The definitive cane carp rod

[Greentura]

i have a very nice original 1956/7 mk4 which was my 1st wedding anniversary present from my wife so will never be sold on, also a broken one that had lost 3" from the top and instead of getting a new tip its owned had hack-sawed 3"off the cork butt loosing the button and fitting a rubber walking stick cap on it, that has been rebuilt as a stalking rod and has a test curve of just over 1 3/4lb, a nice rod but no transfer as that was scraped of when they fitted a screw down reel seat

On the subject of the Agutters rods, they are actualy built localy to me by Brian Norman, he has made several new top sections for me which are every bit as good as chapmans and original B James tips, but not Bob Southwell ones, but then what are..

his mk4 rods are complimented but one called 'the flying fox' a longer heavier built rod on the same taper as a mk4, a lovely rod and well balanced, i'd like to have a go of one outside of his workshop but so far i've just had a waggle with one, his son has cast a lead over 100yards with one and i think it's about as far as any cane rod could. proper craftsmanship at a fraction of a Barder rod :thumb:

[Peter Wilde]

May I respectfully suggest a small correction to the first post?

I have a kit-built Mk IV S/U which I made up in 1969. The rod kit came from J B Walker of Hythe, Kent and they also offered the Carp and Avon versions. I am pretty sure this firm was another maker that was authorised to market its rods as Richard Walker Mk IVs. Indeed their catalogue makes extensive use of RW's name and quotes a letter from him (I wanted to attach a copy of this catalogue page but the board software states it is too large an attachment, sadly).

Of course the RW name did not appear on the finished kit rods unless the assembler wrote it there; no transfers were provided with the kits.

[Beresford]

To go back to the original post I'm not convinced that Hardy's made their rod to Walker's original specification in spite of him being a consultant to them at the time. I'm fairly sure their rod is split cane throughout although they did follow Walker's later advice in doing away with the metal end and rubber button finishing the handle with plain cork.

St J.
To answer your question – yes the metal butt ring is true to the Hardy design. Those I've seen have been a completely round section metal ring.

These days don't all the makers use Walker's taper? In his original rods he used beech dowel for 18'' under the handle or at least that's what he tells Ingham to do in they Drop me a Line book. All of my MkIVs are split cane all through and I'd really like to try a rod that had a whole cane section under the handle to see what a difference it makes.

[Greentura]

May I respectfully suggest a small correction to the first post?

I have a kit-built Mk IV S/U which I made up in 1969. The rod kit came from J B Walker of Hythe, Kent and they also offered the Carp and Avon versions. I am pretty sure this firm was another maker that was authorised to market its rods as Richard Walker Mk IVs. Indeed their catalogue makes extensive use of RW's name and quotes a letter from him (I wanted to attach a copy of this catalogue page but the board software states it is too large an attachment, sadly).

Of course the RW name did not appear on the finished kit rods unless the assembler wrote it there; no transfers were provided with the kits.

just to confirm that Walker's of Hythe were the only rod makers Richard Walker licences to build Mk4 blanks, when they got the ok to do that the acquired a Llewelyn milling machine, now owned by Brian Norman (Norman Agutters) and had Bob Southwell come down and teach them how to cook and straighten the cane prior to milling, and a few other tricks. Geoff Walker was new to the trade then and learned from the best and worked the family shop until it closed in the 70's when he emigrated to Australia to be a painter and decorator. He's back and local to me and will be helping in my workshop and has the original paperwork from the deal with Richard Walker and Geoff's father. He's offered to show me, something I can't turn down. Walkers of Hythe, like Hardy, used Richard Walkers original tapers, as did Ted Oliver and Chapmans, most others used the version used by B James as they were quicker to mass produce, and as production went on the production became cheaper and had less of a quality feel to them. Many of the other makers by then were making specialist versions of the Mk4, the Redmire, the 4 carp and the 44 as well as the Chapmans Carp and 550 made in shorter sections with an alloy tube under the cork which gave a feel as good as the early B James ones but were built cheaper, still my favourite Mk4 type rod though and in deluxe form even better

[Harry H]

Last year I had the chance to have a waggle of a badged Walkers of Hythe MK4 it was a lovely looking rod in unmarked original condition whipped in black but unfortunately despite a generous offer there was a coming home with it. Not seen one before or since.

[Peter Wilde]

May I respectfully suggest a small correction to the first post?

Of course the RW name did not appear on the finished kit rods unless the assembler wrote it there; no transfers were provided with the kits.

just to confirm that Walker's of Hythe were the only rod makers Richard Walker licences to build Mk4 blanks, when they got the ok to do that the acquired a Llewelyn milling machine, now owned by Brian Norman (Norman Agutters) and had Bob Southwell come down and teach them how to cook and straighten the cane prior to milling, and a few other tricks. Geoff Walker was new to the trade then and learned from the best and worked the family shop until it closed in the 70's when he emigrated to Australia to be a painter and decorator. He's back and local to me and will be helping in my workshop and has the original paperwork from the deal with Richard Walker and Geoff's father. He's offered to show me, something I can't turn down. Walkers of Hythe, like Hardy, used Richard Walkers original tapers, as did Ted Oliver and Chapmans, most others used the version used by B James as they were quicker to mass produce, and as production went on the production became cheaper and had less of a quality feel to them. Many of the other makers by then were making specialist versions of the Mk4, the Redmire, the 4 carp and the 44 as well as the Chapmans Carp and 550 made in shorter sections with an alloy tube under the cork which gave a feel as good as the early B James ones but were built cheaper, still my favourite Mk4 type rod though and in deluxe form even better

Thanks, that's very interesting indeed. No wonder the JB Walker rods have a good reputation! Wish I'd bought their Mk IV Carp kit too ...

[Jeremy Croxall]

My Chapman 550 has "MKIV" written on it, does that mean the tapers will be the same as the Richard Walker MKIV?

[RBTraditional]

I have both a J B walker MK1v carp and Avon both restored by Dr Cane (Wal) and another Avon awaiting Wals TLC when I can finally find the time to get it off to him in the post. I rate them very highly, lovely light feel but with the power to land anything that I'm likely to encounter.

[Beresford]

My Chapman 550 has "MKIV" written on it, does that mean the tapers will be the same as the Richard Walker MKIV?

Chapman made the 550, the 550 De luxe and the MkIV. The first two are three piece rods with a detachable handle. They are the same taper but the De Luxe has agate tip and butt rings. The MkIV, if made to Walker's specification, is a two piece. So in all honestly I'm not sure. Is the rod in original condition or has it been restored?

[Santiago]

I have a lovely JB Walker carp kit MKIV that I restored a few years ago. I bought it off eBay in the bargain bucket section, because the seller though it had been made by someone called Mark Ray. He failed to see the IV next to the MARK. Still haven't figured out who Ray was! Most probably the chap that dressed the rod in 1956.