Can anyone tell me if you can still by Fenwick rod blanks ?? If I can, do youk now where ??
Any info you could give me would be great

thanks Frank

Only ones you can find 2nd hand. The blanks are made overseas for the Pure Fishing conglomerate, including Fenwick. This is the latest info I have so someone else please correct me if this isn't accurate.

Terry

Frank, what blank do you need, I might have one. Randy

I am looking for two 7' 6" to 8' 6", 7 or 8 wt blanks

Frank, I am sorry I can't help you. I only have 2 Fenwick fly blanks and they are both Boron that I am going to keep. Good luck with your quest!!

Now that is Depressing

Bill - willierods.com

The question of Fenwick Blank availability has popped up several times recently and I feel the need to lend a little historical perspective to this question. I think that I'm eminently qualified to offer this info because I worked as a Manager at Fenwick from 1980 until 2000. Terry is correct in that the only true Fenwick Rod blanks that would be available for purchase today were made and sold by Fenwick prior to 1985. The decision to discontinue sales of Fenwick blanks was made by Fenwick management in 1984 for several reasons. The two biggest factors were: 1. Fenwick's Blank Factory on Bainbridge Island , WA was at capacity and running 24 hours a day couldn't produce enough blanks for finished rods. Increasing capacity would have meant increasing the size of the factory and purchasing thousands for new mandrels. In the mid 1980's there were only a couple of fishing tackle companies that could afford expand their operations and Fenwick was not one of them. 2. The administrative costs associated with blank sales were too high compared to the profit margins and within the industry blank prices were headed downward so raising price was not an option.
There were several times in the 1990's that the Pure Fishing rod factory that was then in Taichung Taiwan sold large quantities of unlabeled cosmetic seconds to a particular USA component distributor who is no longer in the business. Some of these blanks were Fenwick's and others were Berkley , Abu Garcia or private label models. None had any brand or model identification whatsoever. It is possible that some of these are still available but caution should be exercised when buying any Fenwick blank today. The question to ask is: Does it have a decal or a silkscreen logo? If not the the old adage"Let the buyer beware" should be foremost in your mind.

You may also find some blanks labeled as Fenwick that are actually Fenwick factory finished rods or blanks that had already been built into rods and then stripped of all components and refinished by a builder. These may be in pristine condition or they may have had the @#$%& fished out of them and have many bruises and battle scars covered by a new coat of clear finish. Again caution should be taken but there are many good used or slightly used blanks out there that might make great rods.

As an old Fenwick guy, I routinely look on line and at yard sales and swap meets for Fenwick branded products. I do this primarily because it's fun to walk down memory lane and to see how some of the rods are holding up. I'm actually surprised at how many real (pre 1985) Fenwick blanks are still available considering that the last time any were made and sold by Fenwick was 37 years ago. So if you or your customers are looking for Fenwick blanks the good news is they are still out there waiting to be wrapped into great fishing rods. The other good news is the fact that blanks don't deteriorate if stored straight in a safe protected place away from high temperatures (exceeding 125 degrees F).

So if you're heart tells you that you have to have a "Fenwick" custom rod then by all means start searching for the vintage blank to make it.

Bill, what is depressing, the fact that I have 2 Fenwick Boron Fly blanks or that I don't wish to part with them? I have Fenwick graphite and glass blanks including steelhead, salmon, and boat rod blanks as well as a couple white surf blanks. All in new unused condition and I got them before Fenwick quit making blanks for sale.

Hi Vic

Thanks for the info I guess I will have to start to look around at yard sales. I built a great Fenwick rod around 1980 and still fish it to this day. Now that i have started to build rods again i really wanted to build on Fenwick blanks, oh well the hunt is on maybe if you get up to Canada I will see you at one of those yard sales.

Thanks again to all for the info Frank

Back when the original Fenwick was in the blank business, they produced a very high quality product. It holds up pretty darn well today, other than the fact that there have been 3 decades of technology increases in that time frame.

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

You are right Tom, I went squid fishing with a lite fenwick spinning rod that I mad 25 years ago last night. Performed just as good as when it was brand new. Too bad they quit making blanks for us. I used to go to the factory and pick out what I wanted.

hi Vic.
Just wonder if you know somebody who has and want to sell Fenwick HMG 1326 rod or blank,I broke mine last year and desperatively looking for replacement.
Regards Jano

Vic - I'm new to this website and that was a great read you posted about Fenwick 4 yrs ago! I ran the purchasing dept for a seismic equipment manufacturer in Houston that used the Fenwick "Rhino" series blanks to make antennas for our telemetry gear back in the '70's and '80's. Our engineers were always getting sample blanks to evaluate new antenna designs. We used to buy thousands of "Rhino" blanks for production. I was able to re-purpose about a half-dozen of those samples for home use to make some very stout saltwater trout rods. Fast forward 30 yrs to today and I'm just now getting around to make those rods and am now wondering just how valuable they are! All but 1 still has the original Fenwick label.

Regards,
Mike