I collect pre 1960s Vintage Big Game Rods (not fiberglass) and Reels (not Penn or Ocean City) and always looking to buy or trade for more and end up wot duplicates- looking for HARDY, STEAD, KOVALOVSKY, COXE, TYCOON, SHAVER, KLEIN and other quality makers and just Heavy rods and reels, Zane Grey or Hemingway related. Let's share pics and intel - fixers also welcome thanks- Daniel Zirilli dzpop@icloud.com
Daniel you are in a very elite and specialized pool, and those look like a nice collection of rods and reels. And it strikes home with me - guys actually caught seriously big fish on gear like that (of course also reading the works of Zane Grey large tuna were a common occurrence in the early 1900's off Catalina). Between a fishing buddy and I we have one old bamboo rod and a "knucklebuster" Penn that I found and cleaned up, and our collective goal is to nail a yellowtail on that outfit. Glad to see such a nice collection thanks for sharing! = john
Know little about big game rods, but if you're not fishing fiberglass (and pre-1960 would also exclude graphite), you must be fishing steel and/or bamboo?
Frank
Nice looking Rods Dan !!!! There getting harder to find in original condition and EXPENSIVE !!! Goog Luck ! John Taylor
Those are fantastic examples! I didn't need to see all that...I'm in enough "trouble" with reels. Thank you for saving these from the bone pile.
Quote from: happyhooker on November 13, 2022, 03:24:57 PMKnow little about big game rods, but if you're not fishing fiberglass (and pre-1960 would also exclude graphite), you must be fishing steel and/or bamboo?
Frank
Clearly Daniel is far more knowledgeable in this field than I, but my understanding is that some of those vintage rods were made of hardwoods (for seem reason I want to say hickory) with replaceable/interchangeable tip sections. Also I want to say there are folks that have shared photos of vintage big game rods on this site (I don't see anything like this in Daniel's photo, but again, I am speaking from "the cheap seats") where the rods were wrapped with guides that were 180 degrees opposed, so that when the rod took a bend or a set after a big fish or battle you would flip it over and get additional life out of it. - john
Where is oldmanjoe when you need him?
Lovely rods and beautiful pictures. More please 8)
Indeed, in pre-fibreglass days rods were made of wood as well as bamboo. The woods used depended on where in the world you were. There were various tropical hardwoods used in New Zealand and Australia (if I remember from books by Peter Goadby) as well as hickory, which was more USA I believe.
Hardy Bros. (and others in the UK) generally seemed to use bamboo, sometimes with a steel centre. I'm surprised that yew seems not to have been in use given its popularity for longbows which have a similar requirement for bend and recovery. But perhaps someone knows of yew fishing rods...
I have seen diagrams for rods made from various woods laminated into cross-sectional shapes other than round of hexagonal. All very curious.
Tycoon had square bamboo's, and Nat Uslan of upstate NY, then later moving to N. Miami built high quality pentagram (5 sided) bamboo fly rods. It's been reported that George Pomeravero hung out at Nat's Miami shop as a kid.
Quote from: Cuttyhunker on November 15, 2022, 10:13:47 PMTycoon had square bamboo's, and Nat Uslan of upstate NY, then later moving to N. Miami built high quality pentagram (5 sided) bamboo fly rods. It's been reported that George Pomeravero hung out at Nat's Miami shop as a kid.
Cuttyhunk, just curious, have you actually seen any square Tycoon rods? Curious about their strength.
https://antiquefishingreels.com/vintage-rods/tycoon-tackle/
Scroll down to salesman sample and click on the picture . The Miami , Keys and the Regal were squarish.
Quote from: Reeltyme on November 16, 2022, 12:59:57 AMQuote from: Cuttyhunker on November 15, 2022, 10:13:47 PMTycoon had square bamboo's, and Nat Uslan of upstate NY, then later moving to N. Miami built high quality pentagram (5 sided) bamboo fly rods. It's been reported that George Pomeravero hung out at Nat's Miami shop as a kid.
Cuttyhunk, just curious, have you actually seen any square Tycoon rods? Curious about their strength.
Randy the Regal rods were square. I bought some stuff from an auction in Marblehead Mass a couple years ago and I picked up a beautiful Regal surf rod a friend of mine won. 100% square and a beautiful rod. See pics. The HRH rods with it are "boat" shaped John Taylor
IMG_0247.jpgIMG_0248.jpg
Wondering what the dimensions were like on a surf rod from the era, that's one category I hadn't considered.
Jason it's about 9' tall with detachable butt. The tip section is about 7'. Has one running guide and a tip.
I remember that there was a picture of a Fin Nor salesman's display board showing various rod cross-sections somewhere here on the site.
Was the need for a flat upper surface to the heavy-duty/big-game wooden rods driven by the fact that the guides didn't have curved feet? The guide support frames seem to be formed from flat metal strips.
Or it could be the other way rounds, of course, and the guides were made flat to fit the blanks.
Are these blanks easier to wrap than round ones? Are there different techniques that are necessary with square blanks?
I've never wrapped a square blank but done a fair amount of octagon and hexagon. They Bounce around some on the lathe ,gotta go slow. Can also wrap them with tape where the rollers are to round if off some which could work out ok on a square one
I do 98% of my wrapping in my lap watching tv on the couch . It does not make a difference round , octagon , square or d shape it`s all the same .. I hold the spool in my left hand and turn the stick with my right hand . I pack the threads with my right thumb nail as i go .
Quote from: oldmanjoe on December 02, 2022, 12:24:01 AMI pack the threads with my right thumb nail as i go .
That's how I was taught to do it. I inherited the technology of a 60's Netcraft kit from my grandfather. Human-powered analog rod wrapping. It came to me complete with my grandmother's clear nail polish.