hey guys, my grandfather passed away a while ago and i was recently going through some of his stuff, reminiscing at his cabin and found a bamboo fly-fishing rod stuffed in his closet. Its hexagonal, has green thread on the guides and then green and purple threads alternating along the blank about every 2 inches. the ferrules are in perfect shape as is the butt guide, the snake guides, and the tip top. The tip top has a red plastic insert. the blank is almost perfectly straight. The rod is about 9 feet long and is a trout fly rod (7 wt?). It also has a small hook keep that is like a swivel ring attached to a pin pushed into the rod blank (like the ring on those owner ringed hooks). The handle is beautiful, beautiful to a fisherman that is! Shows years and years of use. It is a half-wells handle that looks like it has an old cork sealer on it that is wearing off. It really has that great antique sealed cork look. The real seet is wood with the nickel base of the seat being at the rear of the rod, and the nickel clamp and lock ring moving towards the base of the seat to clamp the reel in place. It also has a nickel winding check and nickel female to male ferrules as you move from the reel seet to the tip. Through my reading on these things this thing might be best suited in a closet to some, but to me and my grandpa letting a gem like this sit, seems like such a waste. I have no idea how he came acrossed it or who made it as there are no markings and he never mentioned it to me while he was alive. All of the threading is in great shape. The epoxy is in typical fashion with just a light coat being put on to hold it in place.

Here are my questions... Anybody have an idea who made this and when based on the description? Anywhere good that i may find answers? Also, what should I do to make sure that my kids can use this someday? The bamboo has been varnished (do they use varnish?) and is obviously sealed. I've whipped it around a bit and it feels great. Anything i should do to keep the bamboo up being that it is a natural fiber not synthetic like graphite? What about the cork? Its so beautiful that it shows its age, but for longevity should i reseal it? or will it not look right over the current seal. I refuse to sand it at all and if i have to do that to reseal it (based on the old cork seal) than i guess i'll just have to be extra nice to the handle while i use it. I appreciate your help, i really do. i wish i could post pictures on the message board. Thanks!!!

Can't help you but iounds like you have a beauty!!!! Why can't you post a picture?? I'd love to see it!

Mike

A very few of those old rods were worth a mint. But most are worth about $25. I'd find somebody that can tell you exactly what you've got and then decide what to do with it. Changes are it's not worth anything but better safe than sorry.

From what he wrote, I don't think he is concerned with market value of the rod. I believe he already knows its "true" value.

yeah, this rod is staying in the family. Whether it was a nickel or 10,000 i don't care. I just want to know the story. My grandfather was from new jersey and then moved to Long Beach, CA in the 50's. I don't know if a friend of his made it or whether he got it from a store. I'd hope it was somebody i could contact. I doubt it based on the age but who knows. My grandfather wasn't an avid fly-fisherman, avid fisherman, but not an avid fly-fisherman. And usually a top-end custom rod will have some kind of mark or insignia. I know mine don't go without one. lol. My grandfather was a unique man born during the depression. He was super frugle (sp?). I think it would be just as cool to find out that sears made bamboo fly rods, lol. ya never know.

Also, for posting pics, i don't have a hosting service or else i would go to the pictures board. But just as well, it would be nice if we could post our pics in our messages such as these. Maybe you can using html, but once again no hosting service :(

My grandfather also left me an old Daiwa fiberglass rod. It has a sticker on it that says "daiwa custom built" around a gold crest. The letters are in gold as well. By the style it looks (just a guess) as 70's or 80's. I'm gonna make another post on this but thought i'd include it in here as well. It had a broken tip top, broken tip, and a broken guide in which the solder had busted on the wire guides. I replaced the broken guide and tip top. Cleaned the other guides with a cleaner after removing them from the blank. Cut off all remaining thread. Kept the hypalon handle, but cap, and aluminum reel seat in place. Did a butt rap of about 7 inches with a grey, to red, to black thread fade. About 4 inches of it is black and that's where i put "IN LOVING MEMORY: ALEX "POP" GORECKI, CUSTOM BUILT BY HIS GRANDSON". I then put a 4 pattern chevron (turning the rod 4 times per pass) in grey to red to black to grey to red to black to gold. finished on both ends in black to gold. The underwraps on the guides or grey (grey has been gunmetal actually, grey is just shorter to type) with 3 gold bands directly underneath the guide. The guide being held down with black. It came out really nice and i wish i had a way to show you guys. I more wish i could have a way to show my grandpa. I guess I wrote this post to kinda say that you should remember with rodbuilding, with just life in general, that even if you don't spend a fortune on the most expensive components, the legacy you leave is in the heart you put into whatever it is that you do. I'm gonna post this same thing in another subject so be ready for that. If you have any info on the "DAIWA CUSTOM BUILT" rods that would be great. Thanks again guys

