thinking about korkers

[baitstealer]

I want to get ready for the spring run. I decided I better check out my korkers which really should be replaced. Just curious if anyone here has made there own korkers?

[Simp]

I've seen where it has been done. You might check across the street. There's a couple of good tutorials on how to do it.

[dogfish]

The old timers used to take pieces of radial tires, put sheet metal screws through them, and then glue them to the bottoms of sturdy boots. Or if you knew a guy who knew a shoemaker guy in the neighborhood, you could bring him golf shoes and he would take the bottoms of spiked golf shoes and put them on boots. That's back in the he-man days.



original patent, interesting stuff
http://www.freepatentsonline.com/1827224.pdf

[Frankiesurf]

Courtesy of BillZ from Stripercoast Surfcasters.

KORKER MODIFICATION;

This is the method I use on my k5000 (buckled) Korkers. It’ll work equally as well with the lace up type that has the “push- through spikes”. If you have the older style, lace up type,You may need to use a 3/4” length screw and not the 1” length screw I use with the k5000 sandal.

Remove the old studs, unbuckle all the straps & pull the straps out of the "D" rings to get them out of the way, place a block of wood on the inside of the sandal and turn it so the threaded insert receptacles are facing up. Drill through the stud receptacles and out the other side. Its best if you have a drill press but a hand drill will be fine just try to drill as straight as possible.

Use a drill in the range from 13/64 [.2031] - 7/32 [.2188] which is a little larger then a # 10 screw which measures [.190]. Even after drilling to this size, the holes will be snug around the screw. Do not use a drill which is larger then the threads in the receptacle if you do, this will drill away all of the material that you want to tighten down on! In addition, the screws will be swimming in the drilled hole causing them to move around when walking, etc.

After drilling, visually inspect the drilled holes & remove any metal, rubber, etc that may be lodged in the hole.

Go to the "McMaster Carr" website, (I listed all the P/N's below) all the hardware is real cheap, and it'll be delivered to you by the next day.

Put a washer under the head of the screw, push it through, and re-use the original washers from under the spike for the bottom -or- if you have the “push-through" type sandals, put another washer on before the nut. Tighten until it sandwiches together tightly. If you over tighten, you will start depressing the rubber sole causing the washers to dig into the rubber too much. A little depression is good though.

I like to use a screw gun & a 3/8 socket to get them almost all the way tightened then go back with a phillips head screwdriver and finish tightening them down by hand.

This is also a good time to inspect the D-rings & stitchings of the straps. Re-sew if necessarry. Use 6# test mono and a large sewing needle if you need to re-sew. Large stainless split rings similar to the ones found on key chains work well as a replacement for a broken D-ring.

After installing all the screws, re-thread the straps through the D-rings, re-attach the buckles and you're set!

After the initial hardware purchase, all you need at replacement time is to buy the new screws, the washers & nuts are re-usable.
You only need [20] screws per sandal so @ $7.73 per box of [50] that adds up to a little over $3.00 per sandal to replace!

I replace mine maybe once or twice a year. & I’m out & fish hard almost every night during the busy seasons.

Ill never buy another silly little spike again!
__________________________________________________ _______
Here’s the P/N's for the screws, washers, & nuts from "Mc-Master-Carr"

91770A247
18-8 SS Truss Head Phillips Machine Screw 10-24 Thread, 1" Length
In stock at $7.73 per Pack
This product is sold in Packs of 50

90313A103
18-8 SS Large-Diameter Flat Washer No. 10 Screw Size, 11/16" OD, .033"-.047" Thick
In stock at $7.54 per Pack
This product is sold in Packs of 100

91831A011
18-8 Stainless Steel Nylon-Insert Hex Locknut 10-24 Thread Size, 3/8" Width, 15/64" Height
In stock at $7.13 per Pack
This product is sold in Packs of 100

[Frankiesurf]

I did this to my K-1100's. They are surprisingly sticky on the rocks, especially when new.

Getting the old spikes out can be dangerous. Give each one a slight squirt of WD-40 while you pry it up a little. This will make it a tad easier.When removing them try not to stab yourself. If you can find a brad puller you can use that. I took a flat screwdriver, cut a notch in it and bent the tip up.

[ledhead36]

Thats a great tutorial, thanks for sharing.

[stripercrazy]

Very informative, thank you BillZ and Frankiesurf.

[baitstealer]

Wow What a great detailed reply. I am going to be working on it next week. I went to McMaster and ordered the parts this morning. I'll let you know how they turned out. Thanks for the response.