Anybody ever try these Carbon Fiber Drag Washers?

Started by SteveL, January 04, 2021, 09:11:39 PM

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philaroman

plenty companies over-emphasize that they're US-based (Corporate) & obfuscate the fact that all their manufacturing is outsourced (Boca, Lew's)...  but, at least, those usually have good, prompt CS

foakes

We buy a lot of stuff that ends up coming from China or Asia.

However, it is only if an American company is offering — so that returns are easy, if necessary.

We check the ratings.  Get a good feel for the company.

Our first choice is mostly always local.  4 out of 5 times — that does not work.  It is a waste of time, effort, & gas.

Then we try Amazon — once we find what we want, we then go straight to the company that Amazon is sourcing from.  Often (most times) the manufacturer of the product or the US distributor will have a price that is 10% to 15% below Amazon — even when the free shipping is considered.

We prefer to buy from American companies — but we also realize that many products are not manufactured in the US, anymore.  That is OK — as long as the firm is rated well, been in business for awhile, stands behind their sale with good service, and no drama.

Plus, we do not want to put our card out there — except with a reputable firm that has careful & safe privacy procedures.

Good service case in point —

10 days ago, I wanted to buy a upland game sweater vest from LL Bean.  $99, on sale for $79.  Went online to order it — but my size, Large, was not available in the dark Navy Blue I wanted.

Little icon at the lower right of the screen said — check retail stores.

So I did — we are in California, LL Bean is in Maine. (2) stores showed (1) each in stock.

I called Bean's customer service — while I waited, they called each store & got hold of someone in that department — while I waited on the phone!  The store in Connecticut did not have it.  The store in Boston's Back Bay had one left.  They turned me over to the person in that department who had it in their hands — the last one in the US.  She took my information — charged me $59 + tax + free shipping (it was on sale even further at their retail store).

Arrived (7) days later.  Excellent quality, lifetime guarantee, made in China.

Bought a new Pendleton wool shirt a year ago from the Pendleton factory outlet in Monterey.  Made in Mexico — but with wool material from the US plant up in Pendleton, Oregon.  It was on sale for $130.  If it was manufactured in the US — the price would be double — and it would not be available — since no one would buy it for $260 — except yuppies.  That is just the way things are nowadays.

As for drag material, IMO, it is a 50/50 crap shoot.  For me, I would find a solid US company — and even if it is imported — buy it from them, providing there are quality ratings and guarantees — even if it is a few bucks more.

What are we talking about?  $10 - $15 more per sheet?  Heck, I spend $60 to fill up my truck — and don't have as much to show for it as good drags in my reels.

The last thing, will the next order be the same quality — or less?  Will it even be available?  Will the company even be around?  So, predicable results — the next time I order, or recommend the firm to a friend — are important also, at least to me.

That is why I like to deal with US, well established firms — whenever possible — even if the item is imported (especially).

Best, Fred







The Official, Un-Authorized Service and Restoration Center for quality vintage spinning reels.

D-A-M Quick, Penn, Mitchell, and ABU/Zebco Cardinals

--------

The first rule of fishing is to fish where the fish are. The second rule of fishing is to never forget the first rule.

"Enjoy the little things in Life — For someday, you may look back — and realize that they were the big things"
                                                     Fred O.

steelfish

#17
I dont have an aswer for those specific carbon fiber drag washer you are asking but I was on the same boat of looking for CF sheets to cut some myself, not really looking for saving money cutting by my own CF washer but to cut some not so popular sizes on reels that only need one or two drag washers, as old baitcasting reels or spinning reels, so, after researching some opinions on CF sheets found out that some guys were happy with a guy from ebay but some hate it the quality, others liked the SF sheets from some vendor on australia but same deal few guys (here and other sites didnt liked the quality of the CF), also saw that few reel repairs websites offer CF sheets too but I dont know the quality on them, so I better stopped there and recall that Dawn from Smoothdrag also sells CF sheets in the regular thickness 0.7mm, 1.00 and 1.2mm or something, maybe no as cheap as the Ebay guy or the other sellers, but not my plan to compromise the performance of a $300 dlls reel just to save $5 dlls on a CF kit specially if its a reel from a customer that covers the cost with no problem.

with the great CS from smoothdrag all these years I ordered few weeks ago some CF sheets from Dawn on 0.7mm and 1.00mm just for those special cuts, for complete CF kits as 113h, trinidad reels, etc, etc I will continue to order them from Dawn and dont deal with that pesky CF dust that I will get if I plan to cut my owns on every reel I service, specially becuase I dont have a proper mancave or reelrepair shop.
the CF sheets from Dawn are the same she use on the drag washers sets she sell so, no worries on my side about quality



Quote from: Gfish on January 05, 2021, 01:30:08 AM
No advice either way. But if you (or someone else)try it let us know. I'm lookin for some sheets and they have 0.6 and 1.0 mm.

amigo Gregg, if you dont want to "pay the price" and "hoping for the best" when ordering from a new-to know vendor, I think you better off contacting Dawn from smoothdrag and check if she have you desired CF sheet thickness you already know the quality is there and CS at the finest.


