handle upgrades - please read this first

[alantani]

the fish's interface with the reel is the drag system.  once you upgrade your drag washers to greased carbon fiber, the fish will probably not be able to tell the difference between your $90 ambassaduer and your $350 calcutta.  your interface with the reel is the handle grip.  in between the handle grip and the drags is a reel with single or two speeds, leverdrag or star drag, graphite or aluminum frame, level wind or no.  once you're on a fish, your reel may as well be a black box.  it's you on the handle grip and the fish against the drag.

personally, i've found most fishing reel handle grips to be to small.  that's why i had pete kolekar make the bigger ones for me.  the materials he chose were stainless steel and delron.  the grip is turned on a lathe, starting with barstock.  the stainless is tubing, screws and more barstock turned on a lathe.  these handle grips have a very comfortable 9 degree offset.  they are not fancy, but they are very tough and come in three sizes.  first, there is a smaller tapered grip that i call a 2/0 kolekar.  i personally put them on the loaner reels that i use for inshore rockcod fishing.  alot of guys really like them on smaller reels.  then there is a full sized handle grip that i call a 4/0 kolekar.  i have these grips installed on my progear 501's and my accurate boss reels, from the itty bitty 197 to the 650.  the last grip is the newer tapered magnum that i call a 6/0 kolekar.  i put these on my accurate atd's.  i like these grips on any size reel from a penn senator 113h to an 80 international.  the trick is to match the grip with the size of your reel AND the size of your hand. 

on many reels, the length of the handle arm is fine, it's just the grip that is too small.  all you need to do is remove the handle, drill out the rivet holding the grip, bolt on a new grip and you're all set.  alternatively, you can send me the old handle and i can mount it for you.  the 2/0 is $26, the 4/0 is $30, and the 6/0 is $36, all with domestic shipping included.  send a check to alan tani, 12362 ted court, saratoga, ca 95070 and i'll ship out the handle out.      thanks!  alan

[alantani]

What keeps the threaded screw from coming loose? They look like a nice upgrade. I may have to try a couple.

yeah, i was mulling that one over for quite a while.  the guy that makes them for me wanted to use loctite on them, and may have actually done so on the early models. 

my take is this - corrosion anywhere is bad.  that means using grease on screw threads to prevent corrosion.  that also means that they might back out.  i personally assemble all of the handles now.  i torque them down as hard as possibly can, AFTER adding yamaha blue greease to the screw holes.  i need all of you to get back to me if there is a problem or screw up.  if you don't, i will never know if there is a problem. 

[alantani]

Hi Alan, Just out of curiosity, what are the dimensions of the 2/0, 4/0 as compared to the 6/0? Are all the same diameter, just shorter?   Also, was thinking of replacing some older Penn International handles. Seems, these may be a press fit. I could drill these out, but my concern is that the hole diameter may be a bit larger than the bolt that came with the 6/0s I recently purchased from you. Or maybe I should be asking is.....are all the handle upgrades you sell the same or are they different as to what make/model of reel I want to upgrade.  Thanks, Ron.

hi, ron!  the 2/0 is 1-1/8th x 3-1/4th, the 4/0 is 1-1/8th x 3-3/4ths and the 6/0 is 1-1/4th x 4-1/4th.  on some of the handle arms, the hole that is left is a little larger than the diameter of the 10-32 machine screw.  i've found it not to be a problem.  even though it is not a tight fit, it the handle stays in place if you tighten down on the screw enough.  alan

[alantani]

now 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. 

[alantani]

the new kolekar spinning reel grip (right) has a 0.375 inch diameter spindle instead the 0.5 inch spindle found on the 2/0 (left), the 4/0 and the 6/0 kolekar grips.  that way you can bolt this spinning reel grip onto a skinnier handle arm. 





the older 2/0 kolekar grip (left) is 3.25 inches tall and 1.25 inches in diameter.  the 4/0 kolekar grip (center) is 3.75 inches tall and 1.25 inches in diameter.  the new spinner (right) is 3.5 inches tall and 1 inch in diameter.



ok, they are ready to go.  they are the same price as the 2/0 kolekar grip, $26 with shipping included.  thanks!  alan

[alantani]

they may seem to large at first, but i've started using the 6/0 grips on all my long range reels.  they worked great on this last trip on the intrepid.

[ophiuchus]

Would any of the handle's work on a 9/0 or a 12/0 or are there some in the works for that?

 

[alantani]

i'd put a 6/0 grip on those reels and use the same arm.  it will work great!

[barkley1956]

How about a small greased set screw tightened on the screw thread? It would mean drilling and tapping the shaft but it works well on other applications.

What keeps the threaded screw from coming loose? They look like a nice upgrade. I may have to try a couple.

yeah, i was mulling that one over for quite a while.  the guy that makes them for me wanted to use loctite on them, and may have actually done so on the early models. 

my take is this - corrosion anywhere is bad.  that means using grease on screw threads to prevent corrosion.  that also means that they might back out.  i personally assemble all of the handles now.  i torque them down as hard as possibly can, AFTER adding yamaha blue greease to the screw holes.  i need all of you to get back to me if there is a problem or screw up.  if you don't, i will never know if there is a problem. 

[alantani]

it seems to be working ok so far!

[capjimy]

OK ALAN, PUT THE BIG ONES ON, JIM

[alantani]

thanks!

[coolcamera]

Which handles do you recommend for a Newell F229 and S338? Or can I get Newell's P series handles from you?

[alantani]

i have a small stainless steel arm for these reels.  most guys have been matching it up with a 2/0 kolekar grip.  photos to follow. 

[2380mike]

Alan,

 How do your smallest handles 2/0 size compare to the old style tiburon lite handles? I have those on most of my reels and really like them. The problem with the tiburon ones is they have redesigned them and I don't care for the new ones. I picked up another progear 545 last year and would like to change out the handle on it. Please let me know. Thanks, Mike