I have a customer who I am helping over an addiction to the high-end Japanese rods. One of the things he has really liked has been Kevlar tubing or material on the blank forward of the foregrip (extending to the first guide) and between the split-grips. I've never heard of such and have several questions:

1. Is there any purpose (other than decorative) for this stuff? If so, what does it do?

2. Can it be applied to a new blank?

3. If applied to a blank, is there significant weight that will negatively affect balance?

4. Where can one get this stuff?

I'll appreciate any enlightenment you guys might be able to offer. This question really came out of the blue!

Jim Kirby

It is possible that the blanks on the rods he is using are the American Tackle Matrix blanks, and that some one told that was what the material is. Personally out side of that I have not seen or heard of what you are referring to.

I have seen some blanks like you mention that have the woven graphite look only up to the first guide or at least a little past the decal area. I have some Daiwa rods like that. Look kinda neat, but I don't know anything else about it.

TJ

The japanese rods I've been around looked like they had 15mm tubing through the butt and reelseat. Somewhere under the reelseat it looks like they are arboring the tubing to the blank and the foregrip is attached to the blank, some also have a pattern of material that closely matches the tubing pattern up the blank to the guide as you suggested. The Andrews and Matagi components at Merricks are of the same type materials. They also have some of the painted Fuji reelseats.

Is it kevlar or carbon fibre? Kevlar and UV do not mix well. Carbon fibre, however, is not bothered by UV. There are materials made to look like either as well.
If he wants something 'neat', mount a CAR-15 front hand guard. Some of the custom front tubes have small enough diameters that you can probably get it to work. On a big enough rod it would work, with an aftco stripper looking like the front sight as well. Now that would be a tuna killer!..... sorry,,, my mind wanders sometimes. :-)

Matagi does make the piece between the grips in carbon fiber and kevlar (its a 15mm ID tube). I have never heard of an add on piece of kevlar that will extend up to the first guides. I think that is part of the japanese blanks and not somethign that can be added on. I have often thought of trying to use carbon fiber cloth or kevlar to wrap the blank in to get this effect one wrap of this cloth will add almost no weight.

One other problem is I ordered matagi parts for 3 rods 3 1/2 months ago. I still have not recieved all the parts from that order. I dont know of any customer willing to wait that long for a rod, so be prepared to eat the parts and they are not cheap if this same thing happens to you.

I do not know why someone would want to use kevlar in rod manufacturing because it has such poor load bearing capibility. No structural parts are made from kevlar that I know of, mostly panels and heating ducts. Not only that kevlar is an aramide fiber which takes special tools to cut and machine which the average person doesn't have access to; such as water jet cutters and cloths pin drill bits. It's almost impossible to sand without the fibers fuzzing up and repairs are made with epoxy resin systems and S glass.

Pysco,
You need to re register with your full name (per the rule at the top in red) as this post will be automatically removed before many see it.

Incidently, graphite is a carbon fiber so all graphite blanks are made of carbon fiber

Mike (Southgate, MI)
If I don't want to, I don't have to and nobody can make me (except my wife) cuz I'm RETIRED!!