Olivers of Knebworth, but which model?

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Gurn
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Olivers of Knebworth, but which model?

Post by Gurn »

Hi all, I have purchased an absolute peach of a rod today. The moment I saw it, I had to have it. However, I am not 100% sure what I have, so perhaps someone out there can confirm my hunch.
I will try to post pics in the next day or so but for now here is the description.
Olivers of Knebworth 11ft 2 piece 9 rings in total, agate tip and butt, 24-25" cork handle, red button on butt, whipped in classic red tipped with orange, original logo'd bag, Olivers of Knebworth decal on rod butt section but no model name.
So, is it a Roach Perfection, it's a little bit pokier than my Hardy's, or could it be a special build....or something completely different? Do any of you guys have something similar?.Your opinions are welcomed. :Hat:

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Luga00
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Re: Olivers of Knebworth, but which model?

Post by Luga00 »

The Roach Perfection is the only 2pc 11ft Olivers coarse rod that has 9 rings (that I'm aware of). Most of the other rods have only 8.
Without actually seeing the rod I would say it's a very good chance that you have the Roach Perfection.
Hope this helps.
Russ

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Albert47
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Re: Olivers of Knebworth, but which model?

Post by Albert47 »

There is a possibility that the rod could be an Avon Perfection.The logo'd bag suggests it's an early Oliver's.Photo's will give us a better idea of what model the rod is. You can always ask Ted, he's still about.

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Gurn
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Re: Olivers of Knebworth, but which model?

Post by Gurn »

A few pics...

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Lea Dweller
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Re: Olivers of Knebworth, but which model?

Post by Lea Dweller »

Gurn wrote: Tue Mar 21, 2017 10:10 pm Hi all, I have purchased an absolute peach of a rod today. The moment I saw it, I had to have it. However, I am not 100% sure what I have, so perhaps someone out there can confirm my hunch.
I will try to post pics in the next day or so but for now here is the description.
Olivers of Knebworth 11ft 2 piece 9 rings in total, agate tip and butt, 24-25" cork handle, red button on butt, whipped in classic red tipped with orange, original logo'd bag, Olivers of Knebworth decal on rod butt section but no model name.
So, is it a Roach Perfection, it's a little bit pokier than my Hardy's, or could it be a special build....or something completely different? Do any of you guys have something similar?.Your opinions are welcomed. :Hat:
Hello Gurn, your rod looks great, but which model is more difficult to determine! I have an Oliver's two piece 12ft rod which has 10 rings , it also has bridge rings, rather than stand off. Mine has a "Special" sticker on it, positioned above the Guaranteed Hand Built Cane and Oliver's of Knebworth stickers. When I showed it to Ted Oliver, he looked at it and said it was a special order Roach Perfection rod, although it feels too powerful to be one to me! He said that the special rods could be made with whatever colour whippings or ring type or spacings the customer wanted, so I cannot disagree with the man himself. I always thought that Oliver's rods had no name on them, although I have seen several that did have a name, was the name added by someone else? I have also seen several "Olivers" rods that looked as if the transfers were not genuine, but that it is a can of worms that I will not open! Enjoy the rod as it looks fine to me, whatever model it is!

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Gurn
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Re: Olivers of Knebworth, but which model?

Post by Gurn »

A little bit of the rod's history.
It came from the estate of a Mr. Norman Pollard, a sadly departed ex customer of mine.
He was a lovely fellow and would often give me the right runaround in the shop with his banter and sharp wit.
He and his brother Bernard fished together well into old age and departed within a short while of each other.
They were both friends of Richard Walker and fished with him on many occasions. Bernard was an owner of one of the
original few Walker built MkIV's and Norman also had rods built by Walker.
These two gentlemen always bought the best tackle money could buy, from myself and obviously previously.
I feel quite blessed that Bernard's son thought of me and offered me one of each of these gents rods (I have Bernard's B.James Peter Tombleson Rod)
and will think of them fondly whenever I use them.

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Lea Dweller
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Re: Olivers of Knebworth, but which model?

Post by Lea Dweller »

Gurn wrote: Wed Mar 22, 2017 1:28 pm A little bit of the rod's history.
It came from the estate of a Mr. Norman Pollard, a sadly departed ex customer of mine.
He was a lovely fellow and would often give me the right runaround in the shop with his banter and sharp wit.
He and his brother Bernard fished together well into old age and departed within a short while of each other.
They were both friends of Richard Walker and fished with him on many occasions. Bernard was an owner of one of the
original few Walker built MkIV's and Norman also had rods built by Walker.
These two gentlemen always bought the best tackle money could buy, from myself and obviously previously.
I feel quite blessed that Bernard's son thought of me and offered me one of each of these gents rods (I have Bernard's B.James Peter Tombleson Rod)
and will think of them fondly whenever I use them.

