Non-stretch, color fastness, & strength are mostly what I look for in the threads
I use. We want threads to pack well, cut clean, & stay bright.

That being said, when talking about regular thread I don't think
I have used any thread that didn't suit my needs or cause me problems
except for the cotton and rayon types which were full of the dredded "fuzzies"
and or were weaker than I was happy with. Some Rice rod building thread
I used a couple years ago broke easier than any other I tried up to that time
but other than that it worked very well.

What are the traits you look for and what really makes a given thread product
different than another? I would like to really understand the tech. side of thread
(if there is one).

Now, I'm finding out that metallics are a completely different animal! That might
require a "thread" (pun intended) all to it's self! lol

Raymond Adams
Eventually, all things merge, and a river runs through it..



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/13/2008 10:27PM by Raymond_Adams.

Being pretty new to this, I'd say thread that isn't twisted on the spool and vibrant colors. I have some metalics but haven't used them and so far all I have tried is Guberod and Sulky. Both seem to be real good!

Same things you look for.

The only two rods we've gotten back for warranty service were due to Rice thread "giving up" - the guides were just hanging on the rod because of the finish. That says good things about our finish but ended our use of Rice thread. fortunately, Fishawk owns that line now and said they are discontinuing it.

We've tried a lot of threads and I'm sure that a lot of folks will hammer me for saying this but we've settled on three brands. We can't afford to have rods coming back because of the thread. Truly, we don't have the time, and many times we have to special-order the color, if it's even still available (as in, Gudebrod's recent discontinuance of many colors).

The three are: Fishawk (nylon, ncp, metallic, and silk). Robbie is one of the best guys I've ever had the pleasure of dealing with.
Madiera (a bit of a pain to work with, but beatiful stuff. Use Andy Dear's CP on it and the colors will stay just as nice as you wanted them to.
Gudebrod (nylon, ncp. The metallics tend to delaminate when tensioned beyond a certain point. Watch for weak sections on a spool. But it's been the standard for so long)

Uncle Russ
Calico Creek Rods

Limp, uniform, no knots. For metallics I want something that doesn't fleck up or off when it's wound on the rod.