Here is another way to look at it... I was over thinking this over lunch...

I showed a shotgun above painted up all pretty.

More than likely the person or people who made the shotgun look like a work of art were not on the "function" team of engineers who designed that shotgun for pure performance first and foremost. Once the function team of engineers were done with it, then other people had to make it look pretty to wind up like it looks now.

I seriously doubt if those making that shotgun look pretty were any where around the engineering team working on the gun's functioning performance. Two different mind sets. Two different creators to wind up with the finished product.

Now imagine if you will, rather than custom rods, let's imagine we have an entire industry for custom hammers. We now have Get Hammered outdoors and Hammerhole as materials sources.

And we now have an entire forum just like this one dedicated to custom hammer building.

Imagine that over time in custom hammer building that making hammers look pretty over took function. Hey Joe! Looky at my new custom hammer! I put a rattle snake head on it and now it looks really cool! And how about the crosshatch thread work on it? Man it is sure to hit some nails now!

I mean seriously this is what has happened to the custom rod industry. Art has overtaken it. There are entire classes on custom rod building that have nothing to do with building a functioning performance rod. Entire classes on how to apply snake skin and decals and feathers and crosshatch threading and pretty rainbow colored underwraps and on and on.

I am just trying to make a point here about the question the OP asked at the top of this thread: Form or Function?

And this is where we have come to in custom rod building today. Form is over taking function. Function is sliding down while art is moving up. Art is causing people to build rods that yes, they do catch fish, but are heavier because of the art, or desensitized because of all the snake skin, decals, and feathers drenched in slathered on epoxy. Performance or function is sliding down as art takes over is my whole point and I personally don't care to see this happen in the custom rod industry, but it is what it is and it is all sales driven. And since it is a harmless obsession then what the heck!

I'm just trying to get to the nuts and bolts of this issue at its core. I don't want to see art become more important than function, yet it has taken over this industry big time. Heck there are entire books published about nothing more than custom rod art. Forget function! Sell the art!

It is what it is.

I wonder if snake skin would look good on a hammer?

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I just remembered not long ago I bought a trolling motor from a guy rebuilding an old boat. He and his father had moved down to Florida from New York. The kid got into fishing and got into custom rod building. He showed me his first attempt at "custom rod building" a spinning rod he had learned all about online.

It has double footed guides from tip to handle because he read online how much stronger they were than single footed guides. He had underwraps on every one of them. And his guide thread wraps extended beyond the guide foot in both directions about half an inch. And he had a large crosshatch thread pattern on it under a ton of epoxy. And I think he even coated the entire rod.

So we sat down and discussed this very issue of form or function with performance priority. Today that kid is building rods geared more towards performance and less art. He learned about weight and sensitivity issues. But you see, when he got into custom rod building what was he taught first? What direction did this kid go in because of what he was being advised to do? He was doing what he thought custom rod building was all about- art. He did not know any better, but he does now.

And my point would be, when new people get into custom rod building should they also be taught custom rod building is all about the art while function and performance are NOT taught to them as earnestly?

I obviously prefer function over form, but it seems the industry is moving towards form over function if it makes materials companies millions of dollars. And teach our young custom rod building is primarily all about art so they buy into the sales game plan.



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 02/25/2021 08:40AM by Kent Griffith.

Lol!!

I've built a lavender/purple rod with purple spinning reel for grand dtr. Another one Torquiose/blue/fighting lady yellow for another grand dtr, and a red/white/blue with Defender reel for grandson, at his request. Pink and black for dtr n law, too. I'm having a blast building for the kids and girls.

Putting lipstick on a pig sells..lol.

I will add that these are all excellent casting rods. Painted rods from Rodgeeks and thread color of choice by the receiver were custom choices. They are eye catching and very fishable.

As Kent said to each their own . Good luck finding a builder who says his highly decorative rods are not extremely fishable , I have never heard a rod builder say " Yeah, I really overdid it and hate fishing it .

Constructing flashy rods for children is an entirely different thing to me , they're children and have to have specific colors that match because if they don't match it will not end well for the builder . It could get very ugly.

Rods built on function alone doesn't mean it has to be a bland unattractive rod , I just make sure to start my wraps right next to where the guide foot ends and I always use either size A or B thread never the rare C size thread or very popular D size. . I tend to like very bright and flashy thread colors and most of the time I add trim bands BUT the entire guide wraps are always exceedingly short so I can accomplish the task of having an attractive looking build but without adding any additional weight whatsoever.

I never use winding checks or add epoxy ramps of any kind and there is no thread art or stickers of any kind either. it's a very minimalist build , the only thing that reveals it's a custom build are the guide wrap colors since no factory in their right mind would ever choose the colors I do for fear of permanently blinding people and being sued into oblivion .

As Kent points out in his shotgun reference, the shotgun was first designed to perform. While the aesthetics team was disconnected from that, I guarantee the engineering team reviewed the effects of the aesthetic changes and would not allow changes to effect function and reliability. Using the same analogy, in the shooting world there are very few individuals that perform at a high enough level to notice the effects of the beautification. Just the same there are few shooters good enough to extract the

This is the exact approach I take on my builds. I will layout the core build and add preference items from there analyzing the effects of final performance. A lot of the people I have built for are not the type of fisherman who seek the last drop of performance. Most are amazed by the performance when compared to their $125 + retail rods. There are a few tournament guys that do seek that performance because they know the difference and are skilled enough to utilize it.

I mainly make freshwater rods and do not advertise cross wraps except between a split grip which is 7" give or take. It is usually just a double chevron. It adds weight but puts it in an area with a bit less performance impact. I have a build on a NEO that has a request for a 90's Seahawks colored cross wrap. I am putting it between the grips. I am going against my normal instincts and using swooped aluminum checks. It will look great and perform as the weight is added in an area that won't have a major impact in performance.

My shotgun analogy was to suggest that as to form and function those of us that fish and hunt/shoot skeet/trap etc will use different tools for the job. Those that duck hunt in the slop won't be taking their prized skeet/trap guns to risk scratching that gorgeous wood stock, one of the reasons they purchased the firearm. You can have form and function, or not.

double post



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/25/2021 05:44PM by Stan Vogel.

There are two trains of thought in rod building: one seeks the prettiest form, the other seeks the best function. These two objectives are not particularly compatible. The rod which casts best or is most sensitive or the lightest for example, can be objectively measured. Which rod has the prettiest embellishments can not be measured, only felt.

On the other hand, we all build rods that are suitable in hopes of being perfect for the chase. No one starts out to build an ugly fishing rod.