Old cane rod, doing up and identifying

Went into a junk shop and spotted a rod in a bag. Pulled out the first section and it was split cane “wow”. Second section the same and just as I was thinking the top section will be missing or broken, being a pessimist; a lady came up and said the top section doesn’t match the rest of the rod. She was right it was a solid glass fibre piece but, small mercies the ferrule fitted the rod perfectly. How much I said ---£5 she said. I pulled a face and offered £3. Got the rod. Not great but usable and I love split cane anyway. Sods law about the top section but, for £3 not bad.

Will do it up but what’s the best way to remove old varnish from split cane? I expect its sanding but, I am a bit heavy handed so, might damage the cane. Could paint stripper be used and/or would washing this of damage the bare cane with water?

The cork handle is dirty and may also have varnish on it. How would I clean this and again could paint stripper be used.

Not good quality cane, not a “Hardy” or anything like it but I am just curious as to the make.
I can just make out some of the letters “Cru—n” This could be wrong but, I cannot think of anything that might match. Might be “Oro—n” Underneath are the letters “----tu-e”.
Then there is part of a motif under that of a man smiling with a flat top trilby type fishing hat on. Quite small and may be part of a bigger motif.
Not important, just interested and someone may recognise this….thanks...

Hi Mark, sounds like you got a great buy and a good project all in one. I've never tried it myself but I plan to at some stage. During my research I found this link which gives some really good step by step instructions: Split Cane Rods

Good luck and let us know how you get on!

Nail-brush and warm soapy water for the handle, unless it's been varnished, in which case, hot water and burnishing with the HANDLE of a knife - the varnish will wrinkle, the cork only gives a little, and they gradually part company.

I've always scraped the varnish off the cane with the back of a table-knife, but I'm assured I should try nitromors, just keep an eye on it! The varnish should loosen long before the glue is attacked, and old-fashioned hide/bone glues probably aren't attacked by it anyway. A few old scouring sponges and lots of water should sort it.

I recognise the be-trilbyed angler, but can't put a name to the brand - might have been Marco, but one of the others will know.

One in particular is probably riddling off the day's maggots at this very moment.

Paint stripper, such as Nitromors can certainly be used, but it'll wreck any whippings too, so is only any good if you were doing a full strip-down.

Sanding is a little fraught as the dust coming off might be varnish, or it might be cane!

I tend to use a straight edged knife or scalpel and you soon realise when you have it at the right angle to scrape, but not cut. It's still possible to remove cane, though.

Everyone has a different idea about getting varnish off cork handles. I've used nitromors and I've used sandpaper and white spirit with good results.

If it is just dirty, and 60 years of dirt can look like varnish, I'd just go for white spirit and a lot of clean rag. Wipe it on and drag it off using a clean section of rag each time. This is so successful it's shocking!..and can leave the cork looking almost too new. A 'little' boiled linseed oil will age it again.


There are two makers that had a man in a triby. Marco ( Modern Arms Rod Company) had him on a gold oval. I can't think of the other maker at the moment.

Does yours look like this?.....



It's one I touched up on a Marco rod. You can just make out the bait bucket behind him.

This link will take you to a larger view. FM is stopping my mini-picture enlarging.....

Marcorodpartdone020.jpg picture by nobby478 - Photobucket

...such is his renown, they even let him use the shop computer!

(Why is there no "Tip o'the Hat" smiley? Something should be done forthwith!)

I completely stripped down a Sealey Octopus and used pain stripper to get rid of the varnish. If the rod is sound it will not harm the bonding of the cane. After that, use a cabinet scraper blade and if you sand paper it, do it lightly with a fine paper stuck to a piece of very flat wood, make sure you keep it flat on the cane. Cane is very, very hard to sand so any varnish will give first of all.

As for the cork - as mentioned above. Mind the remaining transfers too, I left mine completely even with the layers of varnish on top.

I spent months refurbishing it and now it holds up the sweet peas nicely in the garden.

