Has anyone ever used one of these guides? I'm curious how they are. You can find them at mudhole under arcane component works.

You are referring to Agate stripper guides? I use one one every bamboo rod I make. They have been around forever. Some of the fly reel mfg used large agate stones as line guides on the reels.. they should last a lifetime. There is also a synthetic called an agatine stripper.. I think they are inferior, they look like plastic compared to the Agate.

Angler's Workshop and I'm sure others have had them for years from various manufactures. I think Fuji still makes their ruby guides also.

Merrick tackle carries the RUBY stripper at a $200+ price tag.

Hi Fred,
Why agate over SiC? I know agate is very beautiful, but it is easily shattered and I'm guessing it is heavier that ceramic guides. I am also guessing that the prices are a bit steep. I ask all of this because I just finished a complete rebuild of a bamboo rod for customer who did not want to spend a lot of money. As a result I ended up with a ceramic stripping guide. In addition, I picked up a bamboo fly ord at an estate sale about fifteen years ago and will work on it this winter. This rod is a Montague Trail three piece with two tips. It has an agate stripping guide and an agate tip top with what appears to be nickel silver frames. I must admit that the diameter of the ring appears awfully small--certainly not more than 4 mm and perhaps a bit smaller. The rest of rod is in deplorable state. The nickel silver ferrules are mechanically in good shape, but there is considerable discolortion that displays some copper coloring. The varnish comes off by simply scraping my finger nail along the rod. The snake guides are visibly rusty. This rod will need a complete rebuild as well. I was thinking of using a ceramic strpping guide. In any event, please give me your thoughts on using agate guides. One other idea I had was that the rod I just finished wrapping and the one I will work on this winter do not appear to have any great value and while I cannot change them from being made from a sow's ear, I can make them into a useful fishing too that will be fun to use. Thanks for your ideas.

Mike Blomme