Hi everybody, I am stripping down a old blank to rewrap and add a fighting butt. I accidently hit the blank with a razor blade while removing a guide and was wondering if I should do a overwrap over to the damaged area and add some thread cure to it ? will that help the problem?
Thanks for any help. Pat

Pat, Overwrapping to keep the rod from breaking is a lost cause. If the cut has created a weak point in the rod, then you can count on it failing at that point sometime in the future. If you are wrapping the area to hide the cut for esthetic, it may work. That is in the eye of the beholder. I am sure some builders will recommend using a U-40 finish to fill the cut, or sand the whole rod and paint it to blend the damage. I let them describe that process.
How deep is the cut? How stout is the rod? Several years ago, I litterally hacked on a GLoomis HS 1023 when I had to replace the guides. I mean I had sliced away to expose what looked like graphite fibers, in numerous locations along the blank.
I was concerned about rod failure, but, the damage was already done, and the rod was for me and I had another blank in my personal inventory anyway. So, if things went sour real bad, I still had another HS1023 blank to build.
That was 5 years ago. I have landed a number of 25 pound plus King Salmon on the rod and have not detected any sign of failure. So, it depends on how the rod was manufautered in the first place. The HS1023 in GL2 was built pretty stout.
According the GLoomis Customer Service, I would have had to almost slice through the blank to make it fail. Scraping or cutting into and off the resins which surround the graphite normally does not affect rod integrity, in most cases.
In working with the HS1023, I failed to learn my lesson. I did the same hack job with a GLoomis ultralight GL3. I hacked only in a few places. Again 4 or 5 years later, the rod is still performing as it should. I got lucky. Now I only use a razor on top of the guide foot and use alcohol and my finger nail to remove old finish.
More information than you probably needed, but I just though I would share my insight and experience just the same.
Patrick Vernacchio

Really depends on how deep the damage is. Very heavy walled blanks can probably take a nick here and there. Lighter and more thin walled blanks might not survive it.

Thanks, the damage is pretty shallow so I guess I will wrap up the rod and hope for the best.
Thanks Pat

I would wrap it and see how it holds up because you never know...

I did the same thing on the 2nd rod I built,a older style 2pc 6wt Loomis IMX(not exactly a bullit proof blank),and thought for sure the rod was history.

I had actually finished the whole rod and it was on the drier when I decided that I just wasn't happy with how this one guide(the stripper) turned out so I decided to cut it off and re wrap it.As I cut the wrap down the guide foot top,I must have applied too much pressure and the blade slid away from the guide,down into the blank.The cut I put in it was quite deep(definitely below the surface and could see graphite fibers) and it literally took a 1/4" slice out of the blank surface.

I amost lost it when this happened and had to stop myself from smashing the whole rod over my knee just to vent,LOL.After calming down though I figured that since the cut was right where my guide was going to be anyways I would just wrap over it and hope for the best.Glad I chose not to destroy it because it's been solid as a rock over the last few years and has landed hundreds of trout and small salmon up to 12lbs or so.I even threw a Teeny T-200 on it just to "test it".