A good friend of mine has asked me to build a spinning rod as a gift for his son who is graduating high school. He has seen the rods I have build and I keep my builds pretty basic. At most I may add a trim band but I am more about function over flash. He asked me to do something a little more decorative for his son since it is his graduation gift. The blank is natural with clear coat and he decided on a dark green for the guide wrap and gold for any trim bands. I really haven't messed with trying any decorative wraps, so I am looking for something simple, that looks pretty good, and isn't time consuming. I figured I would put this wrap before and after the decal that has his sons name and the year on it so its not going to be a real large area, maybe an inch before and after the decal.

TIA for any suggestions,
Jake

Chevrons are easy and quick to do. The average fisherman cannot really tell the difference in skill or time between a very elaborate closed wrap and an open chevron. From a price point basis the chevron is hard to beat and the customer is just as happy.

I am a newer builder and currently working on a spinning rod build for my nephew as a graduation gift. If your spinning rod is going to have split grip could do the simple dragon scale (with mesh tape as backing). I just finished the dragon scale and came out pretty nice. Just make sure to keep metallic thread packed nice and tight. Could also do that above grip maybe on either side of decal for a couple inches with solid color trim band to set it off.

Here is an article on simple dragon scale [mudhole.com]

Have fun with the build.

I don't do any geometric decorative wraps myself - I would think a chevron would be quick and easy. I much prefer the Throop/Tiger/Holo wraps. The time invested in one isn't bad at all - except you do have to account for more layers of finish than a standard wrap takes. You can lay down a base 2 color wrap in a few minutes, then put 2-3 coats of finish on it - then come back with the top wrap - 2-3 more coats of finish. A high school kid may appreciate the 'cool' factor of a holo wrap more than a chevron.....

Jake,
Adding a bit of bling to a rod build can be easy and quick or difficult and time-consuming = your choice. I personally do not really care for butt wraps and concentrate my thread bling to the actual guide wraps themselves. Trim bands, inlays and JTOBs add a subtle yet elegant pop and are quick and easy to do while color fades involve a bit more time and effort; all only require the simple knowledge and use of “Adding and Dropping Threads”. If you want a butt wrap type of embellishment that is quick and easy, consider Tom’s “Cheater Wraps” as explained in RodMaker magazine, V-24, I-6, P-12. The Cheater Wrap is basically pulling the core out of a nylon rope with color tracers, sliding onto the blank to the desired location, thread wrapping the ends and applying a few coats of thread epoxy. Can’t get much quicker or easier than that.

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

Have you done false underwraps? just a wrap between the guide legs, can be done in gold - centre trim band done in any contrasting colour that suits the green guide wraps, and then gold trims bands on the ends of the guide wraps.
Looks far better than just guide wraps.

Oh, you mean butt wrap

OK never mind