Hi again, fellow Dan Craft fans (and those soon to become so!). We're excited to let you know that Dan's been working on a new finish for his outstanding Signature V blanks. Up to now, these have been available in Spiral (unsanded) and Natural Sanded (bare graphite blank without finish). Dan has recently developed a beautiful clear coat finish with a slight matte to it, probably best described as Clear Coat Satin--it's not a high-gloss, but not distinctly matte either.

Dan recently asked us to help him collect information on what finishes YOU think he should offer these blanks in. Please understand that because of certain manufacturing issues and simple hard costs, not all of the combinations may prove viable, but he wanted to get your input before proceeding.

So...if you've got a few minutes and wouldn't mind heading over to our site, we've placed an online survey at [www.rockymountainrodbuilding.com] (if the link isn't taking you there, go to www.rockymountainrodbuilding.com and go to "Our Products"..."Blanks"..."Dan Craft". You should see a write-up on each of Dan's series as well as the short ONE QUESTION survey on the left). Feel free to add your comments via the email module immediately below the survey as well--we'll be sure to pass everything on to Dan directly.

Oh--almost forgot! You'll also find a link to view the new finish compared to the Spiral finish so you can "see" what you're voting on! :)

THANKS for taking the time to do this--and thanks to Dan for caring enough about what his customers want to invite us into the process!

With warmest regards,

The spiral finished blanks, while functional, look as if they're 1980s-vintage Orvis...not what you'd expect from a cutting-edge blank design!

I'd love to see the new finish in addition to the plain sanded that's already offered...

Maybe an option of a tinted translucent color finish of any color

i love the look of that diamondback classic trout.... ;-)

eric
fresno, ca.

Yeah--I'm with you on all the above comments! :) Just to be clear, though, as much as Dan would love to take suggestions for different finishes from everyone, you can imagine the number of uniquely different requests he'd get! This request for input/feedback is primarily to help him decide whether or not to simply offer this new "satin clear coat" as the only finish the Sig V's come in now, or to offer it alongside of one of the existing options. My personal suggestion to him was to do the new finish and the spiral, as the sanded (un)finish generally requires some extra work (i.e. PermaGloss or wax or...) to keep it from marking up considerably, and it has proven to be a little less rugged than the spiral and what we would anticipate this new finish to be. I can assure you the FRSV9053 in the satin clear finish we had was every bit as light in-hand as the other options feel, though we didn't have time to weigh it down to thousandths of an ounce! ;)

Anyway, again, feel free to throw out suggestions on finishes in general (I in particular love such discussions!), but the survey and this request is a little more directed in focus...do you think Dan should do away with the current options and move to this new finish, or go with this finish AND one of the other options.

Thanks for all the input alredy!

I like Bill's idea. Has anyone ever offered a color chart to choose your color of blank?

Also I like the new finish and the plain sanded....just my .02

Jason--thanks. Rainshadow (Batson) has a color chart on their site under under "Rod Blanks"..."Blanks" (or try here: [www.batsonenterprises.com]) though not all colors are available on all blanks, unfortunately (well, as a stocking distributor, I should probably change that to "fortunately"!). :) The RX7 has a couple of options, as does a few others.

i love the current matte sanded. it loks kind of raw, rough, industrial, yet the neutral color allows any thread combinations. i simply do not like the grey unsanded spiral.

what kind of problems are associated with the matte sanded?

i'm leaning towards the matte sanded and the new satin version.

eric
fresno, ca.

Jason Pritchard Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I like Bill's idea. Has anyone ever offered a
> color chart to choose your color of blank?
>
> Also I like the new finish and the plain
> sanded....just my .02


Hi Jason,
CTS actually has a chart of colors to choose from.

Peter

That Warrenty issue is a good point.
Then again if there are so many options the prices will go up ????
Might be better for Dan to pick the most popular one and thus he could keep his prices as low as possible

Bill--there won't be very many options primarily for the reason you suggested...Dan would get hammered if he had a run of Satin Clear Coat, a run of spiral, and a run of sanded matte for each model! At this point just going with the Satin Clear Coat seems to make the most sense to/for him.

As far as the warranty goes, you can trust Dan will be looking after that as best he can with a supply of the spiral/sanded models before switching. Of course for those of us who have been building for a while we're no strangers to our fav's being replaced, as frustrating as it may be at times. I did speak with Dan specifically about warranty and he was already planning how to handle this, but I'd rather have him address this than me! :)

Eric--there aren't any really obvious problems with the sanded blanks, or Dan wouldn't offer them! Just by general observation, however, I've PERSONALLY seen more (though still very, very few) sanded models involved in warranty replacements than spirals, though that could totally be coincidental and not indicative...I'll have to ask Dan that question sometime when he's got less on his mind (with all the family stuff right now). Certainly the bare graphite shows marks more quickly and is a little "higher maintenance" to keep it looking nice.

I'm definitely not a fan of the unsanded blank look(it just looks unfinished IMHO).My Scott G is like that,as are the older Orvis blanks,and I find them a bit ugly and old fashioned looking compared to say a nice Sage,Winston,or even the sanded matte finish offered.

I have a 5wt SIG V with the spiral finish,and several SIG V's with the sanded finish,and I definitely prefer the sanded matte grey look by far.As for durability,it definitely makes sense that a coated blank would have a little more protection though.

The sanded blanks may mark a bit easier,but I find that they don't stand out as much as they do on the unsanded blank.Even the smallest rub marks or chips in the finish on the unsanded spiral finish blank I have,stands out in the light.The gloss finish of my unsanded SIG V has several dull spots on it,as well as a couple of spots where the clear finish has flaked off(most likely due to not storing it properly and allowing sections to rub together too much),while my sanded blanks have the odd scuff mark and scratch from use.I find that the marks are less noticable on the sanded blanks,but of coarse that is only my opinion and others may feel the opposite.

I realize that different color,smooth finished blanks are probably too much to wish for,but it would be nice to have something other than gray,LOL.As much as I would love to have a SIG V with the colored,gloss finish of a Sage or Winston,I know it's probably not going to happen due to the cost involved.Something like a satin black(kind of like the All Star Austin) or gloss black would be sweet though.

As for the current finish options,I really hope that the sanded finish will remain available as that is the one I currently prefer(it really makes the thread wraps stand out more than the unsanded blank).If I could pick between the other 2 options(unsanded or "clear coat satin"),I would definitely vote for clear coat satin.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/13/2005 06:41AM by Tony Dowson.