You do not need a hosting site to post photos here. If you have photos on your computer, in jpeg file at about 72dpi and roughly 800 x 800 pixels or less, you can easily upload them to the photo site.



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Aaron, the green & purple wraps every two inches are referred to as intermediate wraps, and are there to hold the six strips of cane together, since the animal hide glues used on the early rods were unreliable. If the intermediate wraps are original, it would put the rod being built before 1930. Around 1930 glues had improved, and intermediate wraps were used more for aesthetics, and usually on higher-end rods, due to the labor invlolved.

If you can get your hand on a book titled, "Bamboo Rod Restoration Handbook" by Michael Sinclair, you can learn more about identifying your treasure. The address in the book is Centennial Publications, 256 Nashua Court, Grand Junction, Colorado 81503. You might also try one of the sponsors here on the forum. They might stock it. Good luck!

Aaron, I just read further down the forum board that Sinclair's book is out of print. If you get some good digital pictures of the bamboo rod taken, (5 megapixel camera or higher), you can post them. I'm sure there are a hundred guys on this forum who know more about bamboo than me, but if you want to send me the pictures, I'd be happy to research in my book and see what I can learn. Take close up shots of the reel seat, grip, wraps, guides, and any markings. You can email me at
franpark@adelphia.net.

fran, i will get those to you tomorrow evening!! thank you so much! for the mean time i posted 2 pictures in the miscellaneous section of the photo part of this site. Take a look at those and tell me what you think. I really appreciate you're help guys. Also the fly rod was found in a brown fold over canvas bag. It also has 2 of the top section. They are identical and i'm guessing one is to back the other one up, fairly obvious guess though!

I also posted a couple pics of the daiwa rod in the thread art section for those that are interested. Thanks again guys. This website is always one of the best!

Hello Aaron,
Have you looked closely right above the cork grip? That is usually the spot where logos were placed. Perhaps the logo may have worn away, but some remnant may yet remain. The colors of the intermediate wraps may also be diagnostic for identifying the maker if you can locate a book such as Sinclair's. You might do a web search for bamboo rods as well as contact Golden Witch, one of the sponsors listed on the left who specializes in bamboo rods.

On rods built before the 1970s, it is highly likely that the covering on the rod and the threads will be varnish. As it ages the varnish darkens to a brown/amber color. In addition, if the rod is old enough and has not been refurbished, there are likely to be micro cracks in the varnish which will become visible when wet.

The fittings which you described as nickel, may in fact be Nickel Silver or German Silver, alloys of copper, nickel, and zinc. These alloys were used for ferrule material on the better quality of bamboo rods. Less expensive rods often used nickel plated brass ferrules.

You may want to keep the rod as is, but if the varnish has become brittle, you may want to remove the old varnish and replace it with a coat of new varnish or urethane on all of the threads (assuming the threads are intact). Another concern, is that the thread is very likely to be silk and some rot may have occurred if it predates the 1930s. If this has occurred you will need to rewarp the guides. If you need to do this, you can find silk threads in size 2/0 or smaller, which was used at the time these rods were manufactured.

Because this rod has such sentimental value, you might want to undertake a refurbishing of this rod as a personal project. Such a project may strengthen the ties to your grandfather as well as extend those connections to your children. Good Luck.

