Can anyone tell me anything about split cane rods made by the Union Hardware Company?
I picked up a ‘project rod’ at a yard sale this weekend, 3 piece 8’-6", (5-6wt?) I has a plastic reel seat and uses nickel plated brass step down ferrules. The only markings on the rod are the words ‘Union Hardware Company, Torrington, Conn.’ stamped on the reel seat.
Just courious about what I bought for my $8. It’s workmanship and components are better quality than the cheapo Asian imports I’ve seen but it doesn’t have the fit and finish of a high end rod either.
It is believed that Union Hardware did not make their labelled rods.
They were all outsourced. There is a patent assigned to them for a reel seat though.
Many bamboo rod production companies sold them rods for the trade.
They seem to all have been labelled Union Hardware Torrington, CT.
Montagues seem to be the most prominent. Horrocks-Ibbotson, South Bend,
and Heddon also provided them bamboo rods.
There is even some belief that Granger (most probably Wright & McGill) and even the Edwards clan may have built some rods for them.
My guess (without pictures) is that your rod is either a Montague or H-I
in actuality.
Wow thank’s Bobbyg, that was just what I was hoping to learn.
I’ve already stripped the rod to the blank so I could measure it and try to figure out the taper. I didn’t take any ‘before’ photos. If it would help with identification I could post some photos of the reel seat and ferrules. Node spacing appears to be random if that helps any. The wraps were varnished silk (or synthetic?) in a monochromatic light yellow color, no tipping or spiral wrapping. It had an english style ‘loose ring’ hook keeper.
I need to make a new tip section for it. The original tip is missing 10" or so off the tip end and about 4" off the butt end. I’m hoping for enough info to find a similar matching taper in the hexrod database. So far I have found two rods that have similar mid and butt profiles. From what was left of the tip section it looks like an almost linear taper, but I’m not confident the surviving original tip is long enough for a good sample. I will comapare what I have measured to some Montague and H-I rods. Wright & McGill had a facility in the local area (Denver) so that might be a good bet as well.
Oddly enough I just ran across another Union Hardware rod today at the thrift store! It was a tubular steel model, but sadlly the tip was beyond repair.
Bristol, Union Hardware, and a lot others made the steel rods
Bristol is just the best known
I think Union Hardware is best known in the fly fishing world for their skeleton reels but they made other sporting equipment too
kengore
Your reel seat is not just plastic. It’s bakelite
If it were me, I’d restore it rather than replace