Cane rod refurbishment

[S-Kippy]

That is very interesting....and it does back up that it was a special order.The whippings are fine but its the lettering that looks particularly rushed.

The cane is also noticeably lighter than that lovely honey colour of a good James rod & doesn't have the flared handle.The build quality looks good to me but as I said I'm no expert.

I'll dig it out and see if I can post some photos.

Skippy

I've had a closer look at the link and it looks more like the "Oval Label" than any of the others in terms of fittings,colour etc though it is built cane throughout. I'm really intrigued now.

 

[Sean Meeghan]

By the way, I've put a line through the Constable rod and it's superb! Much softer tip than the Chapmans 550 and it feels a lot better balanced in the hand. About the same power in the butt as the Chapmans - methinks it will make a very nice barbel rod!

On Barton Court tomorrow so I will see how the 550 teamed up with a Speedia copes with a pike or two!

 

[S-Kippy]

Have a good day Sean...I used to love that place.

This thread inspired me to dig all my old cane rods out tonight.The Wizard [of which I was insanely proud ] does indeed look like it was whipped by the blind school and is very much more horrible than I remembered.The Kennet Perfection is still a lovely looking and well balanced rod...though a tad soft which to be fair they always were.Nice though...my favourite.The indeterminate model 9 ft Milwards fly rod is still as good as I thought it was and is long overdue an outing.

The big surprise to me though was my mystery James Special. Its is a very much better finished than I recall [I did say I was only an occasional user] and nothing like as rushed as I had described. It is also,of all of them,the best balanced in the hand and though steely in the middle/butt nothing like as fierce as I remembered. It is actually a very nice rod indeed and I must give it a proper test.Every indication is that it will make a very respectable barbel rod which is what I think it is supposed to be and what I intended to use it for when I first acquired it.

This has been quite an eye opener for me....though I am far from being a cane-aholic.

Dont half look nice though dont they? Especially teamed up with a nice wide drum Aerial or Hardy Altex.

Skippy