for a natural product

https://www.ebay.co.uk/p/Mirafit-2-X-Cork-Exercise-Yoga-Block-Fitness-stretching-Aid-Brick-Gym-pilates/18007802690

or just fit one of these

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/EVA-Fishing-Reel-Handle-Knob-Baitcasting-Reel-Knob-Reel-Grip-Component-Parts/153184151769?hash=item23aa7ca8d9:m:mSFuGlUrSjRgk-UMfvJHe_A

[oldmanjoe]

  After reading what you are trying to do , some things come to mine .    Can you post some pictures of the knob that you have now and the  prototype that you feel might work ?