I have 2 old carbon Normarks,one is a 14ft Kunan Normark the other is a Davis Tackle built 13ft Normark.I know they arent up there with the Titans and Avengers but I`d like a bit more info on them.I also have an old Tony Fordham 13ft carbon too if anyone has info on that.
Normark query.
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Mark Wintle
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They probably date from the early 80s. The Kunnan rods were much cheaper than standard Normarks of the time which is probably what the Davis Tackle rod is - does it have metal banded ferrules?
I`d say the Davis is a proper Normark.It has the metal bands on the ferrules and Roberts reel fittings,in fact the Fordham rod is identical and also has the metal bands and Roberts fittings.I have no use for them,what are they worth to the Normark collector?The Kunnan is mint and appears never to have been used,the Davis has been used but is spot on.
mikench
Well-known member
What is it about this make of rod? If they were that good wouldn't the company which made them still be in business? How can they be better than the latest rods?
Are they the piscatorial equivalent of a Morris 1000; quaint, rare, unusual, heartwarming but ultimately a car that cannot hold a candle to modern cars!
Are they the piscatorial equivalent of a Morris 1000; quaint, rare, unusual, heartwarming but ultimately a car that cannot hold a candle to modern cars!
S-Kippy
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Weren't the Kunnan rods [ or at least some of them] glass/carbon composites ? Normark's budget/entry level range ?
---------- Post added at 08:55 ---------- Previous post was at 08:50 ----------
What is it about this make of rod? If they were that good wouldn't the company which made them still be in business? How can they be better than the latest rods?
Are they the piscatorial equivalent of a Morris 1000; quaint, rare, unusual, heartwarming but ultimately a car that cannot hold a candle to modern cars!
Normarks were very good rods then and still perfectly useable today. I still have my Normark NMB-144 [ ?] 12' match rod which was my very first carbon rod. Maybe not as good as modern rods but not wildly out of its depth nowadays. If it was junk I'd have ditched it years ago.
mikench
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I am sure they were as where Morris 1000's!
barbelboi
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What is it about this make of rod? If they were that good wouldn't the company which made them still be in business? How can they be better than the latest rods?
Are they the piscatorial equivalent of a Morris 1000; quaint, rare, unusual, heartwarming but ultimately a car that cannot hold a candle to modern cars!
I believe that you would be hard pushed to name many, if any, current match rods that are noticeably better than the 2000 series from the end of the last century - I can't speak for the later Normarks as I have not used them therefore my opinion is irrelevant.
sam vimes
Well-known member
What is it about this make of rod? If they were that good wouldn't the company which made them still be in business? How can they be better than the latest rods?
Are they the piscatorial equivalent of a Morris 1000; quaint, rare, unusual, heartwarming but ultimately a car that cannot hold a candle to modern cars!
I'm not a long term Normark worshipper. However, I still know that you're barking up the wrong tree. There are plenty of older rods out there that are better than anything on offer now.
As to whether the company should still exist. The ownership of the brand has changed hands several times since the original owners sold it to form another enigmatic brand, Carbotec. Both Normark (in its first incarnation) and Carbotec sold very expensive rods that were never going to be huge sellers. Quality product at very high prices isn't necessarily the best business plan in the world, especially when coupled with limited availability and market visibility. Both Normark and Carbotec have strong followings and second hand prices are generally high. However, not all Normark branded rods are particularly well regarded, only certain models from specific time periods. The Normark brand still exists, but for reasons unknown, the current owner (Shimano Normark UK) has done little with the name.
I'd suggest that, with the decals removed, and assuming the Normark to have a screw winch reel fitting, you'd be unable to state that the Normark was an old rod when compared to any brand new equivalent. There are certain features of some Normarks that may even lead you to believe that it was the more modern rod.
mikench
Well-known member
I wasn't being pejorative as I know nothing about the marque. I do not have one and probably never will but if I ever see one on my rare visits to car boots/ vide greniers I might just take a punt if the price is right.
As previously said "nostalgia is not what it was" ! I always wanted a Jeep Renegade as a runabout but having tried one and driven many miles I was glad to give it back. The same view was taken with a Morgan, Merc SLK and an Alpha
Sud! And a BSA Airsporter!!!
As previously said "nostalgia is not what it was" ! I always wanted a Jeep Renegade as a runabout but having tried one and driven many miles I was glad to give it back. The same view was taken with a Morgan, Merc SLK and an Alpha
Sud!
And a BSA Airsporter!!!
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dorsetandchub
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I guess it boils down to whether you have the soul of the poet or the engineer.
I have a couple of Normarks which I will use now and again. I appreciate they may not hold sway against some modern rods but they are still a delight to use and often you'll find other anglers will stop and chat about them.
I also have a mid 1960s MG BGT, it has a free oil leak and the performance of a milk float against modern sports models but it often turns heads where, for example, a Masda MX 5, simply will not.
The next time you're passed on the motorway by something like a Norton Commando, a Vincent Black Shadow or an MGA and you're not moved, I'd suggest opening your engineer's soul and allowing a little bit of the poet in....
