Good Morning Guys...
I seen a advertisement for Custom Rods and Semi-Custom Rods !! Is there really such a animal as a " semi-custom rod " ??
I felt if there is a rodbuider building a custom rod, it is a custom rod......I did'nt know, there was a " semi custom rod "........
Am I missing the boat ?? Please enlighten me !!

MaryLou

Mary Lou. Good morning to you.
Maybe what you're seeing is someone who is just buying regular rods and applying fancy butt wraps and such and calling it semi custom, and jacking up the price. You know how cheap the rods are at Wally World and other so called sporting good stores. Seams there's always somebody working an angle.

Fred Crum
Dixon, Ca.

Good Morning Fred...
Yes, I thought of that possibility, I would not want my name or my artwork on a cheap Wally World rod..........however, I have seen " custom rods" advertised as low as $79.00............there is no way in this world, would I compete with those prices !!
I would also agree there is always someone working on a angle, or is that just a nice way of saying " Cutthroat " ??

Kind Regards....
MaryLou

MaryLou,
Maybe what you're seeing is along these lines: Quality components assembled by a custom builder using the correct methods but all of one basic variety. For instance Stuart Tuff butt, Calstar blank, American Tackle titanium guides, perhaps some inlays in foregrip and a diamond or chevron wrap. I guess that would qualify as "semi-custom" since the parts come from different manufacturers with the assembly done in non-production line fashion..

Hi Mary Lou
The cheapest kits I have found are still about 50 bucks. And I did not like the guides they came with, so adding the price of at least hardloy guides, even with 8 dollar e-glass blanks ya cut your own throat. How much is your labor worth - .50 cents an hour ??
Send them to wally world

Most of this type of thing comes down to terminology and theatrics. There are many builders who feel that a rod is only custom if it is made for a specific individual. If you just build a rod for sale, regardless of what parts are used or what you have done to it, then you're just doing the same thing any commercially manufacturer is, only a smaller scale.

Others believe that any any rod that is made by an individual that is not part of a commercial maker's operation is a custom rod.

All fishing rods are made by hand (handcrafted) whether in your shop or in the factories overseas. You'll have to come up with your own idea of what constitutes a "custom" rod. I wouldn't let somebody's notation of "semi-custom rod" bother me too much.

.........

to me, a custom rod is one built after agreeing with the customer as to blank and components and building it for that customer. if a rod is built built by FORMULA regardless of the fact that the components are the finest available they are still a "production" rod even though they are not built on a production line. they are just "low production" rods. many small builders offer a series of rods. each rod in a series is the same as all of the other rods in THAT series. even though the builder is a small builder and it is low production and each one is made from start to finish by one guy they are still production rods and not "custom". now, lets say that a rod in that series comes standard with fuji alconites but a customer says i want that with fuji titaniums then i guess you could say that rod is semi custom. a modification was made specifically for that customer. if, on the other hand someone is buying production rods and modifying them, unless he is doing that modification at the specific request of the customer, it is just a modified production rod and not a "semi custom" rod.

My market model tells me that a rod that I build will sell for between 35 and 50% more if customer participates in the design of and selection of goods to build a personalized rod. Build the same rod and put it on a rack for sale and it will not bring the same amount of money. If I build I gotta sell - it is sure more profitable to sell and then build! In this business it looks like there needs to be a good balance between the two. I build demos for customer viewing and if they sell after a while fine!

Gon Fisn

Could be rods I have seen where the blank has the reel seat, butt grip and fore grip already installed. The builder/customer then picks the guides and wrapping color and design

Dave von Doehren
PRRODS......If man built it , man can fix it.and if man built it man can break it !

Mmmmmmmmmmm maybe - sort of like the Merrick Tackle "set-ups"?

