What is this rod?

[JRD]

I found a dark mahogany colored fiberglass rod.  Total length just short of 5'6"  There is an octagon section above the fore grip 13 - 14".  It's very very light, I would rate it around 4 - 8lb test.  Rewrapped but a good job and newer cork grips and a light duty double locking collar reel seat.  The cap is glued on so I can't expose the butt section.

Truline???  Im not into spinners but at $25 I figured I shouldn't walk away.

[Swami805]

Could be a truline, could also be a kencore. Whatever it is that looks like a sweet little rod for 25 beans.

[JRD]

I thought so too.  Is there a way to tell from the glass pattern?  Here is a close up.

[JRD]

If it matters the guides are not round they are oblong

[philaroman]

Phillipson?  if so, A STEAL!!!  ...ask here (spinner section; free to join):
http://fiberglassflyrodders.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=33&sid=89713fb6a09de453806d52161f9660bc

[Swami805]

Without a label or marking it's hard to know. Haven't seen enough kencore's to reconize the glass. The best clue will be at the butt but since it's been refinished they're may be nothing there. Bet it will fish nice!

[oc1]

The close-up of the blank in your second-to-last photo looks like a 1950's tobacco/travano rod.  You can see the fiberglass weave.  There were a bunch of companies making them including Phillipson, pre-browning Silaflex, Kennedy Fisher, pre-Garcia Conolon, California Tackle, St. Croix, Wright McGill and probably others.

The close-up of the lower hexagonal section looks like split bamboo.  I don't know if they could roll a hexagonal butt section with a round tapered tip because the hexagon wouldn't roll right and the glass would bunch up in the transitional area.  

My wild guess is that it is a home-made hybrid; half fiberglass and half bamboo.  Do you have a photo of the transitional area?  Or, is that at the stripper guide. The easiest way to do it would be to taper off the hexagonal ridges and shape the bamboo so it just fit inside the fiberglass tube for a female-over connection.  The joint could be hidden by the striper guide wrapping

I'd pay twenty-five bucks for that.  Someone put a lot of thought and work into it.
-steve

-steve

[Swami805]

It's not homemade, Truline made blanks like that for several years,so did Kencore as well as a few others. It was a thing for awhile. I have a few I still fish with. The ones I have are a little different color without the brown flecks in the glass. Truline colors change a little from time to time so it could be.

[JRD]

.  Do you have a photo of the transitional area?  Or, is that at the stripper guide. The easiest way to do it would be to taper off the hexagonal ridges and shape the bamboo so it just fit inside the fiberglass tube for a female-over connection.  The joint could be hidden by the striper guide wrapping

Steve you guessed it, the transition is under the stripper guide wrap.  What's throwing me off is the size and weight.  It's a very soft action until 2/3 of the way down the has a great back bone.  I always read about the big boy octagonal 8-10 footers and first thought this was a broken off tip but the octagonal is there and tips too soft to throw jigs that big with.

[philaroman]

unsuccessfully hunted for an affordable L/UL Kencore for a while -- never saw hexagonal
they got their premium glass from Japan -- Tenlew Magnaglas
oldest was a darker dull brown (maybe honey, too); later was bright orange (painted?)

[oc1]

Thank you for the education gentlemen.  This one popped up on ebay:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/VINTAGE-ST-CROIX-STUD-FISHING-ROD/123509965572?hash=item1cc1c48304:g:0zcAAOSw2bFb-o42:rk:3:pf:0
-steve

[gstours]

   Interesting??   Especially the mention of a tite caboose.   

[Cor]

To me it looks like a Sylaflex blank.   Those were very popular here during the 1960 to 90's, unbreakable!

[oc1]

Silaflex was rolling blanks about five years before St. Croix but by 1960 they were pretty much competing head to head.  By 1963 Silaflex had been bought out by Browning.  I could be wrong, but doubt that a Silaflex blank would end up with a St. Croix label on it.

Todd Larson has a book on Silaflex history from 1948 to 1963 that may be of interest.
-steve