I have been investigating blank design and have a question regarding the pros and cons of ferrule design for graphite rods. If I am using the terminology correctly, there seems to be majority of designs/ manufactureres that use a butt over tip ferrule design for graphite. Is there a reason why this seems so prevalent, and what if any are the perceived benefits of this over a tip over butt design. I believe that bamboo rods uses this approach, but not sure why graphite would use it also.

Hope the expereinced builders can hewlp claifiy this for me.

Thanks,

Joe,
The two major types of ferrule designs used by designers working in graphite and fiberglass are the tip over butt (sleeve) and the spigot ferrule. The tip over butt ferrule was first popularized by Jimmy Green at Fenwick, where it was commonly known as the Fenwick Feralite Ferrule. The major advantage of this new design was that it eliminated any of the flat spotting and excess weight caused by the older nickel silver ferrules and metal ferrules of the day. The spigot ferrule has been used by many popular designers over the years including J. kennedy Fisher, Scott, Lamiglas (on certain models) and several others.
The philosophy of those that use the spigot ferrule is that it allows the blank to flex in a more natural manner with less flat spotting than the tip over butt design does. The proponents of the tip over butt design counter this by arguing that in order for the spigot ferrule to eliminate flat spotting and allow the rod to flex more naturally the integrity of the ferrule must be comprimised by thin walls in the ferrule itself.
Kerry Burkheimer once told me in regards to spigot ferrules that "Once you get the wall thickness down to where the blank flexes properly, you have made the walls of the ferrule so thin that you have severly comprimised (especially on light line rods)the integrity of the rod....so you beef the walls back up to gain durability and now the blank doesn't flex right" It's a difficult situation to balance out.
Most blank designers have settled on the tip over butt design as the ferrule of choice because it offers the best of both worlds. Tip over butt designs are more difficult to do properly than the spigot ferrules are, but done correctly they eliminate most of the flat spotting without comprimising the structural integrity of the ferrule itself. It also allows for more wear and tear to take place without having to replace the spigot. As the male end wears, it simply slips a bit more into the female tip of the ferrule. I am sure if Ralph O'Quinn reads this he'll weigh in with his opinion. He has repaired more spigot ferrules than anyone I am sure!
I am not sure about the "butt over tip" design you are referring to. I have seen some cheaply made import rods that use design, but it is by no means a popular design among the quality domestic blank manufacturers. Perhaps you are referring to the spigot ferrule as a "butt over tip"?


Hope this helps,

Andy Dear
Lamar Reel Seats
www.lamarreelseats.com

The "tip-into-butt" ferrule design is the very poorest yet developed. It is cheap to build and implement and holds up reasonably well for the limited use intended. Over the long haul, nearly all of these types will fail, however, as any wear causes a smaller portion of the tip, to move further into a larger portion of the butt, resulting in play and eventual cracking of the butt portion of the ferrule. This invites more play and thus, more cracking. You can see where it leads.

There are also two types basic types of "tip-over-butt" ferrules, the standard ferralite type where the entire tip is the ferrule section, and those with a "belled" area at the female ferrule. The later is generally regarded as the better (but more expensive) type as it allows for overall smaller tip section diameters and all the resulting benefits that go along with such.
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Andy / Tom:

Thanks very much for the education on ferrule design.

As a further "test of my understanding" of what you have indicated, am I correct in my understanding that Winston LT would be an example of spigot ferrule design and Sage RPLXi would be an example of "bellied tip over butt" ferrule designs?

Yes, it was imported blanks that triggered my question of the butt over tip issue.

Thanks again.

I don't have either of those blanks or rods in front of me, but as best I can recall, yes, that would be a correct description of the ferrule designs they use.

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Hi,

I recently purchased a FS76 Feralite Fenwick Rod. Could you give me some insite on how old this is and how much it is worth.

Thanks, Julie