A friend's wife bought him an old South Bend bamboo fly rod. I got to look at it today, and it is a model 58 9' 7wt. It is in fairly good condition. No splits in the joints , no knicks in the finish. There were actually only 2 problems I saw with the rod. one thread wrap needs to be redone on a ferrule, and the first 2 cork rings are rough and their is a fairly deep chunk missing. I don't know how much collector value these rod have, but I doubt that it is much. I know my friend wants to fish this rod, and I see no reason not to. I was telling him how to clean it up, and care for it, when he asked me to do this for him. Do any of you know what thread was used on this rod? I don't have any thread to remove, so looking at the back side is out of the question. The thread appears to be a dark jade green and black verigated color, and doesn't have any CP. I know the proper way to fix the grip is replace it, but don't want to get that deep into this. I am wondering how much I can fill with Elmers wood filler before it is too much, and takes away from the looks, value and fishability of this rod?

Mike Bradfrod
R.M.B. Fishing Rods
Nampa, Idaho

for the grip depending on how big the chip/divot is you could cut some small pieces of cork and glue them in to fill it. sand that to a close shape and then use some filler to top it off. better than all filler.
for the thread. I may have some of that jade and black kicking around the shop but i'm at work right now and will look when i get home. i do know the stuff I have is nylon and not silk.

Gary: I may take some old cork, and sand it down then mix this with some glue and use that as the filler. Thanks for the idea. I don't know if the thread is nylon or silk. I know the rod is new enough that it is marked as a 7 weight instead of a C or HCH. Let me know if you have any of this thread.

Mike Bradfrod
R.M.B. Fishing Rods
Nampa, Idaho

ELMER'S PROBOND WOOD FILLER " GOLDEN OAK " WORKS NICELY AFTER SANDING I SHOOT SATIN FINISH CLEAR COAT TO MAKE IT MORE DURABLE AND IT BLENDS RIGHT IN ALMOST LOOKING ORIGINAL "GOLDEN OAK " MATCHES BEST Larry

You can replace individual cork rings with a little patience and careful work.

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Mike,
There is little collector's value. A very good condition rod might sell for about $200 in a shop; $100, or less, on-line. In other words, if your friend chose to sell it, he could expect to get about $100,at most. My advice would be to make it as functional, as possible, since he wants to fish it, and don't worry about harming the "value".
As for matching the thread, even if you find the right stuff, it will be difficult to replicate the years of yellowing on varnish of the other wraps, and the thread will be very expensive. Instead, I would probably use some Gudebrod Classic Twist, and finish it with no CP, so that it darkens a bit

George Forster
Fort Collins, CO