Hi:
I use a few "Australian Sabre" e/glass blanks.
Sabre Australia was bought out by Seeker rods about 20yrs so they are imported in from the States...a quick badge change and hey presto....

I have noticed that the Calstar e/glass purchasing codes are virtually identical as the Sabre blanks codes.
Questions:
If Seeker rods make the Sabre e/glass blanks, which i believe to be true
Do they also make the Calstar eglass blanks. ??
Are the Calstar blanks the twin brother/sister of the Sabre blanks or has the Sabre blanks evolved into the Calstar blanks...
either way its annoying me no end not knowing, but i spos'e thats' what the blank manufacturers want ..

the reason for the questions, I am building a ultra-light for this guy who wants a Calstar blank, no probs i ordered it in while i have Sabre blanks sitting beside me.
The Calstar 130-6'6" arrives and its identical to the Sabre 130-61/2.....(note that the Calstar is in feet and inches and the Sabre is in feet and half a foot.)
I know anglers like brand names no matter what, but this time it was quite annoying...

can anyone emighten me on this query...

CalStar and Seeker have their own respective facilities and each makes their own blanks.

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

Leon Todd of calstar worked for sabre (california tackle) for many years. The Sabre name has been bought and sold. Try the following link.

[www.onorods.com]

Russ in Hollywood, FL.

Thanks for that Tom.
However It doesnt solve the Calstar & Sabre lookalikes and matching product codes...
Does Calstar build the Sabre blanks...??

That was great Russell,
Didn't answer exactly what i needed to know but I came away from reading that as yes, Sabre & Calstar are linked, whether it be only be through the thoughts and ideas of some of the most highly respected rod builders. (and that, in itself has answered my questions.)
Thanks again.

Owen, I haven't seen anything labeled Sabre in some time. Penn had bought rights to the name but the rods were not at all the same. Even in the later years of Sabre the blanks weren't the same quality. At one time you could buy a pacific bay rod that was called Sabre.

To confuse you more, Joe Pfister (who is with seeker) worked for Sabre at the tail end.

Still I think it is fair to credit Leon Todd with developing what is now thought of as "west coast" tuna rods. Calstar and seeker both make such rods. I have no inside knowledge but it wouldn't be a strech to imagine they each aquired some of the original sabre manderals.

I could be way wrong but I think "Australian Sabre" is little more than a biz name and they get their blanks from a few sources such as pac bay, am tak, and seeker. I doubt they had any relationship to the original producer of the real sabre blanks, california tackle.

Russ in Hollywood, FL.

Owen,
When it comes down to it, it really doesn't matter who makes a particular blank. If you are happy with the blank, build it.

Take care
Roger

p.s.
I just finished building a rod, that I thought would be a semi worthless rod. But as it turned out, when fishing, it is a wonderful rod for what I was using it for.

So, sometimes one can't always bless or condem a blank without building and using it.

Even with the CCS system, you can know what a particular blank does, but after building it you can often find that a blank you were going to use for one application, can actually make a wonderful rod for a completely different application.

Take care
Roger

Hi Roger, yes i agree its doesnt matter what blank if it works well.
My issue is that the Sabre blanks I'm using are four to five times the cost of the Calstar, so price wise, it means a great deal.. AU$140+ for a Sabre compared to (US$35 for a Calstar plus freight for what i thought was the identical blank) .... I usually bulk buy of 20 or more so freight costs have a minimal increase per blank...

Owen,
I read and understand your comment. I also agree that it make sense to buy the blank that makes the most sense from an economic standpoint that will do the job that it is being asked to do.

Take care
REW

Unless they are very old stock I think Pacbay owned the rights to use the name and Penn reels owned the rights to the name(might be the other way around). If that's true I would think that the parent company of Penn now owns the name, Unless it was sold at some time. I do beleive that a company in Singapore owns the name or uses the name Sabre and Stroker. They may be making blanks in the name and adding to the confusing history of Sabre.

The Calstars are built on the same tapers and actions as the california tackle (origanal Sabre) used. As mentioned before Seeker also makes the same actions and tapers but I beleive use and own the original Sabre mandrals and designs. Penn bought the name rights long ago and bought the old Conolon Garcia plant in California ( I beleive in `83) changing the name to Rodco. They manufactured copys of the original Sabre designs and used the name Sabre. Pacbay also had Rodco make glass Sabre blanks for them. I beleive that Pacbay called their line " Coastbusters". Many of these all glass blanks were of the old Conolon/ Garcia design but used the Sabre name.

Confused Yet?? Most of the Rodco Sabres I have found are a metallic black or a dark mustard yellow color. (In fact if the blank is sanded they look much like an old brown Conolon. None of them were natural yellow glass. Penn's factory built Sabre rods were natural "honey" glass and some were composite glass/ graphite kind of like Seeker's composites. Nearly all the original Cal Tac Sabres I have seen were Honey glass color though I'm sure black and IGFA white were made!

I don't think Rodco made any graphite rods except for a few very nice fly blanks that I beleive were used to make Penn reels International Fly rod series. I don't know if these were available to builders.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/15/2011 03:04PM by John Martines.

Thanks John and yes...confused ....
Just got 5 Sabre blanks in from wholesaler yesterday and they have new stickers...

Sabre' by Seeker Rods.
made in the U.S.A.

Ha ha... there you go!! One more cunfusing the Sabre issue. I would guess that perhaps Seeker has the rights to use the Sabre name outside of the USA. I'm also sure that it's nothing more then their "Classic" line up since they are mostly if not all old Sabre designed Mandrals! I'd love to see that sticker!!

to late to see stickers John grips all on, but have another 2 blanks which should be here within a fortnight.. I'll take a pic and get back to you.