If there is a lot of varnish over a transfer you can just flat some off with fine sandpaper mounted on a flat board as Jeff suggests, but it really is a stroke at a time. You can't put that transfer back together again if you nick it with the sandpaper!

One of the great things for touching up gold transfers is the gold pens that you can buy now. My wife gets mine for me somewhere in London, but I don't imagine they are too hard to find. Much easier than using a tiny paintbrush.

It's really bugging me now who the other manufacturer using a man in a hat was! I only discovered it the other day and I've forgotten already. Must be me age

A special thanks for all the advice. I will get on with this. It will be a complete re furbish as the whippings are all split/torn and there a couple of rings missing. Top ring had a ceramic insert but, thats chipped as well. So, plenty of work to get on with. Just been into the same junk shop and bought two old sections of split cane for 50p. The handles missing and the top section the cane has come apart at the tip which is broken by about a couple of inches. Aren't they always!, no ring. I am doing this in the libary as my computer has broken down so, will not know untill I get home if the ferrule fits into the other rod. Million to one chance I know but, the gods occasionaly smile on me..

Had a look at the picture Indifferent and it almost looks the same but not quite. Mind you the picture does have a gold backing the same. The trouble is that bits of this are missing also so, know bait bucket but, there could be. It is very simalar though but, my man has a broader slightly smiling face . . Hard to say but if you do remember the other one that would be worth looking at also but, don't lose any sleep over it. I will have another look at the lettering when I get home and see if Marco matches in any way...thanks. Will come back and let you know.

I used white spirit for the cork as indifferent crucian advised and he was right; it looks almost too new. I found pressing my thumbnail through the cloth speeded things up a bit.
Scraped some of the old varnish off as advised with a sharp knife which worked perfectly. I found doing it under a window so the light caughted bits of varnished I missed a help.

Now. the second rod I bought the female ferrule does not fit so I want to remove the female ferrule from the glass fiber top section and use it too replace the female ferrule on the split cane top section of the other rod. Whats the best way to do this? Apply heat? Would boiling water be enough? Or will I need more heat.
Secondly, the top 6 inches of this replacment is broken/missing which will spoil the action somewhat. It will be 11.5ft instead of 12ft. But it has also split and flayed out for 4 or 5 inches right at the tip. Can I glue this back together and will it be too weak? What glue should I use for this and the ferrule replacement? I suppose super glue is out of the question (I have loads of this) or should it be araldite?

Sorry for picking your brains with all the questions but, answers are very much appreciated.

Indifferent, I dont think your man in a hat is the right logo. The one on this rod is a full front face picture of a man with a type of scout hat with a black band round the base of the hat. He has a slight smile but, it was on a gold background. The image is only about half an inch across and there is some of the logo missing but, if you can help I would very much appreciate it, or anyone else for that matter...many thanks.

Just would like to say what an enjoyable thing to do, I know there is a debate on another thread about the merits of split cane and I can only endorse that. Theres something thats just so right about this material for a fishing rod. I wonder what mental processes someone had way back when to think to split a cane and glue it back together. Why would they think they would end up with anything different than just another piece of cane.

To remove a ferrule, first check carefully to see if the ferrule has been pinned (this would only have been done on the split cane section). This is a small brass pin that was used to secure the ferrule to the blank. They are ground flush with the surface so they are hard to see. If there is one use a centre punch (carefully) to drive the pin below the surface of the ferrule, then drill out the pin. The ferrule should then be heated using either a hot air gun or a gas flame until you see smoke coming out from underneath. Be careful not to overheat it or it might crack. Once the glue is smoking you should be able to pull off the ferrule, but it will likely be difficult to remove and you may need to use a vice or mole grips, protecting the surface with leather cut from a pair of rigger gloves.

If the cane sections which have delaminated are in good condition you should be able to re-glue them. A thin smear of araldite (the slow setting stuff) on each joint surface will be fine. Once glued, bind the sections together until the glue has set. Bind up and then down, taking care that you don't put a twist or a bend in the section.

Good luck!

