I received 2 blanks today, the C602 864-06. Neither is even close to straight for the last foot or 15". Honestly disappointed. I waited for these blanks, as they were the latest greatest. Not worth my time or effort to return, just disappointing. St Croix. God bless.

NFC does make really good blanks and most blanks aren’t going to be straight from any manufacturer. I’m sure if your blank is curved in such a way that it would affect performance that they will take care of you but I’m sure your blanks are fine. Have you put the blanks under a load yet?

Again, all blanks have a slight curve!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/23/2023 10:19AM by Al purvis.

Contact them, so they can help you. We can’t do anything about your problem. So, complaining here does no good.
Norm

I understand that perfection not an option, just surprised these passed quality control. I build for fun and friends. Not for my living. Just not what I expected. god bless.

What blanks did you order? I couldn’t find the model you listed at the NFC website or their catalog.
Norm

It's the SJ 703-1. He gave the pattern or SKU number.

I don't think I've ever had a straight blank. Nature of the beast. Tip up!

If they do not meet your expectations, then I would ask for a replacement or refund. SOP for a disgruntled consumer. I have had good customer service from NFC over the last year and the fly blanks I ordered were quite straight. Alex of NFC is often on this site, but I would not complain or argue here, I would calmly contact them and state your objections. I worked for 30 years for a consumer products company. The customer comes first, but I could not help them unless they contacted or alerted me in regard to their issue.

Don Eurillo Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I received 2 blanks today, the C602 864-06.
> Neither is even close to straight for the last
> foot or 15". Honestly disappointed. I waited for
> these blanks, as they were the latest greatest.
> Not worth my time or effort to return, just
> disappointing. St Croix. God bless.


Hey Don, I ordered a C6O2 steelhead rod and it was crooked as well at the tip. I talked with Kelsey, the blank manager at NFC. These are her exact words:

"If it is just crooked. It is sound to build on, the C602 line is nearly impossible to get perfectly straight because of the mix of materials. So if that is the only thing and you are ok building on it still, I would say go for it."

She was super helpful and I am going to build on the rod, and have perfect confidence in it, despite the bend. I have heard some builders prefer a crooked rod so they can put guides on the other side and have it perfectly balanced :)

I'm not worried at all about the bend any more, and I think the performance aspects of the blank outweigh any cosmetic faults. Hopefully this helps.

Roll the blank on a hard surface until the tip is at the highest point then put guides on top (casting) or on bottom (spinning). The weight of the guides will reduce the curve somewhat, maybe all of it.

I build on the spine for my personal builds but the spine is rarely the straightest axis. If I want the rod to look straight I build on the straightest axis.

As a consumer, would you accept a custom build on an obviously crooked blank and as a builder would you even offer it?

Those are always my thoughts when getting blanks that veer from the path.

Not that it helps your situation, but I just received my C602 703 a few weeks ago and it looked 'ok' to me.

That said, my blank is not laser straight. It has a few slight hitches as you look down it, but not noticeable to me at all when I have it in a fishing position. When I say 'slight' I mean you need to hold the blank up to your cheek and look down it against a light background to notice any movement in it.

What caught my attention the most was that the movement in the blank is more abrupt than other NFC blanks I've used. I would almost describe the bend as a 'crook', like a bend in a natural wood cane, as opposed to other blanks that are very smooth but have a slight rise to the tip one way or the other as you would roll it on a flat surface. If it makes sense, but my 703 is probably the straightest rod I've received from NFC from butt to tip, when I roll it the tip hardly moves, but it does has a 'crook' in it about 2 ft from the tip.

My blank isn't perfect but very close in my opinion. I never had any feelings of disappointment or thoughts of contacting on contacting NFC. Still pumped to built it out, but I'm glad I got it for the pre-order price. If I paid $250+ I would be on the phone. I mostly wish the blank was sanded smooth more than worrying about the bend honestly.