Carbon Fibre Drag Washers

[Fisherman2]

Hey all,

I was cleaning up some old saragosas and I was wondering, what constitutes a used up CF drag washer?

I've noticed with some of the drag washers that they have somewhat of a "polished" finished aka, spots on the washers feel smoother than a new drag washer.

Curious to hear what you guys have to say!

[alantani]

in a pinch, i've reused some of the grungiest carbon fiber drags and they've worked just fine.  i held the blade of an old pocket knife at a 90 degree angle to the washer and scraped gently to "raise the grain," then slapped on a light coat of grease.  it worked fine. 

[Gfish]

Some of the used reels I've bought have the drag torqued down pretty tight. I think this might be the reason I see the "flattened" CF washers sometimes. It's reinforced my habit of loosening the drags when not fishing. I keep 'em for drag spacers, but maybe I'll try Allen's trick and ruff 'em up.

[alantani]

actually, that glazed look might be something else.  for the penn ht-100 drag washers, there were two types.  the first was the single sheet drag washer that was used in the jigmaster.  it's the type that is flexible. 

the second type was the "3-layer" washer with a fiberglass core and thin carbon fiber sheets on either side.  this was the type used in the 4/0 1134h senator.  they used a resin of some sort.  well, at first, i think they used too much resin and it would squeeze up into the woven carbon fiber, leaving that "glazed" look.  then they finally started using less.  now the "look" of this three layer washer is the same as the single layer washer. 

or the glaze could just be salt and corrosion....   

[JasonGotaProblem]

I have some sheets of this 3 layer CF material. Whenever I cut it with a hollow punch it seems to begin unraveling at the edges, it's bothersome enough that I've never actually used it. Is there some glue or something that should be used to hold them together after cutting?

[Rancanfish]

I noticed that too when I cut mine. But what's it going to do, create drag lol?  Trim them and run them, I've never had a problem.

[Fisherman2]

Is there much of a variance with the official fishing brand CF washers compared to smoothdrag ones?

I've noticed this with my 8000 Gosas namely, they feel somewhat more brittle?

- Charlie

[ReelClean]

Many of the early Shimano "carbon" washers were just that: carbon without any perceptible weave.  These are just like carbon wafers, different stuff to carbontex and it's imitators.

cheers
Steve

[Fisherman2]

A

Many of the early Shimano "carbon" washers were just that: carbon without any perceptible weave.  These are just like carbon wafers, different stuff to carbontex and it's imitators.

cheers
Steve

Ah that makes a lot more sense, I see what you mean now.

- charlie

[Keta]

Dartanium was a bad choice for drag material, Dartanium II is CF.

[JasonGotaProblem]

Dartanium was a bad choice for drag material, Dartanium II is CF.

Is that the yellow/orange drag material i replaced in my calcutta?

[Keta]

No, dark grey brittle slick material.

[boon]

Is that the yellow/orange drag material i replaced in my calcutta?

That's Shimano's canvas washers, commonly found in things like TLDs and Charter Specials. Honestly they seem to go OK as long as they're clean, lightly greased, and haven't gotten really hot.

[OhReely]

When I service the drag stack I clean everything with isopropyl alcohol, including any cf washers. It seems to give them a fresh look. Grease everything with Cal's, good to go. I agree with Rancanfish trim the threads if you don't like the look. I see that on new HT100 washers frequently but it's never been a problem.