Finally came up with a (less than elegant) fix for frozen Langley handle grips, making the handles at least functional until an intact replacement can be found. Other methods (lubing, soaking, heating) have so far failed.
Separating the grips into two sections does the trick. Fine careful cutting using a jeweler's coping saw makes for clean narrow cuts. Finally (and less aesthetically pleasing) I wrap some black hockey stick tape onto the ends of the grips. I have been using hockey tape on reel grips for some time, giving me much better purchase on the grips, esp helpful with the small, hard and slim grips on old reels.
Last edited by Paul Roberts on Mon Dec 26, 2022 4:10 am, edited 3 times in total.
I have had good luck dropping these (and Bronson) handles with frozen grasps into an ultrasonic cleaner for 15 minutes. Those little bubbles do their magic and most handles are good to go. I have had some issues with Pflueger handles becoming a little chalky if the water gets too hot, but not the Langley or Bronson handles.
Wanted: Horton, Bristol & Meek reels, reel boxes, and catalogs!!!!
I use Evaporust. It doesn't do any harm to anything other than corrosion. Just place the handle totally in a small container filled with Evaporust and leave it for 2 -3 days. Then pull the handle out and the grips should be freed up. Work them a little and then back into the Evaporust for a couple of days. Then pull out and dry the handle totally. Work the grasp to make sure all of the Evaporust is out. Once this is done put the handle in a small container of oil. Just regular motor oil works fine. Leave the handle for a couple of days, pull out and work like before. Repeat once again in the oil. Pull out and remove all oil from the surface. Work grasps to make sure excess oil is removed. Then check in a couple of days once removed from oil to clean up any extra oil. Re-check the handle in a week or two. If it starts to stick repeat process. Usually once through clears up the problem. Does no harm to handle.
The key is to make sure once the Evaporust is removed you have to lubricate the handle or the corrosion will start again.
Bill's ultrasonic cleaner is also a great tool. I have not tried Evaporust in one of those cleaners but I bet it would work very well.
Just to add a little more this Shakespeare Free Spool No. 1982 Sportcast Model EJ(1962) has to be the champ on handle deterioration. These reels, and all Shakespeare reels that use this particular handle, have bad corrosion problems and the grasps crystalize and brake off on almost all of them. Nothing more frustrating than finding one of these reels in really good shape and then have the grasps just break apart in no time. This particular handle went through the process described above and the grasps have been free working for several months now. I've had the same success with Langley handles and have one that has now been several years without any problem since it went through the process mentioned.
Paul,
Being the purist that I am I gasped and nearly fainted when I got to that second photo.
I've had decent luck with the hot water soak on my Langley spinners, but I don't fish them, either.
I'll bet a combo of Bill's USC and Colby's evaporust would loosen those grips up in short order. I may have to pick up a cheapie USC just for that purpose.
Love those Open Face Spinning Reels!(Especially ABU & ABU/Zebco)
Yeah, I know blasphemy when I see it too. But, in this case, these aren’t rare reels and the functional aspects are most important to me.
Bill Sonnet had shared once that he had a heck of a time with Langley handle grips due to the plastic shrinking tight. I don’t believe he found a successful method. Maybe he’ll pipe in.
My attempts at lubing, heating, and soaking failed so I eventually took a pair of wire cutters to break a grip up to remove it altogether. Splitting the grip though, freed it. So I tried a less destructive way to split the grip. It works. I’ll try what’s described above next.
As to the crumbling Shakespeare grips… Yeah, that is disappointing. I’ll be keeping the wheels turning on creative ways of making replacement grips.
Last edited by Paul Roberts on Sat Dec 17, 2022 4:06 am, edited 2 times in total.
Tommy/All… do some research about USCs before buying. I got one off Amazon a couple years ago for around 40 bucks and it worked okay for a few months, although i must say, i was not too impressed. At any rate, it quit working and is now a doorstop… and not a very good one at that.
ORCA member since 1999 Honorary Life Member
Specializing in saltwater reels...and fly reels...and oh, yeah, kentucky style reels.....and those tiny little RP reels.....oh, heck...i collect fishing reels!...and fly rods....and lures
I took my 1964 Dodge truck into a shop for new tires (after 20+ years) and the Tech calls me and says he can't get ANY of the lug nuts off. I took him some Evaporust, he painted it on for three days and finally they loosened. Since the truck was in front of a window to the repair bay, he said he got 7 inquiries in those 3 days if the truck was for sale!
Here’s the post from Bill Sonnett concerning Langley handle grips:
“Let me know if this works on Langley handles. I have had it work on many types of handles but never on plastic-grasp Langleys as I think they suffer from a different problem. Most tight grasps are the result of dirt attracted by oils. Langleys on the other hand are frozen because the actual plastic has shrunken over the years. I have a half-dozen never-installed Langley handles in a mint repair kit and on every one of them the grasps are frozen as tight as can be, absolutely unmovable. Tried Evaporust (sp?) as Colbey suggested some time back. I was able to turn the grasps with great effort after several days of soaking but they returned to the frozen state within 36 hours after removal from their soak. I'm open to any and all suggestions.”