Mike Blomme

Hi Aaron
The 2 tip sections you talked about one is most likely a dryfly tip and the other a nymph tip.
Tyler

Aaron, Don't know if I can help but am willing to try. There are two values when it comes to these rods, first there is the book value and as you know there is the sentimental value. There is almost no limit to the sentimental value. However it is nice to know the practical value on an item such as this.
That said, I can't ID the rod without furthur information. Look careful for any logo or writing near the butt, also look for any writing on the reel seat or butt cap. What type of wood is in the reelseat? What type of stripping guide does it have? Is it a metal guide or is there an agate insert in it. As far as the thread is concerned the color is hard to determine due to age and the varnish used over it. If any of the thread is loose you might see the original color where the old varnish did not penetrate it.
Be very careful what you do to it and consult someone before you do. If you want to preserve the originality or the value of this rod it is important that you do.
Golden Witch can help you ID the correct silk thread color. I will be willing to help if you get in touch with me. There was a Heddon rod made in the 30's that had a purple wrap , half well's grip and a cedar reel seat. I can't say without furthur information if this is the model that you have. Good luck.
Sam Fox
foxrods@bellsouth.net

First, to the person that replied that most of the bamboo rods are worth $25... please contact me with all that you can get your hands on, I'll take them.

Second, to the poster of the question. I may also be able to help you i.d. the rod, but I need pics of the wraps around the butt section , ferrules and of the reel seat as well as the cork grip.

Speaking of the grip, the "sealer" you refer to is most likely dirt and grime, maybe some fish slime mixed in... the old masters along with the old mass manufacturers were not into "finishing" their cork. My guess is that material that you see is from use.

Most of the intermediate wraps were for decoration, the wraps on the butt section are what they call signature wraps and client wraps... the colors, and the pattern of which may tell us who made the rod. Most of the mass produced rods have certain "standards" for their lines, such as the type of ferrule they used, the reel seat set up, with or without wood inserts, plastic, plastic and wood combo, etc... the reel foot locking device is another tell tale sign as to who may have made it, even if it doesn't have a name or trademark stamped on it. (many makers used "standard parts" that were bought from suppliers other than making them themself, kind of like we do today, not many of us are making the reel seats and the guides ourself)

The "glass" tip is most likely either an agate or agatine insert. Another thing is that you state that this rod has a lot of nickel silver fittings, this indicates the upper end of any manufacturer's line.

Feel free to email me privately if you wish, and I'll see if I can help you..

In closing,,, the process by which one makes (not builds) a bamboo fly rod take anywhere from 40 to 100 man hours of work... Heddon, which one person referenced, the average rod , from starting culm to finished rod was on average, one year. So, even tho some catalogs have them priced at $0.87 ( old sears catalog, for a 2 tiped rod ) in todays dollars,,, any one of them is worth well over $25.00 (even on @#$%&)

Tight lines & smokin' drags

Art

Thank you Art, you can put it much better than me. I'll also stand in line for any of them in decent shape for $25.00 as I can guarantee what you say about finding any for that price on E Bay.

Aaron,

For ID purposes, it is important to include pictures of the real seat and the ferrules. Also, you might try posting your question on the following bamboo web site: [p205.ezboard.com]



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/25/2005 10:42PM by Rob Matarazzo.

Aaron-if you can get a clear photo on a white or light background, post the reelseat and grip shape-a lot of older cane rods can be id'd by distinctive reelseat shapes or grip layouts, especially older factory rods.some of the earlier shops actually farmed out wrapping to local ladies, who would wrap in whatever color thread they happened to have, so color isn't always a good indicator by itself. Keep it in the family and if you never learn who made it, it will still always be grandpa who made it special!If you have an Orvis shop nearby, they can probably get an estimate and a professional quality restoration done for you.I recently had a local flyshop refer a guy to me with a "cheap old foursided stick rod"-turned out to be a model 40 Edwards Quadrate made by the original master of the quad tapers, with original hardware and in good restorable condition, potentially a $2000+ rod if done right! he wanted me to strip it and replace the hardware etc until i explained what he had! hope you have a similar experience.Get it done by somebody who knows cane work, and enjoy it.