2 identical rods, both 24kg wrapped and epoxied the same way. I flexed one by hand a week later, as i think some of us do. one hand on the tip and pull out or down to flex it..one cracked at the ends of the feet on 3 rollers. the other I fitted the reel and line and fixed it to a digital read out. This one didnt crack anywhere and i was way over the 1/3 fighting drag setting....
Questions:
Blanks shouldnt be flexed by hand as it bends the rod in a way that is nothing like how it does when fighting a fish.
The downward pressure from the line on all the rollers when under strain is assisting the true flex of the blank and "flattening" out the blank
Bending at the tip by hand only creates a steeper angle for the rollers to contend with hence the cracking.
I hope you can all understand that.....lol...
thanks

The natural flex of a blank is only possible when you tie a line to the tip and hang a weight from there, keeping the blank horizontal.

Hand flexing isn't necessarily bad, as long as you're careful not to force the rod into an unnatural bend. Use the palm of your hand to pressure the tip and don't bend the blank beyond 90 degrees anywhere along its length.

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Sounds simular to something that happened to me, I had gottn some money for my b-day and decided to buy a nice fishing rod from a well known local outdoor sports store. the clerk had me try a rod that was in my price range and I could hear the thing creaking from tip to butt. I told the guy what I heard and that I recommend against selling that rod, he told me that he didnt hear anything and what I may have heard was his old bones creeking. I promptly left that store and wont step foot in it again.

DErek

I just bend it against the floor, or on a ceiling.

I bend the rod against a stationary object, like a wall. That way your eyes are far enough away from it to see the bend in the rod. When you use your hand, the rod is to close to your face and it is hard to hold the tip and the butt as the same time, so it is a pretty useless excercise.