The Traditional Fisherman's Forum

A couple of years ago I bought a used bamboo net handle.
It had some hairline cracks, but these have now lengthened and widened and there are four or five up to 6" long, mainly near the top and bottom.

Is there anything I can do to repair this?

It wasn't expensive, but it would be a shame to 'bin it' as I rather like its honey coloured mottle finish and brass screw-on butt cap.

You could try "Gorilla Glue" . I would drill tiny holes at the end of each crack to stop them spreading further ( remember the Comet and it's original square windows?).

'Cascamite' glue ... and I hold the splits together with cable ties for 24 hours whilst they dry. You could also use a modern glue ... even a two part epoxy ... but I sometimes think that these glues make the repair 'stronger' than the fibres surrounding them. I'm no expert ... just an opinion.

AshbyCut wrote:'Cascamite' glue ... and I hold the splits together with cable ties for 24 hours whilst they dry. You could also use a modern glue ... even a two part epoxy ... but I sometimes think that these glues make the repair 'stronger' than the fibres surrounding them. I'm no expert ... just an opinion.

Good point Sir, never thought of it like that

I'm currently doing exactly the same job TDog
Gorilla glue for me, I'm gently opening the cracks with s craft knife, holding them open with tooth picks, apply glue then cable tie closed. Drilling the end of the cracks is a good tip too.

I have done this before of a handle much like you describe and it's been successful so far.
My current project looks like it's been run over so its chances are 50/50 at present.

I've repaired similar using a two part epoxy, brushing a thin layer over the affected area(s), waiting until it's tacky and whipping over with thin (green) dyneema braid. When this is dry you can varnish or apply more resin and shrink-wrap it into the thread.

Cascemite shrinks quite a bit on drying and I've found for large cracks like a split in whole cane, it tends to pull away from one edge or the other as it dries.

The drilling a hole thing is a good idea - take a lot of time with a good lens and light - finding the end of the crack though, it'll often extend further than you think you can see (at first).

Thanks for the suggestions Gents
I'll hopefully be able to get to work on it this weekend.

Trevor, I've repaired splits in a whole cane rod butt and 2 landing net handles using gorilla glue with no problems so far. I used strong thread spiralled over the glued sections to bind until the glue sets, but cable ties would be just as good I'm sure Just make sure the cane is fully dry before you work on it - a lesson learned the hard way

This is one of the handles which had some BIG splits at the thick end (sorry it isn't a close-up)