"[i]To clean the female portion of the ferrule (the one with the open end), use a Q-Tip saturated with plain rubbing alcohol. Rub the inside surface thoroughly, around the entire inside circumference, then use a clean swab to wipe off any dirt or old wax residue.
Clean the male portion of the ferrule with a soft cloth moistened with rubbing alcohol. Rub the male slide well to remove any dirt or old wax from the surface. Finish by drying the ferrule with a clean, soft cloth. After the alcohol has dried, apply a light coating of white candle wax to the entire surface of the male ferrule.[/i]"
Does everyone use the above method in cleaning their fly rods?
“applying a light coating of white candle wax to the entire surface of the male ferrule.”?
OR
would it be better to just clean with rubbing alcohol, without the candle wax?
You need to put something on the male part, be it candle wax or something specially formulated for the job - getting a stuck rod apart is not a fun job.
Several of my fly rods came with ferrule wax. The wax reduces the friction on the ends, reduces the likelihood of your fly rod coming apart as you fish with it (i.e., losing your rod tip if you fish with small flies, and it reduces the likelihood of the pieces getting stuck together when you try to take it apart. Also, loose ferrules can wear down the rod and cause it to break around the butt sleeve.
I never wax the ferrules and never have even though I fish salt well over 200 days a yr…never been a issue if that tells you how important it is…just another detail that really isnt important unless you are collecting rods for your grandchildren IMO…that being said I have fished with a guy that would just wipe the side of his nose or ear with his finger and that alone was enough “wax” to keep the ferrules in control…a good rod shouldnt have any ferrule issues…I have only 3 rods left that are 2 pc rods because I have began using 1pc rods and they are great
I disagree. Nose or ear oil should never be used on any ferrule especially the spigot metal ferrules on bamboo rods. Nose oil contains fatty acids and salt that will corrode metal, plus it contains fine dust particles. Rub the outside of your nose at the end of a day fishing, and see if it doesn’t feel gritty and is discolored on a tissue. It will gradually wear away even graphite ferrules.
Ferrules should be waxed. I think what you mean is that you have not had problems yet, and you may not. Rod companies recommend paraffin or candle wax because it provides a layer of protection for the ferrule surfaces and will fill in any irregularities in the seating of the ferrule.
Ferrules should be seated with a quarter twist that lines up the guides. Twist two sections of rod ferrules together without wax and you gradually wear away the surfaces.
The wax will also insure that the ferrules will come apart at the end of the day. Stuck ferrules are due to a vacuum which develops in the hollow sections of the rod. As the ambient temperature rises, the air trapped in the hollow section of the rod expands and creates air pressure that is suddenly released as we cast and flex the rod. When the ambient air temperature lowers, this air may not leak back into a rod section and you have a vapor lock that keeps the joints locked. Wax will allow you break that seal without breaking the rod.
Wax also helps to keep the joints from loosening during a cast. A loose joint can break either under the stress of casting or fighting a fish. Loose ferrules are one of the causes of “mysterious” fly rod breaks.
I didn’t use ferrule wax for quite a while. Then the butt and mid sections of my favorite three piece 7’9" for 3 wt stuck together and could not be separated.
Losing a great small stream rod ( it was out of production and could not be replaced ) due to ignorance is painful.
I use exactly the method described at the outset of the thread, with the exception of the wax mentioned. I use an Orvis product which is supplied with their rods.
I fish only bamboo rods anymore, except in the salt (rare for me).
They all have nickel silver ferrules.
As long as they join well when the rod is assembled, I do nothing. I do wipe the male down with a clean cloth after fishing.
If they are difficult to disengage, or join, I will clean the female as descibed above, being careful to not get any alcohol on the varnish.
After many, many hours astream, the joint may become a little loose, then and only then do I apply a very thin coat of beeswax to the male slide.
This will usually suffice for about a season. Then you have a couple of choices. Re-ferrule the rod or have the males electro-plated. If you do not, you’re inviting a lot of trouble.
Again, I’m talking bamboo with nickel silver ferrules.
Never twist the sections when joining nickel silver ferrules.
Using nose petroleum is a matter of choice, I guess. I don’t do it but you need to keep in mind that many, many thousands of fishermen did just that
over several decades. I don’t think it created a serious degradation of the slide if wiped cleaned when disengaged. Probably better not to, but…
Turn the can UPSIDE DOWN and spray it on the male side of the joint. This will spray liquid on the joint and as it evaporates, it will freeze the male side and it will contract. Then try to separate the joint. Frost will actually form on the male section when you use this method. If this does not work, then spray on the entire ferrule and try again.
This method will sometimes work even when the usual tricks like the two person pull or the knee joint pull will not.
I ask because if you still have it, would you be able to use a case that the butt and mid fit in as one piece along with the tip? Custom sock would be required i suppose.
The sections were not aligned when they stuck. If they had been, I would have kept the rod and continued to fish it.
I sent the rod back to the factory to see if they could salvage it. They couldn’t ( or didn’t ). They couldn’t replace the rod since it had been out of production for several years. They did send a replacement rod, but it was nowhere near as nice or nice-fishing a rod as the old model.
ok this is going to sound weird, but it was a piece of advice I was given when I first started fly fishing from a an old orvis store employee.
Before you put your rod together on the river, take your index finger and rub the side of your nose, or your forehead. Everyon’e skin has some form of oil accumulation on it. You probably won’t see it other than it makes your finger shiny. no rub the male end of your ferrule, and piece your rod together. I have been doing this ever since. The ONE time I didn’t My rod got stuck together, and ending up cracking the female end when I finally twisted the thing off.
I’ve given this advice to several other people, and none of them have had a problem with there ferrules sticking since doing this. :lol:
I keep seeing the rub the side of your nose on the ferrules - NO don’t do it.
It will put chemicals on the ferrules you don’t want. NONE of the major rod companies and NONE of the bamboo rod makers will advise you to do that.
NONE. It’s an old wives tale, and even less useful than an old wife. :lol:
Use the plain white candle or, plain soap like you get in the little bars at the hotels. We always carry a little votive candle in our kit bag for just that use.
My Old Wife is still pretty useful and if anyone tells her I called her old, I will claim you are a fisherman/woman and therefore lying.
I tried it on the little 'boo rod I redid as the butt to mid section ferrule was not behaving quite right. It didn’t want to go together very far and I was afraid to push it as I didn’t want it to stick. The candle wax worked great. Slid right together and had a nice “pop” when it came apart.
It reminded me of the uses of soap when Deanna mentioned it. A bar of soap can act as a lubricant and as a kind of glue at the same time. Coat the threads of a wood screw with soap or wax and it will run in easier and won’t back out unless you want it to.
