I have a reel, guy uses a lot of liquid smelly baits and it has apparently softened and ruined the soft knob on the reel. Is there a similar Shimano reel handle that uses a hard plastic grip, or a replacement knob to fix this?
There's a long list of things that will ruin those gummy Shimano grips. Best bet is probably to drill the rivet on the knob and install something like one of Alan's handles; I don't think there's a good "swap in" option to replace them.
I think you can use a penn type e handle. The slot is just a hair long, I don't think that matters all that much, but the width is correct. You may also have to elongate the screw hole in the nut retainer. Around 20 bucks from mystic penn parts.
I'm wondering if there is something that will restore those gummy knobs. Maybe put on a CA glue finish on it or use Cactus Juice stabilizer or something. The gumminess is sort of skin deep so there may be hope. I used to have a gummy knob to play with but haven't seen it lately.
-steve