When I have a concept of a build that will have a specific performance attribute change then I will do it with no decorative wraps/minimalist and put it to the test. After I have tweaked the build and feel that it is doing what I want and a customer wants the same thing I will build it to the reel he plans on using as far as color thread and trim bands or whatever colors they want. I will do a tiger wrap in matching colors and usually not charge any more if they don't mind. I do not do weaves. Basically keep it light and simple. All my fly rod builds are very minimal but with trim bands. I got into this to make the best performing and unique rods I could, not to make pretty or themed rods. I will however, make show rods that perform very well for a possible client to try. These are my personal rods. Every rod needs to be clean in build, perform with precision and better than what someone can buy in a store.

I said less is more, however, I just put a 5" J.T. dragonscale on a Point Blank 691 MLXF that weighed in at 3.2 oz. So I guess you can have both. Coulda' made it lighter though! lol

what I found if the rod is a gift they want a pretty rod and some times the person getting it is not a die hard fisherman the die hard wants a performance rod first . I build performance first that why if someone tell me that they want me to build them a rod I tell them that we need to talk and then I will ask a lot of questions .

It is HIGHLY unlikely that any rod build/rod winding will be famous or well known five or ten years from now. A fish-pole is a tool, and tools seldom achieve celebrity status.

I mostly build only for myself.Performance is paramount to me. i like a bit more show on my fly rods, mainly a nice reel seat, maybe silk threads. i've done very few butt wraps. i do appreciate fine details on rods but i'm not going to spend 3 more hours i don't have to on a rod. again, though, i don't build for others.

something I posted a few years back

[www.rodbuilding.org]

Steve #nailedit with that five year old post.

Flex Coat Company
Professional Rod Building Supplies
www.flexcoat.com

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Performance is not a matter of taste, but that doesn't matter if nobody keeps or reveals actual records of performance.

I have followed and read all the previous replies and cannot personally find anything to disagree with; the general consensus amongst us rod builders is that performance prevails over pretty or form follows function or guts over glitter, however you want to explain it. If you are reading or replying to the original post, it is safe to say you understand and employ methods to produce a rod with paramount performance.
Those of you with customers who realize and accept that the “black blank, black grips, black seat, black guides and black wraps” (as Roger described) you build for them at twice the cost of a store bought rod are lucky indeed. Inversely, those of you with customers who appreciate extravagant thread art, feather inlays and birch bark handles and are willing to pay 4X+ the cost of a store bought rod are equally as lucky.
Apparently, I am not so lucky; I have lost as many sales as those performed simply due to potential customers expecting all the wazoo components and additional thread work at a minimalistic cost. No matter how justifiable it may be, there is no way I could sell that “all-black” rod for even $150.00 because potential customers can buy a similar LOOKING rod from Cabelas for $75.00. Everyone who sees my birch bark handle absolutely loves it but none would pay even half of what it is worth.
The rods that I have sold are somewhere between the “all black” and the wazoo rods with any combination of thread inlays, vine leafs open spirals and a few fade wraps. They are subtlety simple yet easily recognizable as custom without being flashy. None the less, it is rare to be able to charge more than $10.00/hour above the material costs. If I didn’t love rod building, I would have given up by now.

Mark Talmo
FISHING IS NOT AN ESCAPE FROM LIFE BUT RATHER A DEEPER IMMERSION INTO IT!!! BUILDING YOUR OWN SIMPLY ENHANCES THE EXPERIENCE.

IMO there are different ways of looking at performance. Performance in its purest sense, and performance based on how you feel about a certain object.

I love my truck. It performs the same whether it's dirty, or clean. But when it's clean and waxed all nice and shiny .... oh baby. I really love my truck then. And even though I know it isn't true, my pride in it's appearance has be feeling that it runs better.

Another example .... I built two rods that for all intents and purposes are the same. The differences between the two rods are that one has a gray metallic trim band on the wraps, and a full length carbon fiber rear grip, and the other has no trim bands on the wraps, and a split rear grip using EVA as the grip material. There is only 2/10ths of an oz difference in the weight of the rods. Both have the same reel on them, filled with the same 12# fluorocarbon line. I love the looks of both rods, but I like the looks of the rod with the trim bands and carbon fiber rear grip a little more. Guess which rod I have my primary bait rigged on? The one that I like the appearance of, just a little more.

Attitude goes a long way in fishing. If a pretty rod gives you more confidence, you're going to fish more effectively. I guess what I am saying is that style does not necessarily eliminate function, and function does not necessarily eliminate style. The two can co-exist if done right.

I have often wondered how much a butt wrap affects performance.
Say a ten inch but wrap on a 7 ft rod I don't think that a person could tell the difference to one with no butt wrap. Now guide wraps are a different animal. I always use the lightest guides practical for the rod and intended use. And only 5 turns of A thread away from the toe is my method of determining how long the guide wrap will be.

I find most builders who dislike rod art, are thsoe who are incapable of doing a really nice job on them. Just look at factory rods for what customer swat, customers will spend $500 on a high end factory rod hundreds at a time, but a custom rod that looks jus tlike it, with better components - will not sell for $100 less.