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That grip style seems to be commonly used by Mario on both his bamboo and glass rods and I have to say that the grip is very comfortable, although I have only lawn cast it so far.

The rod is a Wojnicki 7'9" parabolic taper designed for a DT4. I was a little worried that I would have trouble with the taper but I found it extremely easy to cast and just about the most fun of any rod I've ever tried, sort of casts itself.

I had wondered how Mario built his parabolic tapers and after examining the rod for sanding and inserts which I didn't see, I noticed that on the butt section the blank diameter near the grip is smaller than it is at the ferrule, kind of a reverse taper. The mid begins with the same diameter as the butt section at the ferrule and then tapers down toward the tip section. Just guessing, it looks like two or three different blanks were used for this particular rod to accomplish the taper. I have its little brother, a 217P4, coming from Mario this week which Kinzua tells me is Mario's most parabolic taper. It's a 7'2" and being a shorter rod I asked for a cigar grip.

Tom, you're right, the rings seem perfectly tapered for the Hardy reel foot. There's nothing worse than poorly tapered slip rings that sit at odd angles and usually wind up scarring the reel seat.