I am pretty much a minimalist also, but I have almost the opposite approach when preparing to build a rod. I start with a good blank that is suited to the rod I want to build. All of the blanks I have used are $100+ blanks including Batson RX7+, RX8+ and Pac Bay Custom series, although I have been lucky about finding them on sale. After that I use mostly mid grade components that match the look of the rod.

While components have some effect on the way the rod fishes, it is the blank that defines the action of the rod. I am just beginning to turn my own cork since it is getting so hard to find good preformed cork grips. As far as wraps, I usually use plain wraps or a minimum number of trim wraps. No feathers, fancy wraps, Elvis Presley inlays or fuzzy dice.