I got a couple rod blanks on the super cheap. Including a 9' carbon tape/graphite composite that I love the action on. Well it was super grimy so I was cleaning it with alcohol to see how much was scratches and how much was grime. Well on a downward stroke I got this splinter embedded so far into my hand I could barely grab the back of it. Almost an inch.
I was doing some test bends it seemed fine. Does this mean the blank is trash?
Tried to imagine what that felt like and quickly gave-up. OUCH!!!!
Don't know enough about rods to say, but it don't sound good...
Do a close inspection with a magnifier to see if the splinter was part of the rod or something that got stuck to it. If the blank is dammaged I would not use it. It is odd to have a linier flaw, most are radial.
Carbon fiber splinters suck. Hopefully you got all of it, cause it ain't gonna break down like a wood splinter.
-J
First off OUCH!!! If you were rubbing with alcohol hopefully it's just something stuck in the finish that loosened up. Magnifer is a good call to see if you can find a flaw. Before wrapping it bend it and see if it brakes
You said cheap, My guess is un sanded blank . That splinter may be from the edge of the cut flag when it was rolled .
Ouch! I've done that before on old fiberglass rods that were stripped incorrectly by myself but the size of that monster. If it was going to a personal rod I would take my chances and wrap it but I'm sure others will have differing opinions. Like I said above, I've gouged some serious chunks of fiberglass out of a rod and still have and fish them. I think a lot of people are overly cautious, probably with good reasons but I fish some rods guys would never think of using. Maybe I just don't catch big enough fish :d
I'm stuck at ouch!!! Did you have another question?
I would inspect the blank as mentioned above. Do some stress flexing of the blank and see where that flaw may be located, under a guide perhaps? That usually is when I decide to scrap that blank or use it.
Found it. It's at the carbon/glass interface. It seems like a surface defect. I bent the rod way deeper than a fish likely would while also creating a non-favorable fulcrum. Didn't snap. I'll just put a guide over that spot.
I also held the splinter up to it to make sure there's not more in my finger. That was not a "surface" splinter it went deep. I couldn't see any of the shaft of it under my skin.
I lucked out that the shard was clean/soaked in alcohol at the time it entered or I bet I'd be looking at something worse. And thankfully I was thinking clearly enough to clean my reel work tweezers in that same alcohol before I went digging.
Every time I get a wood splinter it feels bigger that it is can you imagine getting shot with an arrow :o 1" is pretty big.Under a fingernail is probably my all time favorite place to get a splinter ???
Hope you got it all out, but if you didn't many times your body will reject foreign matter and push it out itself, it just takes some time.
Years ago I got a piece of steel embedded deep into my finger. My Doc tried to get it out but gave up because he was afraid he would cut a ligament or tendon. He said it would probably eventually be rejected and work it's way out. Low and behold six months later I was out in the middle of nowhere fishing in South Dakota on Lake Oahe 50 miles from the nearest town and that callused over lump on my finger was kind of tender. Took a closer look at it and could see a dark spot under the skin. Dug around on it with a knife and sure enough, that 3/8" long piece of metal had worked its way to the surface. Pulled it out, put some ointment and bandaid on it and it healed up just fine. 🙂
And sometimes shrapnel just moves randomly around inside you. I have a pea size piece that still pops up in odd places. One time a doctor tried to get it when it was in my hand but the jagged edge was caught in a tendon, Dr. pulled, finger bent. She gave up and said schedual a appointment with a pro. I just lived with it and it moved on.
When I was a kid my dad's hands would swell up from bits of shrapnel that would work their way out. Leftovers from being shot down a couple times.
I ordered parts to basically make this a surf casting conventional. Fuji KW guides starting with a size 20 with size 10 runners and tip, and a Size 24 DPSM seat. Mudhole has BC grey KW guides with oxide rings for cheaper than MN guides right now so this is gonna look fancy. Probably gonna do a split EVA grip. Not sure about colors yet or if I'll do any marbling.
Quote from: JasonGotaProblem on April 27, 2024, 04:02:06 PMI got a couple rod blanks on the super cheap. Including a 9' carbon tape/graphite composite that I love the action on. Well it was super grimy so I was cleaning it with alcohol to see how much was scratches and how much was grime. Well on a downward stroke I got this splinter embedded so far into my hand I could barely grab the back of it. Almost an inch.
On a scale of 1 to 10 - how much did it hurt? And how'd you pull it out? tweezers?
Quote from: pointbob on May 08, 2024, 04:51:24 PMOn a scale of 1 to 10 - how much did it hurt? And how'd you pull it out? tweezers?
I have nerve damage that my doctor described as "severe" and this is one of the rare times that it was beneficial. Because it still hurt a lot.
It had made the right turn and went deep instead of going between layers of skin. So the real pain was the next few days from the tendons or whatever tissue it damaged. For comparison: About 8 months ago I put a dirty 3/32" drill bit almost all the way thru my index finger. This splinter was way worse.
People talk about "blood, sweat, and tears" in a project. Well I already bled a lot for this one. Some of which was inadvertently applied to the surface. As I think about that, I think I wanna go with a red theme on this one.
Blood stains are hard to get rid of , so are you going to mix up some more to finish what you started >:D >:D >:D
Quote from: Lunker Larry on April 30, 2024, 02:09:19 AMWhen I was a kid my dad's hands would swell up from bits of shrapnel that would work their way out. Leftovers from being shot down a couple times.
I Salute your Father Larry.
It's men like him why we are the land of the free and home of the brave!