Semi custom, to me, means that someone built a rod for general sale. It could be built very well but it is at heart, a low production item, as Larry said. I'm one of the folks that Tom mentioned in his first paragraph. I believe that a "custom" rod is built for an individual. If for instance, I build a rod for someone and for whatever reason, they don't pay the balance and pick up the rod and I put it up on @#$%& or such, I can no longer call it a custom rod. If I build a rod and give it to a shop to have them sell, it is not a custom rod. It is a rod built by a custom builder... a semi-custom rod. I'm not saying that there is anything wrong with doing it, it's just my own feeling with it. Semantics. Doesn't mean much in the grand scheme of life, but there it is. As far as cost, I could grab an inexpensive blank out of my pile, a preformed grip, some inexpensive guides, wrap it up, toss on a diamond butt wrap, sell it for 80 bucks to someone off the street and be very happy with a $60 profit for a couple hours of occupying myself while watching a DVD. I just don't do it. I think my work is worth more. (Maybe I should though... 60 bucks isn't anything to sneeze at.....hahaha) If someone is selling their rods for $80 and they think it is a fair price, more power to them. I could do the same, I just choose not to. If they are just adding a buttwrap to a wallyworld rod, well, I'm not the ethics police. It's their name on the rod, not mine. Gives a bad name to custom builders, but then again, so do a lot of crappy builders in general. I know of at least one guy who advertises and has a web site and I don't think he has ever built a single rod. Annoys the crap out of me but that's how it goes. It all comes out in the wash. Forget about what anybody else is doing. Do what you do, do it well, and if you can look at yourself in the mirror each day, then you are a step ahead of a lot of people. Your rods, your terms.

I think Mick nailed it! To me, Custom is a rod built to a specific customers specs/needs. IMO, if you build 6 identical rods for sale to "unknown" buyers, they may be fine rods, but they are'nt Custom

Here is a classic example of a "custom rod". A very few builders can market a rod with the "built by" concept to command a premium fair price. I have found that the "built for" concept is the only way I can get a really fair price to compensate for my labor. I am presently building a rod for a major university gymnastic assistant coach. Jesse Buky got the Head Coach! There will be a new "Battle of the Flies" forthcoming.

I am using one of the Bad To The Bones encasulations on the rear grip. The decal area contains " ----------- Gymnnasts Are Bad To The Bone" and the Warranty Certificate contains a write up that states - This one of a kind Gymnastic Theme Rod features the Purple and Gold along with gymnastics theme gold decals. The fearsome "Bad To The Bone" rear grip symbolizes the fierce determination of the "world class" gymnastic athletes during competition.

I really do not think I could have gotten the same price if the rod rack contained a fishing rod Gon Fishn And JB Rods decal.

Jesse, if the builders on the board knew the whole story of this rod do you think they would giggle or upchuck?

Gon Fishn

Great marketing on their part......a marketing genieus would bypass "semi custom" and go right for the word "custom".

Any thing that is not as a factory rod you could say is custom.
If you put some thread wraps on a wally rod you are just putting lipstick on a pig.
The rod still has the same performance that it had before.
Take the blank and put better guides on, set up correctly, better seat, handles ( make it better ) then IMHO you have a one off custom. Ain't saying the blank is any good !!??

Just like any thing else, cars, furniture, houses.

Then again you should find out what was done ??

I have never heard of a Semi Custom Rod. Is that like being Semi Dead? We have a rod builder that does shows out here that are all wrapped buy individual rod builders but they are no more than pretty factory type rods with some different components. His prices are actually more reasonable that the factory stuff. For me custom is a rod build to complete a task for a person, from there the rod builder can make suggestions on how best to do that, but the bottom line rests in the custom-er.(I made a funny) :)

Good morning folks,

I have read all the comments to Mary Lou’s question. After finishing this morning reading, I am somewhat surprised by the spectrum of ideas being expressed. I think that some of the definitions tend to divide us more than further our cause. I tend to support Mick’s idea of semantics in using ther custom. I would like to use two examples from my own experience. In 1958 while serving aboard the USS Midway, I decide to build my first fishing rod. This occurred as a chance encounter with a small business that sold only rod building materials in Oakland, California. When I finished with the rod, I had a seven foot spinning rod with five Varmac guides spaced according to the theory of the day (cone of flight), a hand sanded cork grip with two reel seat bands. The guides were wrapped with plain blue thread with no trim. This was a plain vanilla rod that was not much better than one found in any decent tackle store. (In those days we actually had tackle stores not sporting goods stores.) It had been spined and the guide feet were sanded down and aligned well. I loved my first rod and quite a few trout lost their lives while I used that rod.

