Rare Hardy Roach rod

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Paul F
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Rare Hardy Roach rod

Post by Paul F »

Just acquired another very old rare Hardy rod, and I am really pleased with it.

It is a "Perfection Roach" rod serial No 2243, which dates it to 1926 (91 yrs old)

It is 10.5 ft 2 piece all in original condition, it has the agate tip and butt ring, and the special wrap over bridge rings, it has a rather short 16" handle with fixed reel seat which was normal for the rods of the period, it also has the original rod bag.

It is not all good, now the bad things;
It has an extreamly fine tip, so it has proved and is 2.5" short, the wrap over bridge rings are corroded and will need replacing and these rings are rare as rocking horse doo doo, that said around 12 months ago a came across a set for my Hardy Nottingham rod, so they do come up, but does lightning strike twice!

The interesting thing is I have a 1960's MKII Roach Perfection, and they are completely different, this rod is heavier in the hand but much finer in the taper, I would guess this is a modified fly rod taper of the day.

Notice the rod was called Perfection Roach, and later rods were called Roach Perfection!

My plan is to keep it like it is, until I get lucky with some bridge rings, I will probally keep the tip as is too.

Here are some photo's

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Last edited by Paul F on Thu Jul 06, 2017 9:32 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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AshbyCut
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Re: Rare Hardy Roach rod

Post by AshbyCut »

What a splendid acquisition, Sir. Well done indeed. :Hat:
"Beside the water I discovered (or maybe rediscovered) the quiet. The sort of quiet that allows one to be woven into the tapestry of nature instead of merely standing next to it." Estaban.

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MGs
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Re: Rare Hardy Roach rod

Post by MGs »

A cracking find, rather jealous
Old car owners never die....they just rust away

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Crucian
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Re: Rare Hardy Roach rod

Post by Crucian »

Delightful Paul.

Paul D

Re: Rare Hardy Roach rod

Post by Paul D »

A lovely find Paul. :Hat:

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Wallys-Cast
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Re: Rare Hardy Roach rod

Post by Wallys-Cast »

Lovely old rod Paul, well done.
It's a bit fiddly but those rings will clean up with a bit of very fine wet and dry and if you blue them they look great. A couple of coats of varnish when the rod is done and they will last another lifetime or two..

Wal.

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Paul F
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Re: Rare Hardy Roach rod

Post by Paul F »

Wallys-Cast wrote: Fri Jul 07, 2017 9:28 am Lovely old rod Paul, well done.
It's a bit fiddly but those rings will clean up with a bit of very fine wet and dry and if you blue them they look great. A couple of coats of varnish when the rod is done and they will last another lifetime or two..

Wal.
Thanks for that Wal
I did wonder if they would clean up, I was going to take one off and see, so thanks I will try.

I do have 4 left over from my last project, I also have my eyes on an old fly rod with the same type.
Paul

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