I've owned countless rods over the years and noticed the quality is cheap across the board in the finish quality. Heavily fished factory rods start to come apart a few years, and I was wondering about custom rods. How long do those 7 or 8 inch solid thread butt wraps last on a custom rod that was put together properly with high quality coatings.

I have many that are pushing 40 years of age and they're still fine.

Keep in mind that most commercially made rods are designed to last about 3 to 4 years. That is considered the lifetime of most fishing rods.

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Thanks.

The biggest problem I've seen with commercially made rods is in the very poor quality of the cork, which in time comes apart, and in the grip/reel seat epoxy failures. I think that cardboard is sometimes used for arbors, and not enough epoxy is used. I think others have seen their share, too, based on the many requests on forums for help in stabilizing a loose seat. Custom builders use better quality arbors and plenty of quality epoxy. Rods built as we build them should last generations if cared for properly.

My sturgeon rod's butt wrap was done in 1984, still looks nice as do all the other wraps and guides.

Agreed, i have a major name brand rod that has a cork grip peeling off. Quality is cheap, prices arent. Havent bought one off the rack since. Build quality to me is just different. I have and use heavily rods i built 10 yrs ago and look great.

I have off the rack rods that still look and function perfectly after two decades or more of use but they are much pricier off the rack models . Well over the $100.00 mark , the cork is very very good and it came with top of the line Alps guides at the time .

I have rods with diamond wraps that have been going strong for over 40 years. One of the advantages of an older rod is the finish that was used - it was typically Gudegbrod one part epoxy. if you have an old rod that has that epoxy, removing the thread and re-wrapping is very simple as that epoxy comes off very easily, much easier than a 2-part epoxy.