I hate silk.....

[kbproctor]

I rewrapped this rod 3 times. I tried regular CP, water based poly as CP, and Aero Gloss Clear as CP. None of them were 100%. Then I would finally get a smooth wrap and couldn't get the varnish on smooth. I can see that if I do many of these, I will need to build a dip tube. I definitely worked hard and not smart on this rod.

Anyway, it is an 8' 2/2 5w from Angler's Roost Enterprises, one of the basic ones. These blanks are not nearly as nice as their Presidential Series. No glue lines and the blanks are straight, but they just are not as nice.

I used a PacBay DL5 in nickel with a Tru-Stone Turquoise insert. The grip was done with Cottonwood Bark ends, a touch of green burl and turquoise craft foam accents. The agate stripper is the coffee color from Arcane. The REC Recoil guides are wrapped down with YLI #100 Turquoise silk. Did I mention that I hate silk? It did get a little better in the third rewrap, but I still hate it.

Silk sucks.

[texfly]

Very cool Kevin. I like the feather inlays.

[bobbyg]

You're not alone in detesting silk Kevin.
My friend Dave Male will not use it on his rods. Uses nylon and it looks great.
If a buyer insists he tells them to find another maker.

A funny story about Betty Malara of Bob's Tackle Shop in Denver back in the day.
Supposedly she was wrapping a rod with her customary cigarette hanging from her lips
when a customer asked her about silk windings........she supposedly replied, "Betty don't do silk!!!"

[kbproctor]

I like how nylon looks, too. All of the 'boo rebuilds I do are done with nylon. It matches the size and texture of the old wraps much better. I was thinking that #50 silk (size A) would have been much easier to use but this color was not available in the larger thread.

[Denny]

I on the other hand prefer silk. In fact I refuse to wrap any of my rods with anything but silk. I even use only silk for all of my fly tying.
I find I can match almost any color and shade using silk. http://www.roserushbrooke.com/yli-silk-thread-1.html YLO silk at $6.45 for 200 meters it is not a bad price. There is a bit of a learning curve to wrap with silk. I find after many years I can wrap more rapidly and obtain more perfect wraps with silk. Some like White bread, others prefer Wheat.
No customer could talk me into using anything but silk. If a buyer insists on nylon I tell them to find another maker. I only do high end restorations in Bamboo or custom bamboo, which are all done from scratch. A good dip tube set up is mandatory for me. I could not get the quality finish on a rod that I would approve of without dipping. Proper dipping is simple and I get the results desired, by myself and all of my customers.

The rod pictured above looks nice Kevin.

Denny

[Gandolf]

Kevin, the grip and reel seat is nothing short of awesome. Extremely nice.

Regards,

Gandolf

[Betty Hiner]

LOL!!! This Betty "don't do silk" either!!!!

Beautiful rod, Kevin!

[cross creek]

If only I could find a source for 00 nylon, like Gudebrod used to make and was used for decades by Winston, I'd never use silk again (maybe for tipping). I do like the way Permagloss makes silk wraps look (without CP). Not as dark and clear as varnish, but not as "flat" as CP.
CC

[kbproctor]

If only I could find a source for 00 nylon, like Gudebrod used to make and was used for decades by Winston, I'd never use silk again (maybe for tipping). I do like the way Permagloss makes silk wraps look (without CP). Not as dark and clear as varnish, but not as "flat" as CP.
CC

Try this. I'm going to. I am going to call Merrick Tackle Tuesday as well. They supposedly got a big shipment of Gudebrod in this past week just before Irene tried to put them out of business.

http://www.johnnyspond.com/gudebrod-...yr-spools.html

Here is another source. Fine beading thread is 00 nylon.

http://www.firemountaingems.com/shop...CORDNYMOBOBBIN

[sharps]

I'm with Denny on this one. I prefer silk. I'm not a builder however. I just restore an old bamboo rod every winter.

The rod is gorgeous kb!