Rogue rod blanks

[jurelometer]

30 bucks to ship a long one blank is not unreasonable nowadays, especially with zero profit on the blank.  When I checked, the shipping cost did not go up for three Rogue blanks. So after the first blank, the delivered price drops down to 25 ea.   No firsthand knowledge of the blanks though. It looks like some folks here like them. The rodbuilding sites discuss them. Buying half a dozen blanks around $30 ea delivered is a pretty good deal if you end  up liking them and they are not breakage prone.

The fly rod blanks caught my eye (not in a good way), as all were two piece.  Two piece in  9' fly rods has been out of style for decades.  Everything is pretty much four piece now with the occasional one piece for  a few Florida keys purists ( "Breaking news:  Florida man buys one piece fly rod" )

One other thing to consider:  Closeouts are the blanks that are remaining and possibly picked over, so there is a slightly greater chance of getting a blank that is not perfectly straight.   Often this is more of a cosmetic issue, but it can bother some folk.

Other than as a way to get in some practice, stripping down an existing rod is not really a preferred alternative  to a build from scratch in my mind.  Replacing guides is easy, but  the grips and seat are  where the important  customization occurs for my builds.   Much less work  to start from scratch. 

-J

[JasonGotaProblem]

The counter argument in favor of a rebuild is generally if you already really like the action of the blank, or have some sentimental attachment, or both. Also you can get a rod built on a decent blank for cheaper than you can get a decent blank it seems. Economies of scale, etc.

I still have one that i have no motivation to rebuild,.and still use very frequently. My star rods stellar light fast taper. I've seen $200 rods of a lesser quality than that $100 rod. It's built on spine, the line tracks the blank fairly accurately under load, and i see no line slap whatsoever on casting. It's great as is. No i don't work for them.