No manufacturer can market a product they know will lead the way thirty years later and in a world where technology moves at the speed it does, most new products are on the way down by the time they reach market. A sad conclusion but it can, surely, only get worse.
That said, I love owning new tackle and shopping, usually via ebay, for items that I grew up with fishing wise in the 1980s and 90s. They're often available at vastly reduced rates, too.
Yes, performance wise, they're often a little behind today's standards but if you put them in the hands of the guys on here, Binks, SKippy, Jerry, etc they'll still catch quality fish.
If you do get to own a Normark, don't impose your modern standards and beliefs on it. Just enjoy it for what it was and is.
Someone, I think it may have been Dryden, said "the past is a foreign country, they do things differently there". That's probably good advice for your Normarks because "differently" and "wrongly" are two very different (!) things...
I have a couple of Normarks which I will use now and again. I appreciate they may not hold sway against some modern rods but they are still a delight to use and often you'll find other anglers will stop and chat about them.
I also have a mid 1960s MG BGT, it has a free oil leak and the performance of a milk float against modern sports models but it often turns heads where, for example, a Masda MX 5, simply will not.
The next time you're passed on the motorway by something like a Norton Commando, a Vincent Black Shadow or an MGA and you're not moved, I'd suggest opening your engineer's soul and allowing a little bit of the poet in....
No manufacturer can market a product they know will lead the way thirty years later and in a world where technology moves at the speed it does, most new products are on the way down by the time they reach market. A sad conclusion but it can, surely, only get worse.
That said, I love owning new tackle and shopping, usually via ebay, for items that I grew up with fishing wise in the 1980s and 90s. They're often available at vastly reduced rates, too.
Yes, performance wise, they're often a little behind today's standards but if you put them in the hands of the guys on here, Binks, SKippy, Jerry, etc they'll still catch quality fish.
If you do get to own a Normark, don't impose your modern standards and beliefs on it. Just enjoy it for what it was and is.
Someone, I think it may have been Dryden, said "the past is a foreign country, they do things differently there". That's probably good advice for your Normarks because "differently" and "wrongly" are two very different (!) things...
mikench
Well-known member
I think I have both! I have had a Triumph Stag, MG Midget, Jaguar XJS and. Honda CB750. Loved them all ! I love old cars and indeed all older kit loved and used by others; I just do not want them myself!
I fully understand your point; I must be getting old! Must look at a Normark rod when the opportunity arises
I fully understand your point; I must be getting old! Must look at a Normark rod when the opportunity arises
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There's no doubt that the 2000 series and the first series of the mkII series normark float rods are as good as any of the rods in the shops today, imo they're still the best float rod that's been made to date and i'm certainly not being a romantic about them. At the end of the day a rods a rod (in this case a float rod) and the next best one to the normarks is the drennan acolyte float rods, again jmo folks!
mikench
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I'd like to think I was both I do admire older cars and bikes and have had a few and still do!
I will try and look out for a Normark when I go fishing . I think it was Proust who said " a remembrance of things past is not necessarily a remembrance of things as they were":wh
I do admire older cars and bikes and have had a few and still do!I will try and look out for a Normark when I go fishing . I think it was Proust who said " a remembrance of things past is not necessarily a remembrance of things as they were":wh
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Imo the best float rod available in the shops "today" is the drennan acolyte. After saying that and again jmo the team normark 2000 series and the first series of the normark MKII's are still the best float rods ever made, you just can't buy them new in the shops anymore.....unfortunatly!
I think Sam "stole" the last new mkII Titan on the planet only recently...... jammy sod lol.
I think Sam "stole" the last new mkII Titan on the planet only recently...... jammy sod lol.
Ray Daywalker Clarke
Well-known member
I have a Tony Fordham Quiver rod, great rod to use, and not out of it's depth with todays rods.
If you looking to sell, stick it on ebay, your soon know if its worth anything, or the rod you think it may or may not be.
Collectors will be ready to pay if its the real thing.
If you looking to sell, stick it on ebay, your soon know if its worth anything, or the rod you think it may or may not be.
Collectors will be ready to pay if its the real thing.
I have a 14 ft Drennan Acolyte, which is all it claims to be and I am delighted with it. I also have two 13ft Normark Avengers, which are 30 plus years old and fish like a dream. Who's to say what's good, bad or indifferent. It's all down to the user and his perspective . I would not swap any of mine. Pete.
My first carbon match rod was a Normark. I won't part with it.
I cannot remember what year I bought it but it was the first generation carbons.
I paid about a ton for it in Frames at West Hendon. That must be the equivalent of several hundreds now days.
It was a huge investment at the time.
I only bought a new 13 footer about 5 or 6 years ago because the ferrules had worn over the decades.
I have since found I could built up the worn joints to be serviceable again.
I cannot remember what year I bought it but it was the first generation carbons.
I paid about a ton for it in Frames at West Hendon. That must be the equivalent of several hundreds now days.
It was a huge investment at the time.
I only bought a new 13 footer about 5 or 6 years ago because the ferrules had worn over the decades.
I have since found I could built up the worn joints to be serviceable again.