I have been building rods for a while now, and have built bamboo blanks from some of the best out there that sell blanks. I recenlty found another rod maker in Portland Oregon and placed an order with him for a couple of blanks, shortly followed up with an order for a version of Wes Jordans Original South Bend 290 taper.
That rodmaker is Dennis Stone, out of Portland Oregon, and I would have to say that you guys out there have a rising star on your hands with the work that I have seen from Dennis. Just absolultey stellar work. I don’t know who worked with him teaching him the fine art of bamboo rodmaking, but he is good, no question about it, and my hat is off to whomever it was that taught him his craft. And just think…PhotoJoe will be doing this stuff before long. My hat is tipped to you guys…and especially to Dennis.
Leo, You are right. Joe has the passion and he says he is concentrating on the finish. Its pretty cool for me as I can watch a builder from scratch. Ive seen what goes into making a teastick and my hat also is off. Talk about a labor of love.
Aw shucks :oops: Yup, I’m truly blessed to be living in a state with so many great rodmakers…Kiley, Thramer, Stone, Brooks, and of course, Whitehead. Hopefully someday I can meet the standard they’ve set for us. And there’s plenty more talented rodmakers out there that are just getting started too…today I got to watch one of them plane his first rod, in fact. It really is a great time to be getting into rodmaking- we’ve got access to the best materials, the best tools, and some of the most talented instructors/rodmakers ever.
Gents,
I have a friend who introduced me to bamboo rods and he’s an amateur builder too, having then only made 15 or so rods and now has doubled that, two years later.
His main praise around some rods and the builders of today revolves around a feeling that NOW is, or could very well be, the golden age that 'boo’s again will make themselves popular!
With as much free info around and the number of GOOD builders around today, how could he be wrong? It’s a wonderful medium, as are graphites and glass rods. To each his own.
We’ve really got it good these days, especially with this sharing on the internet!
Great poing Jeremy, and while I truly believe that some of the old masters of bamboo made some legendary rods that will always be duplicated because of what they were, I also believe that todays makers are picking up where the old masters left off and are taking bamboo rod making to a new level in both design and structural integrity. I can’t praise enough the rod makers like Kusse, Thramer, Boyd, Carpernter and so many dozens more with what they are doing with tapers and design. And while a lot of buyers complain of the hight prices of bamboo fly rods, I think it would be safe to say that most of these makers live modestly becuase for what is put into a bamboo flyrod in components and in labor certainly doesn’t get the compensation that their graphite counterparts do for their efforts.