Hi,

I am pretty new here as a member but was looking to the forum as a guest. I have an H I hexi cane Davis rod in a pretty good condition. I just want to fish it. Looks as if all parts are there and are the real ones. Bindings are black and yellow. I have to re-wrap the ferrule windings and want to know what the correct colors are and where I can get the threads.
From my research I guess it was build betwenn 1931 and 1935, are there visible differences between the rods during this phase?

Arne

It sounds like you want an antique cane rod which looks original. If it is as old as you think I suspect it is quite vulnerable to breakage while casting or fishing, but I may be wrong. I would ask around before I did any casting with it, before or after restoration.

Arne,
According to one of the best sources for information on bamboo rod restoration, Michael Sinclair's book, the yellow is YLI silk 214 and the black is YLI silk BLK. Any of the sponsors to the left who handle Fish Hawk silk, should have these colors. The Davis is 1930s vintage. Good luck. Refinishing and fishing those old bamboo workhorses is a rewarding experience.

Hi,

Thank you very much for the Information, Jim. I see no delamination on the blank. The 90 yrs old varnish has lots of small cracks, but I guess this is normal, giving that it is a really old item. The bamboo itself shows no cracks, just a little kink in the top part, which I try to minimize by hanging the tip on a thread. Giving this excellent Overall condition and the fact this rod, no matter how old it is, is built for one single purpose, fishing, I will take the risk to fish it. I know that, even if i really like the rod, it is not a high price collectors item, but a mass product. Since the extra tip is missing, it is even on the lower end of vintage bamboo rods and not that interesting for collectors.

But Phils comment is important to me. Can anyone here report on damage on bamboo flyrods caused by fishing? And if so, is there a notable correlation to the rods condition (delamination).

Thanks guys, you really helped me.

Arne

HI again,

I've checked for the thread here in Germany and what I got is YLI 214 Daffodil yellow, is this the right one? Here i found the number #100/2 and this seems to be the size of the thread, because other colors have this numbers, too. Can you tell what the correct size of the thread would be?

Best

Arne

Arne,
Yes, YLI 214 is the correct yellow and #100 refers to the size of the thread and that would be the correct size as well. Use a good color preserver that works for silk to keep the yellow bright.

I have an old Montague bamboo rod that I fish with no problems at all, and it’s a lot of fun to use.
Norm

Arne,
I fish my Montague and HI rods a lot. With an old rod you never know how the rod was stored or how the rod was maintained over the years. The risk is always that the bamboo may be dried out and brittle. In all of the years that I have fished vintage bamboo, I have had one failure. I had a Montague Red Wing break at the mid section ferrule during a cast. Take your Davis on the water and enjoy it. At the end of the day, dry it thoroughly. As Norm said, they are a lot of fun to fish.

Jim