Although people will copy almost anything (e.g. look up the Chinese version of the Range Rover Evoque - called the Landwind) I wouldn't think so as they are totally unheard of. Within the trade you get to hear & see things eventually.
How much filler is acceptable on a £220 float rod?
- Thread starter kingf000
- Start date
kingf000
Well-known member
It was filler that had fallen out. Filler has a habit of doing that on the edge. Since then, and getting no response from the manufacturer, following helpful advice here I did contact the retailer, sending them the photos and they contacted the manufacturer. The manufacturer immediately accepted that the handle was sub-standard and sent the retailer a replacement, which I picked up from them as I realised on looking at the location, the shop was only a couple of miles off the road I use to visit my daughter. The handle is 4g lighter than the previous one but still contains quite a lot of filler, though no over-large areas of filler with bits of cork added. That said, comparing the handle with fly rod handles I've bought of various quality, even the new one looks more like a Grade A or AA cork handle than the supposedly industrial standard of Grade AAA.
For those who doubt my honesty, I've included a photo of the handle with the same 'gouged out' cork to show I've taken a photo of the same rod. The dirty colour on the handle is just what I got when catching fish out of a coloured river from muddy banks in winter.
mikench
Well-known member
If the above pic is of the replacement handle, I would reject it as unacceptable. I find it hard to beli3ve that Drennan would supply a replacement handle that at the top at least, is as bad as the substandard one it replaced.
The photo is of the original not new. Different light = different look of the cork.
Which is the correct chain of supply to follow
mikench
Well-known member
The cork looked a lot cleaner to me in the pic I referred to.
Keith M
Well-known member
It’s the same rod; only in the second picture it is pointing in the opposite direction and has been cleaned slightly.
Keith
Keith
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@Clive
Well-known member
It’s the same rod; only in the second picture it is pointing in the opposite direction and has been cleaned slightly.
Yep. He's cleaned the handle and is trying to cover his tracks regards the conflicting accounts he has previously given.
Yep. He's cleaned the handle and is trying to cover his tracks regards the conflicting accounts he has previously given.
steve2
Well-known member
Certainly looks like the first pic in reverse. At least it is 4grms lighter now it ss been cleaned
kingf000
Well-known member
The replacement handle was 4 g lighter, not the original one that I took the photos of. I haven't cleaned it, it is just that the dirt is mainly on the upper side of the handle. Do I need to photo the new handle to prove I have a second one? Crazy! Even then, by some, I'd be accuse of doing a "Princess of Wales".
I've put on here my experiences with this rod and that, in my opinion, the handle on the rod and the replacement butt section has much more filler in it than, presumably, when the first rods came out when they weighed the rods. Filler is around 4-5 times denser than cork, so it doesn't take much extra filler to put the weight up. I've done my best to alert you. You can either believe it or not. If it doesn't matter to you - it is all up to you.
One other thing to note is that, in the shop under the plastic, the handles look good but that is down to the colour of the filler closely matching the colour of the cork. You only see the filler well if you remove the plastic and wipe the handle with a wet cloth, as the filler then changes colour and you can see it better. Similarly applies when you use the rod: the cork changes colour with dirt and the filler doesn't so much.
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no-one in particular
Well-known member
I will check this out if ever I buy a new rod, having recently looked at how expensive corks are to buy (doing up an old rod with badly damaged cork handle) I can understand how manufactures might want to cut corners and expenses by using cheap fillers but not tell us about it. Useful info Kingf0000, one to tuck away for the future.
You might want to check your scales.....
seth49
Well-known member
When I made a rod up from a kit years ago, my mate the joiner showed me a good tip, which was to mix cork dust with PVA glue as a filler, worked a treat and it’s still there to this day.
kingf000
Well-known member
I've built a few fly rods with various qualities of cork grips, from £8 Grade A cork to £14 Grade AAA. That was good enough for me and I've never forked out the £20+ for Grade AAAA, or £40+ for flor grade. Based on that, and assuming wholesale prices in the Far East are much lower, it would only cost around £5 extra to put on a Grade AAA handle. Mind you, by the time it gets to us that £5 would translate to at least £25 in the retail price. Guidesnblanks sell a 'super grade' full length handle (500mm long) for £32.40, retail price + VAT.
no-one in particular
Well-known member
Still a lot of money, and only 2ft long, as it is not an expensive rod, two part whole cane with a split cane tip spliced in I don't want to spend a lot of money so, I am cheating today, bought some shrink tube for £4 off ebay, arrived this morning and going to cover it with that, not ideal but if I really like the rod I will then consider replacing with some nice cork but it is not a top notch rod, just something I think I might like using in the future.
I experimented first with a cheese grater, some old wine corks and filling the residue into the bigger gaps with super glue and then sanding down, not really happy with the result, finer dust might have been better as Seth suggested, anyway going to cover with shrink tube now, whip some rings on and see how it goes.
Still think you have made some good points about the filler, most of us would never think to look before, well, certainly not me so I will keep an eye out for it if I buy a new rod.
@Clive
Well-known member
He is factoring in the weight of the soap and water that he didn't use
seth49
Well-known member
I used the dust from a belt sander, which I used to shape the handle.
no-one in particular
Well-known member
Probably better than what I used Seth although it was OK-ish. I used the fine side of a cheese grater to rub the wine cork down, it produced a "fairly" fine grain that might be good for some repairs however, I have found you can buy bags of cork dust used for crafts I believe. If the situation occurs again I think it will be worth buying one of those as I don't have a belt sander. I did try producing some dust from rubbing the cork down sandpaper but this was hard work and produced little dust. Anyway, I am alright sorting my rod out now, it will be what it will be and should be ready for the June 16th for a bit of river fishing or if before on the canal.
It was just a cheap rod, been laying around for a couple of years, I am not sure what I paid for it, probably a few quid as part of a job lot in an auction and it is heavy-ish being two parts whole cane but I sort of like it. It will mainly be in rod rests laying on in slow water with a bit of bread on waiting for a 3lb roach where hopefully the tip will do its work . Happy days....