Thomas Turner
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Jim Bruce & Ken Walker are a force to be reckoned with in the rod building industry.
Jim’s apprenticeship was under the demanding watchful eye of his father who ran B. James of London. Jim took over B. James, and by 1963 the cane market was giving way to fibreglass and the business transported itself to Cambridgeshire, when Jim met Ken so to speak.
Pioneers in the graphite rod development, we focus here on the Hexagraph rods they rolled themselves.
Quality and British handmade blanks were the order of the day against the surge from the Far East with their inferior quality rods. The Hexagraph range of rods address a common ongoing problem with tubular or round blank in that they went oval under stress. The hexagonal shape is stronger and eliminates the spine or final wrap edge of tubular rods. B&W have in effect replicated cane in graphite for the purist.
Lighter for the length than tubular rods, the Hexagraph rods were bought worldwide for all aspects of the sport. The Ray Walton Hexagraph No 1 Specialist rod is a dream machine to use. We recently purchased one at our Sportfish Valuation Day, but as soon as it was listed it was sold!
Ray spent his early days on the Hampshire Avon, joined the Barbel Catches club in 1983 and 1991 he formed the Barbel Study Group. Probably no one understands barbel fishing and rod requirements more than he.
In split cane colour, close whipped to replicate the James cane rods, you will not find a better looking rod. The action is mid to tip, the fittings are best quality and at the end of the production run these rods were heading towards shy of £1,000.
Like all things they fell from favour but are now back with a bang. Coarse & carp fishers in particular have latched onto these rods.
Expensive? Not really. When you consider a custom split cane barbel rod can cost £1500 or more and you may wait a year to get one. These split cane finish Hexagraph rods are lighter, offer carefree maintenance and are the pinnacle of British craftsmanship with an impeccable heritage. We have a few other hexagraphs available that we have recently purchased, click here to see our current stock!
The post Bruce & Walker Hexagraph the Ray Walton rod appeared first on Thomas Turner Fishing Antiques.
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Jim’s apprenticeship was under the demanding watchful eye of his father who ran B. James of London. Jim took over B. James, and by 1963 the cane market was giving way to fibreglass and the business transported itself to Cambridgeshire, when Jim met Ken so to speak.
Pioneers in the graphite rod development, we focus here on the Hexagraph rods they rolled themselves.
Quality and British handmade blanks were the order of the day against the surge from the Far East with their inferior quality rods. The Hexagraph range of rods address a common ongoing problem with tubular or round blank in that they went oval under stress. The hexagonal shape is stronger and eliminates the spine or final wrap edge of tubular rods. B&W have in effect replicated cane in graphite for the purist.
Lighter for the length than tubular rods, the Hexagraph rods were bought worldwide for all aspects of the sport. The Ray Walton Hexagraph No 1 Specialist rod is a dream machine to use. We recently purchased one at our Sportfish Valuation Day, but as soon as it was listed it was sold!
Ray spent his early days on the Hampshire Avon, joined the Barbel Catches club in 1983 and 1991 he formed the Barbel Study Group. Probably no one understands barbel fishing and rod requirements more than he.
In split cane colour, close whipped to replicate the James cane rods, you will not find a better looking rod. The action is mid to tip, the fittings are best quality and at the end of the production run these rods were heading towards shy of £1,000.
Like all things they fell from favour but are now back with a bang. Coarse & carp fishers in particular have latched onto these rods.
Expensive? Not really. When you consider a custom split cane barbel rod can cost £1500 or more and you may wait a year to get one. These split cane finish Hexagraph rods are lighter, offer carefree maintenance and are the pinnacle of British craftsmanship with an impeccable heritage. We have a few other hexagraphs available that we have recently purchased, click here to see our current stock!
The post Bruce & Walker Hexagraph the Ray Walton rod appeared first on Thomas Turner Fishing Antiques.
Continue reading...
