Copano Burl Cork- used this fine cork for the first time this week constructing 2 very long handled muskie rods the old school way of glueing each ring to the blank and turning by drill motor. Outstanding consistency from ring to ring. Very tough, wearing out all my reamers. This translates into toughness in the field. And to think that I did'nt have to spend hours mixing cork dust and epoxy filling caves in the cork!!! Beautiful to look at, striking appearance with the identical feel of regular rings. Lamar's burl cork is a slam dunk, home run in my book, I will never use anything else again. A+

Threadmaster Finish- for years I used Flex Coat. Back in the day, they ruled. I did have problems with FC in the field. I've had good luck recently with U-40 high build and really liked it, and still do. HOWEVER, I also tried Threadmaster now on these same 2 rods. It seems to have a viscosity between light and high build which to me is perfect. It self levels immediately and flawlessly. Air bubbles quickly disapated which were minimal after mixing. Flows good, very easy to work with. User friendly. Number one trait for me is its quick leveling ability which it maintains throughout its cure time. Truely the best finish I've ever used. I will never use anything else again. A+

Thankyou Lamar Mfg. I can now throw my disgust for the current cork situation out with the thrash.

I must agree that the best of the natural cork these days is the pits. Pun intended. Still, over half of my clients want a natural cork handle. So I try to sell them on stain and finish so I can fill the pits, reduce their negative aesthetics, and add some to durability. The constructed corks, like burl, at least will give a uniform appearance, and as they are available in several colors, no staining is required.

I have burl cork from both Andy and Mud Hole. Looks to me like the same source supply. No visual difference at all that I can see. But, Andy is faster in getting things shipped, and far more communicative. If it's not in stock, Andy will get back to you in most cases within a few hours with the details.

Also, agree that Andy Dear is an absolute fanatic about doing the very best he can in everything he does. He just doesn't sell anything unless he feels it is the best quality that can be gotten. And when he gets an order, get the hades out of his way because he moves as fast as he can without wreckless endangerment to the public. A bit less margin on my end means nothing when the quality of service is of such high value.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/05/2006 10:15AM by Tom Kirkman.

Hey Tim, look, you won't find a more quality minded individual than myself. I can be harsh and quite profane in condeming produts that fail in either appication or in the field under duress. I'm a professional guide (allatoonastripers.com) that demands performance. Last summer, I purchased 2 new ambassadeur 6500c's from wally world. Had problems with handles, clickers, and gearing. With clients on board, I took both reels off and through them into 65 ft water. Brand new. Obviously, ABU has QC issues. Thankyou @#$%& for an unlimited supply of 20 yr old like new ambassadeurs.... Andy was prompt and responsive. In the past weeks, I've read on here about threadmaster and thought Andy Dear and his products might be hyped up. To many positive reviews so I tried his stuff. Glad I did. Obviously, these products come from people with an uncomprimising sense of excellence. TM is obviously the end result of tons of formulation and testing. The cork issue is henceforth, resolved for myself. The Laguna cork will be my mainstay, while the copano will be reserved for special ap. In a world of deminishing quality, and value, and as someone who fights obsolesence in excellence, I am happy to give the above report on Lamar Mfg. And one more hurah for Rod Bond as well!!

I like Andy's cork and have been using a lot of it. Just having the different patterns available is a real plus in trying to come up with rods that have a different look.

On the subject of natural cork, however, I've been at this a long time and I've not seen much change in overall cork quality in the last 25 years. Perfect cork is a unicorn - it has never existed outside our imaginations. It's always been possible to buy what is now known as CG-1 cork although the supply has been small and the price high. CG-2 doesn't really require any filling and is very plentiful. CG-3 doesn't look very good, but constitutes the largest quantity of cork bought and sold today, just as it did 20 years ago.



I'm going to quote directly from the old Bullard Newsletter - this is from the May 1982 edition...

"... First, there is no such thing as the good old days when you could get really uptown cork and when fine rods came with really uptown grips installed. That is just not so and anyone who thinks it is so doesn't know. I have a large collection of fine quality classic bamboo rods, the most famous and most expensive names, and none these rods have grips as good as the AA grade cork sold by us and probably several others." Gene Bullard



So things haven't really changed - 24 years ago rod builders were talking about how poor cork quality had gotten and longing for the "good old days" when really good cork was readily available.

