Who makes the rod blanks for most companies?

[Migs]

Who makes the rod blanks for most of the fly rod companies? It stands by analogy that if one fly line company (or three) make most of the fly the lines, maybe one company or very few make the blanks for the rods of the others.

So who makes the blanks and for whom?

Migs (...with a guilty grin)

[Rich Ward]

lowest bid??? in a lot of cases.

Rich

Maybe a more intresting questions would be who are the top three blank makers and of the major rod campanies who does not make their own blanks?


Pete

[Flytyer37]

Whilst serving in Korea, I went on a tour of fishing rod factories. Got to buy some factory seconds for pennies on the dollar (IM-6 11' 8wt, name brand with a paint blemish for 5 bucks).
I did find and buy one rod that proudly stated that it was "hand made in England."
There were about 5 factories in downtown Seoul that made a lot of the brand names.
Frank Reid

reassuring for the "buy american" crowd.

[caibill]

I also toured a rod manufacturing factory in Seoul in 1984, and in the room they called "the stencil room" was every well-know U.S. brand name stencil known to man and beast hanging on the wall. They were all there, and most said "Made in America." I ask how they could say that, and they replied that the guides were added in the U.S. So in my estimation, at that time, 90% of our rods were made in that factory. These of course were all fiberglass rods, so maybe now it's changed since graphite, but I doubt it. $$$$, you know...

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I fly fish the salt because the voices in my head tell me to...


[This message has been edited by caibill (edited 19 April 2005).]

[This message has been edited by caibill (edited 19 April 2005).]

You might get an answer to your question at rodbuilding.org.....I'd be curious to know the answer too.

[Migs]

As you all might imagine I was "fishing" with this question.

Maybe one of the forum members that is deeply connected to the industry might have shed some light.

Migs

[LadyFisher]

All Sage rods are made in WA on Bainbridge Island.

LL Bean, Cabelles (sp), Fly Logic make no rods, I don't believe Orvis makes any (other than cane, which they recently began making again). There are more of course.

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LadyFisher, Publisher of
FAOL

[WarrenP]

I think I read somewhere a long time ago that in order to put the label "Made in USA" on your product, you only needed to have made or assembled 25% of it here and the other 75% could be from overseas. Most "American" cars are assembled here but the dash instrument panel circuit boards etc. are made overseas.

Just something to think about on this subject

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Warren