A lovely story Gurn, it is nice to know the story of your rod. When checking the ring spacings in the Oliver's catalogue, the ring spacings are counted from the tip ring? On your rod are if there are nine including the tip ring, that would seem to indicate that it is an 11ft Avon or Tench model, as both have the same ring spacing. The 11ft Roach perfection has nine ring spacings, which including the tip would make 10 in total. I hope that this clarifies the situation, my 12ft two piece rod has 10 rings including the tip ring, so different again. As you said that your rod feels beefier than you imagined a roach rod to be, it would seem to point to it being either Avon or Tench? Just to muddy the water, who would have thought that the Chapman's Fred.J.Taylor Roach rod was a Roach rod? Enjoy your rod Gurn!

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Re: Olivers of Knebworth, but which model?

Post by GhyllManor »

A very interesting post gentlemen, the story adds immensely to the quality of the post - and Olivers is all about quality!

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Re: Olivers of Knebworth, but which model?

Post by Gurn »

Lea Dweller wrote: Wed Mar 22, 2017 1:46 pm
A lovely story Gurn, it is nice to know the story of your rod. When checking the ring spacings in the Oliver's catalogue, the ring spacings are counted from the tip ring? On your rod are if there are nine including the tip ring, that would seem to indicate that it is an 11ft Avon or Tench model, as both have the same ring spacing. The 11ft Roach perfection has nine ring spacings, which including the tip would make 10 in total. I hope that this clarifies the situation, my 12ft two piece rod has 10 rings including the tip ring, so different again. As you said that your rod feels beefier than you imagined a roach rod to be, it would seem to point to it being either Avon or Tench? Just to muddy the water, who would have thought that the Chapman's Fred.J.Taylor Roach rod was a Roach rod? Enjoy your rod Gurn!
Thank you for the information. I'm pretty sure that the 11ft Avon is a three piece rod. Was there an 11ft Tench rod in cane? I have found a catalogue with spacings for both which may suggest they are for glass rods.
The only firm evidence I have for an 11ft, 2 piece cane rod is the Roach Perfection.
I will have to re-check the rings and spacings, though having known Norman it's more than possible that he had this rod made to his own spec.

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Lea Dweller
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Re: Olivers of Knebworth, but which model?

Post by Lea Dweller »

Gurn wrote: Wed Mar 22, 2017 3:03 pm
Lea Dweller wrote: Wed Mar 22, 2017 1:46 pm
A lovely story Gurn, it is nice to know the story of your rod. When checking the ring spacings in the Oliver's catalogue, the ring spacings are counted from the tip ring? On your rod are if there are nine including the tip ring, that would seem to indicate that it is an 11ft Avon or Tench model, as both have the same ring spacing. The 11ft Roach perfection has nine ring spacings, which including the tip would make 10 in total. I hope that this clarifies the situation, my 12ft two piece rod has 10 rings including the tip ring, so different again. As you said that your rod feels beefier than you imagined a roach rod to be, it would seem to point to it being either Avon or Tench? Just to muddy the water, who would have thought that the Chapman's Fred.J.Taylor Roach rod was a Roach rod? Enjoy your rod Gurn!
Thank you for the information. I'm pretty sure that the 11ft Avon is a three piece rod. Was there an 11ft Tench rod in cane? I have found a catalogue with spacings for both which may suggest they are for glass rods.
The only firm evidence I have for an 11ft, 2 piece cane rod is the Roach Perfection.
I will have to re-check the rings and spacings, though having known Norman it's more than possible that he had this rod made to his own spec.
Hello Gurn, you are right, having just re-checked my 1973/4 catalogue it is only the 11ft Roach Perfection that is listed as two piece. (page 23) It also lists on the same page 12ft two piece Tench, Carp, or S/U rods? On page 29 near the bottom of the ring spacings it lists 2 piece Special cane rods as 11ft Roach Perfection or a 12ft Special ( I don't know what the special 12ft refers to, special what?), as well as the Kennet Perfection with detachable butt. As I said previously Special rods could be made to the customers specification, so perhaps your rod was a special without the special sticker if you follow me. I cannot add any more Gurn, it would only be speculation.

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