This past year I built two fly rods for a customer and his wife who are our neighbors here in eastern Oregon. The husband wanted me to build him a 7’ 6” 4 piece 4wt pack rod for a friend of his who was 85 years old. He wanted it to be a surprise for his friend's 85th birthday. I had less than three weeks to build the rod. He also wanted to spend no more than $125-$130. Since he had spent three days working on my irrigation system, I waived my labor cost. At that price range I was limited to what I could build. He also wanted a green colored blank. I chose a Rainshadow blank. I was not able to get much more information other than his friend was about 5’10” and had arms about my length. My customer was not interested in getting involved with any other details of the rod. He told me that I could do as I saw fit. The blank I chose has moderate action and I wanted to keep as much weight as possible from the tip. I chose single foot wire guides with Vapor deposited TiN coating for the running guides, a vapor deposited TiN coated zirconia ring guide for the stripping guide. I also used a A-7 flush mounted Titanium anodized reel seat with a wood insert. In order to keep the rod in the price range, I saved money by using a preformed grip with only average quality. If I had used good cork rings and shaped the grip myself, the cost for the grip would have been about thirty dollars. On all rods I build, I always use the two toned classic colored threads unless a customer wants certain colors. In this case I chose the rust/black Jasper thread with teal trim and thread inlays on the butt section. My rods tend to be very traditional andlook like the rods built back in the early part of the last century.

Now If I were to build more rods from this blank, there are only a few things that could change. First, colors of various components could change. Second, the type of reel seat could change, and the type of grip could change. However, where the guides are spaced will be determined by the static distribution test and by test casting. Only the butt guide would vary according to the customer.

I believe both of these rods are custom built rods. The most recent rods are quantum levels better than that first rod I built. I recently made the decision to market and sell my “custom” rods. In order to market my rods I plan on displaying examples at a local store that sells fly tying materials and archery supplies. Those rods will be “general” rods and not built for any particular customer. All other rods will be built when a customer orders them.

I think that the term custom is being used in a very narrow definition. I think to avoid this, I would like to use the term handcrafted. Every rod I build is handcrafted by me for my customer. In some cases, I build rods based on the customer’s physical size and needs and at other times as in the examples above, I have to estimate the positions of the butt guide or the shape and length of the grip.

As to Mary Lou’s question, I would simply add that if you buy a kit from a supplier with all parts chosen and place the guide according to some chart, I would call that a semi-custom of semi-handcrafted rod.

Best regards,

Mike Blomme
Blue Mountain Rods

P.S. Sorry about the length of this communication.

A rod built on "spec" in other words without being commissioned to meet the specifications of a particual client would fit the term Semi-Custom to me. If I was to engage in building rods on that basis I would still build them to the best of my ability using the best components and practices to meet the needs of the market that rod is aimed to serve. I would employ the Fuji New Concept System for spinning rods; and Bumper Wrap configuration on castiing, trolling and boat rods. Since AI woiuld be selecting all wrap colors and designs and place the reel seat in a place that works best for most the rod will not meet the same level of customization of a rod made in close consutlation with the client.

Is there a valid need to define the two by separate classifications? I can see benefit in doing so. Clarification between these separate approaches are helpful in educating the public. Obviously both are being built and will continue to meet the needs of a portion of the rod buying community. Clarification will help maintain the respect and higher prices for truly custom work. My fear is that without clarification the public will either be duped into payhg more for an inferior product or lose faith in the merits of a true custom fishing instrument crafted specifically to fit them and meet as many of the individual details they dscide are important to them.

Our responsibility to educate the marketplace as much as possible. The more light we can shed on the vagaries of our craft the more we will generate increased appreciation for true custom work. At the same time I can see a need for semi custom rods as a lower cost alternative to the higher end product. A well made Semi-Custom will still be an improvement over factory rods and meet the needs of a large audience.

Not everyone wants, needs or can afford a Ferrarri. Most folks would not be able to gert the performance out of it anyway. Our skills enable us to meet the needs of more than one class of fishers. I suggest we use our knowledge to do so ethically and informatively.

Dave

I agree with Michael Blomme that the term "Handcrafted" would be better for such rods than "Semi-Custom".
Dave

Hmm, a lot of good points here. I use "semi-custom" in my website. I had seen that somewhere and I thought it described pretty well the first few rods I sold. They were made for people to give as presents, and the only thing the givers cared about was that they have Auburn University colors. I had no idea what kind of reel would be used, not even the kind of fishing. I think that this really is not a true custom rod. Maybe "handcrafted" would be better than semi-custom. I can change the site in about 30 seconds, so it's not a big deal.

When I started making rods not quite a year ago, my strategy was to learn how to do this well, and come up with all the basic equiment. And, to cover the equipment and a little bit of my time with sales dollars. Surprisingly (to me, at least) this is working. I made a wrapper from the article in the library, bought a Grizzley Hobby lathe and a bunch of miscellaneous stuff. I have sold ennough to cover this plus a little bit. My time has only been compensated at a very low rate, but I write this off to learning. If this keeps up, maybe someday I can sell enough to buy a Renzetti. Of course, if I win the one in Charlotte I will be way ahead!
Steve Broadwell