Fly Rod Handle

Your usual great attention to detail. Just enough special touches to be elegant without being gaudy. In a word "craftsmanship."

Quite simply another good reason why "Less is More". I sure hope this one will reside in the rod rack by the door when not on the water.

A classic work with fine details and great finish. I aggre with Bill, less well done is more.

Ist Class!

Really well done as usual, Tom. I really admire your fit and finish (and your photography, which is good enough to show it off).


Is that a blank painted white for instructional purposes ala Mel Krieger or an advance rendition of something else we can look forward to?

It's a CTS blank that Andy got me awhile back. I've always liked white blanks and never owned a white fly rod. Now I do. I still have to wrap and finish the rod out, and will do that in NCP white and metallic gold. Wraps will be simple white, with one single gold (wire) inlay.

Outstanding!!!!!! Bring that one to the ICRBE!!!!

Really like the seat on this Tom. I have thought about constructing a seat like this so now I know I got to get off my tail.

I've been doing them like this for maybe 20 years now. Try it. They work fine and have a different, unusual look to them.

Tom very nice work on the grip. I'm curious real stone, is that like crushed stone impregnated with resin? Other wise how did you turn the stone? Very nice work on the rod and it looks like it will make a great addition to your collection of rods.

I have access to a stone grinding machine. It's a very wet and somewhat messy process. I won't bother with it again. But there are rocks in your backyard that would make beautiful accessory pieces on your next rod. I wish there were an easier way to utilize them. There are also some acrylic materials out there that look almost like stone anyway, but this one, in person, has that authentic stone look that you won't quite get with any plastic material, even the "tru-stone" product. I'm going to "un-polish" this one, however, as I think I like the matte, natural stone appearance better.

Wow, Tom just awsome. What type of finish did you use on the grip?

Helmsman Spar Urethane.

Tom,I like your style and this is what I described as a "touch of Zen". By the way, I have experienced using NCP white on my guide wrap on a white CTS blank. I used 2 coats of CP and finish it with ThreadMaster. Unfortunately, the white on the guide wraps do not match the CTS white. Do you have a way to match the whites. http://www.rodbuilding.org/photopost/showphoto.php/photo/5376

I think if you use Permagloss, which I plan to do, the final "white" will be closer. I think. I'll have to be careful. The CTS white isn't as bright as the old Fenwick white, but I think that's because the CTS is painted over a dark graphite blank versus a light colored glass blank.