The Baja Guy

foakes

The Official, Un-Authorized Service and Restoration Center for quality vintage spinning reels.

D-A-M Quick, Penn, Mitchell, and ABU/Zebco Cardinals

--------

The first rule of fishing is to fish where the fish are. The second rule of fishing is to never forget the first rule.

"Enjoy the little things in Life — For someday, you may look back — and realize that they were the big things"
                                                     Fred O.

Gfish

Fishing tackle is an art form and all fish caught on the right tackle are"Gfish"!

Rancanfish

Exact same situation I ran into buying Whaler parts from what I thought was a USA company.  I made the mistake of googling him after I already paid.  All the feedback was negative (like 50 transactions), reporting delivery delays, wrong merchandise, etc.  And no response to emails and an answering machine that was full so you couldn't leave a message.  PayPal refunded me when they didn't respond.  Now I check every site.
I woke today and suddenly nothing happened.

Midway Tommy

Love those open face spinning reels! (Especially ABU & ABU/Zebco Cardinals)

Tommy D (ORCA), NE



Favorite Activity? ............... In our boat fishing
RELAXING w/ MY BEST FRIEND (My wife Bonnie)

alantani

send me an email at alantani@yahoo.com for questions!

SteveL

Quote from: alantani on February 14, 2021, 02:25:17 AM
the source.  https://www.avcarb.com/commercial-fishing/

I understand from people who have tried (in bulk) that it is not easy to obtain the cf sheet from them.

The discussion of the chinese company has gone on a bit of tangent.  The only value I see in what they offer is the custom sizes cut in small (or large)  batches with fairly quick turn around (about 3 weeks last I checked).  I haven't seen a US based supplier offer the same.







alantani

smoothdrag.com.  i believe that dawn and smoothdrag gets her carbon fiber from ballard/avcarb, so it's domestic, not imported. 
send me an email at alantani@yahoo.com for questions!

SteveL

Quote from: alantani on February 14, 2021, 04:09:52 AM
smoothdrag.com.  i believe that dawn and smoothdrag gets her carbon fiber from ballard/avcarb, so it's domestic, not imported. 

That is fine for ordering a sheet, but for a US vendor to do custom cut to order, they would essentially be trying to buy in bulk from a competitor.

Robert Janssen

#26
Quote from: SteveL
I understand from people who have tried (in bulk) that it is not easy to obtain the cf sheet from them.

No... They are a big company, dealing strictly B2B. Used to, and maybe still do, have a sizeable minimum order. They just don't have time for onesy-twosey customers.

 .

SteveL

Quote from: Robert Janssen on February 14, 2021, 05:56:51 AM
Quote from: SteveL
I understand from people who have tried (in bulk) that it is not easy to obtain the cf sheet from them.

No... They are a big company, dealing strictly B2B. Used to, and maybe still do, have a sizeable minimum order. They just don't have time for onesy-twosey customers.

 .

Bulk orders were attempted but apparently went no where.

Brewcrafter

"Bulk" is kind of a relative term - run into it in my industry all the time.  Suppliers on some products are cool with selling "bulk" by the pallet, but for others (the farther you get up the food chain and closer to the actual source) the term "bulk" may mean container loads.
And if anyone has trouble sleeping at night like me - I recommend the "Planet Money" podcast, particularly a series called "The Planet Money T-shirt".  It started at a cotton farm in Texas - and the supply chain was fascinating.  In the end it was not what you could call "American Made".
Fred has a very wise perspective.  The point of "Made in XYZ" is in fact, probably far less important than the reality of "Know Who You are Dealing With". - john 

Newell Nut

I think Dawn is the best bet for buying washers and sheets. Always good quality.

For those trying to buy all American it is difficult. The guy that installed my Fridgidare microwave told me all of the processers are made in China for everyone. The guy at Lowes told me two European companies make all the glass stove tops. GE Apliances was sold to a Chinese company and still carries the GE brand name.

Dwight