Cork Rod handle repair?

Don't know about being plyable, but you can fill in the cracks by first making a cork powder by taking cork and rubbing it on sandpaper into a fine powder. Then mix it with a little of Elmer's wood glue into a paste and fill in the cracks and divits. I guess you can coat it with cork seal after it dries.
I fixed a couple of handles on fly rods this way and it worked out ok.
 

the lightning rods had cheaper cork to start with. And, the blanks typically flexed well into the grip on a lot of the rods. Long story short, a lot of flex on cheap cork/glue makes for a 'creaky' grip that will start to crack and pit in time. If it is just surface pitting or minor cracks, elmers white glue with some cork dust makes for a decent fix. Wood putty in the right color works too. If the cracking is more than minor just replace the grip. It will cost you $30 or so and it will be done right. If you want to change the seat/grip you could.

Thanks
Rick

flaking is tough. Flaking means flat pieces about half the size of a pencil eraser or so that aren't deep at all. Not much you can do with that. Cork dust and rod glue won't work there very well since it is so big. Same with wood putty. Most of the time you're better off leaving it as a battle scar.

If it is chunks (flakes that are deep) then you'll want to save the chunk and glue it back in with some light epoxy and fill around it with cork dust. If it is a big chunk you can often be better off replacing the entire ring.

Thanks,
Rick