By the way, just as a sidelight, Gene Bullard coined the term "Floret" for his best cork rings. That seems to be where the term "Flor" cork used by many today came from. According to Gene in 1982, "The term Floret means to bloom or blossom and also means the cream or the tops." Thus he choose the name "Floret" for his best rings.


.............

Thanks for the kind words guys....they are much appreciated. And I am ecstactic to hear you like the products so much! I don't believe in re-inventing the wheel, unless of course the wheel can be made better, which in a lot of cases it can! There's still a lot of room for innovation in this industry, and I think over the next few years you'll see some very cool things come out of our little shop here in Texas

FYI, I am the master distributor for Exotic Cork in the US....We supply MudHole, Bingham, Custom Tackle and Angler's Workshop with their inventory of Exotic Cork. So, be rest assured that if you buy from any of those 4 distributors, you're getting the real deal!

Tom,
I agre 100% on the cork situation. I have some old Berkley Fiberglass rods from the 60's and the cork is just not that good. Truth is, really good cork might have been cheaper, but not all that much more available than it is today.
As for the term florette, what Gene is saying might be true, but my cork supplier has been using the term "Flower" grade since the 1940's....long before ol' Gene got in this business.


Andy Dear
Lamar Mfg.

My own historical perspective on cork comes from my own rod building, off and on over the years. All I can say about it is this; back in the late eighties, early nineties, my rod making supplier was Biscayne Rods in Miami I believe or thereabouts. I've got 5 or 6 rods in the basement ( built at different times) I made and don't use anymore for I've become a light tackle guy. These rods are heavy. I've always ordered one rung below the "best". The cork on those rods are 90% flawles. Almost perfect, I kid you not. Fast forward to 2005, once again, I ordered one rung under the "best" from a major supplier on this board and let me tell you, was I shocked/PO'ed when I turned those 6 rods down. Unbelievable horror. I then went on a buying spree from 2 other major sellers on the left in search of what I once could get. More dissapointment. I disagree with the above statement about cork. All I can go by is my experience. Many things in my life are not what they once were. The ambaasadeur reel is an example. I accept that you guys may know more about it than I but I'm no longer gonna beat my head against the wall over good cork. How about perfect cork? Thats what a Laguna ring is for me and I suspect its longevity will be better anyway. Sign me up. This cork issue is a dead issue for me. I'm to old to continue down that road.... All this talk about flor grade etc is just a waste of time, mental energy and money. Why should I sit around and lament what is happening to the cork trees in Portugal? Why should I worry about the supply of good cork now being used in flooring inside modern houses? "There will be less of it for us"... Try Andy's cork and it'll be a dead issue for you to.

"Get the hades out of his way because he moves as fast as he can without wreckless endangerment to the public. "

That's hilarious....

Andy

Andy I've not heard back from you since your first reply to my email order. I assume your email problems still persist...that's a headache isn't it? I'll try to remember to give you a call tomorrow, Monday 2/6. Thanks!

Jay

Jay,
My records show we just corresponded yesterday?


Andy

Fred,

Thank you for your post and opinion. I just received Andy's Threadmaster two days ago and just so happens I'm building a SCV for myself and was planning on sticking to my normal Aftcote finish since I'm 100% familiar with its characteristics. After reading your opinion above, I believe my 1st rod that carrys the Threadmaster finish will be my OWN.

DR

I worked for Gene Bullard for a couple years out of high school. Our Flor grade was the best in the business but it was not flawless. Cork is a natural material and it has streaks, pits and holes in it. It's supposed to. The clearest is what we sold as Flor but it was not flawless. You can still get cork just as good as what we had then but you'll have to pay a bit more for it. The trouble is that most of the dealers, today and even back then, won't buy the higher grades from the cork suppliers because at the higher price they know that not many will buy it. But don't think it isn't available. It still is.

Duane, relax with it. Its no doubt the easiest, smoothest epoxy finish I've ever used. One more thing, maybe the bad cork back in Mr Bullards days were perhaps what contemporary builders would consider gold? All I know is that I've held those old rods down in the basement a million times it seems and wished I could pull the cork off of them and put it on my striper rods.... I forget to mention the guy that sells his "culls" on @#$%& that I fell for in my desperate attempt to get back to the late eighties... Nuff said on the subject gentlemen. Moderator, I promise to never mention the subject of cork again. Fred Duncan, living billboard for Lamar Manufacturing. Andy, I'd like a hat...

Andy,

Yes I got it. Thanks.

Jay