Hi Dan,
Sorry for the delay on posting this in reply to your PM. In the meantime Wal has hit the nail on the head. I do have a few pics that maybe add a bit of weight to the discussion.
Pictured are four Priory butt sections and handles:
The bottom one is a split cane butt section. The handle has been altered quite amateurishly at the top to change it to a flared top but the rest of the handle is original. The reel bands are original as is the unique stepped butt cap which shows the colour dulled and some corrosion which these butt caps were known for.
The next rod up is another split cane butt which is totally original throughout. The collar is correct as are the reel bands and as can be seen we have the same butt cap in the same condition.
The 3rd rod up is a whole cane butt. This has the correct collar (slightly fettled) but incorrect reel bands, made more obvious as one slid off when I lifted it out of the rack. It has the same butt cap as yours and close inspection shows pitting which has had an attempt to be polished out showing it was originally corroded the same as the other two.
The 4th rod is another whole cane butt. The collar is original but unfortunately the butt cap is missing which would have been a clincher. How the reel fitting got there we’ll never know. Factory fitted custom build or retro fit are unknown. However putting the handles together side by side both whole cane versions are about an inch longer than the split cane version and the marks from the missing cap line up perfectly with the other split cane butt. I think it is reasonable to assume this also had a simple non stepped butt cap also.
So I would think it’s quite probable that there were two versions of butt cap used, possibly stepped for split cane or plain for whole cane. Maybe it was a date thing with whichever came first having one sort and later builds having the other. Of course Priory were known for building custom rods, especially for the Throop fishery, so maybe there was a mix and match approach or whatever was available.
So it looks like yours is perfectly correct and a fine example of a Priory whole cane butt, two section split cane rod in the ‘Throop’ style. Another Priory quirk is that the middle section usually came in ‘stock’ format with only two rings for some strange reason. Of course many ‘custom builds may not have this and certainly there are many mentions of retro fits of a 3rd being carried out.
You have a fine Priory rod which seems perfectly correct. Enjoy it, they are fine rods indeed