Marco rods don't have the name Marco on them, just to make it harder! They often have the trade name of 'Elasticane' on them, though.

My transfer is touched up, ....I'll try and find a sound original.

rather than post on here how to re-glue de-laminated cane, why don't you have a search on the old pure Piscator site?...it's till up there for that very purpose.

Here's a Marco...the Medway....9 pictures down...



Information on some rods in Appraisals & Identification of Bamboo Fly Rods Forum


Here's a story of a rod rebuild from PP by some bloke called Nobby....( actually that's me)


I decided to see the funny side....... - General - PurePiscator



This is the glue that was recommended to him/me...


[ame=http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/200g-Cascamite-Extramite-Polymite-Wood-Adhesive-Glue-/390326387624?pt=UK_Crafts_Cardmaking_Scrapbooking_Glue_Tape_EH&hash=item5ae14403a8]200g Cascamite, Extramite, Polymite, Wood Adhesive Glue | eBay[/ame]



I'll try and remember the other rod maker that used a man and rod symbol...but don't hold your breathe

Sean--I do not think the ferules have a pin in them but, I will have a look carefull look when I get home. I think I will have a go at this as it looks so much better with a split cane top than the fibre glass section that came with the rod.

You know what Indifferent I think you may have nailed it. The letters “----tu-e”. on the rod could be part of Elasticane. The U could well be part of an I and a C. And the gap between the U and the E could be bigger than I have demonstrated. It is very obscure but, I think it could be a Marco. Perhaps the man in a hat motif is a slightly different version than the photo you provided but, maybe the company changed it slightly at some time. Anyway I will have a look through the links provided and thanks again to both of you for your excellent help. When I get it done I will try to put a photo on here.

When you go through the links you will see a large picture of an untouched-up Marco man...that should help decide. It made me realise that my touched up one was pretty naff actually.

Just had a look through the site and it is definately a Marco rod and the word is Elasticane. The tu is actually ti and part of the c which has partialy rubbed out. Looking through the site there is a picture of a marco Medway rod and this had a link to another picture of a Marco rod with a picture of a motif thats looks like mine. I think that has nailed it. Plus I just typed Marco rods on google and led to a antiques rod seller with my rod for sale at £145. It had exactly the same silver handle seating and silver reel rings so I think it could be the same type of rod..My rod will be less as it will be 5inches short of 12ft but, then I am going to keep this and fish with it with absolute pleasure... Thanks again

Finished the rod and went fishing with it and caught a 3lb chub. Played the fish beautifully but, The rod developed a bend just above 6ins above the ferrule in the top section. When I got home I noticed a 6 inch split there. A single split straight through split from one side to the other right down to the ferrule..I have a feeling the beginnings of this split were in place before I used it but, I missed it. The force of the chub just worsened it.
Now I dont know wether to just try to force some aradalte into the split or take the ferrule off and the first ring to open out the split so that I can get some glue right into it. Then replace the ferrule etc. Or should I give it up and just have the rod for decorative purposes?

I had a very similar experience with that Avolon I posted a link to the story about.

The chances of getting the glue where you need it are a bit slim without stripping the rod down.


If you do remove the ferrule have a seriously good look to check that it has no pin ....they nearly always do, but you never find them until you've already tried to pull the ferrule off!

Take your time removing the old glue with a scalpel blade as a scraper and you should be fine. It does seem a bit drastic, but what have you got to lose and next time, should there ever be one, you won't be worried by it at all.

When you replace the ferrule it is always the case for me that I never get them on straight again and I always have to heat the cane next to it to 'correct' the direction the cane goes off in before whipping up to the ferrule.

The ferrule did have a pin in the old glass fiber section oddly enough and I drilled this out. I havn't replaced the pin when I put it on the split cane.
Thanks for you tip about redirecting the direction of the section. It was a bit skewwiff so, I will correct that. I will strip it down a bit again as youre right and it will do a better job, Just didnt want to take the ferrule off again but, thats only because I get a bit nervous when doing this.