E.T Barlow & Sons of Thames Ditton.

[Gord]

hi i have a 10ft ledger rod it is brown in colour it has screw fitting for swing or quiver tip on the tip ring and just above the butt ring sadly the name has been scratched off so i dont know the model if any body knows let me know, it was after reading your posts that i got mine out of the garage gave it a waggle and it reminded me just what a nice rod it is so it might just get an outing this year. i have had mine from new as well and it looks pretty god for over 30 years old and i think for the price the quality is good

[DrJohn]

hi i have a 10ft ledger rod it is brown in colour it has screw fitting for swing or quiver tip on the tip ring and just above the butt ring sadly the name has been scratched off so i dont know the model if any body knows let me know, it was after reading your posts that i got mine out of the garage gave it a waggle and it reminded me just what a nice rod it is so it might just get an outing this year. i have had mine from new as well and it looks pretty god for over 30 years old and i think for the price the quality is good

Thanks for that.

At least we have begun a listing of different models, there seems to be little information about these rods or the maker.

John.

[Nigel Rainton]

I remember a conversation with Mr Barlow (I was only in my teens) about the Bruce and Walker CTM 12 that I was saving my wages to buy. He told me that he was making a copy of the rod and that it would be an identical taper to the Bruce and Walker but much cheaper.

A few weeks later he brought his CTM 12 for me to see. I think it was labeled VTM 12. It was similar in taper but the glass was so thin I could almost see through it. I pinched the middle of the bottom section between thumb and forefinger and the blank split. I gave it back to him.

He left several for us to sell and they went like hot cakes. Without exception they were returned broken or cracked. One customer told me his rod broke on the first cast !

I made quite a lot of pocket money from repairing Mr Barlow's rods. Having sold hundreds and repaired quite a few, nothing will convince me that they were fit for purpose. I have an old honey coloured 10' Vortex carp rod in the garage (he changed the colour to green when Davenport and Fordham launched the Farstrike) and it makes me shudder every time I see it. I can't use it because the top joint comes off during casting.

Mr Barlow was a very nice old man but his rods were budget quality. And that's being kind !

[Ljm183]

What varnish have you used?

John.

Yacht varnish slightly thinned with white spirit

[Gord]

hi sofa surfer with the rod mentioned in my post it was a real surprise although it was a ledger rod i did use it for spinning and it handled pike up to12 lb with ease so i have no complaints but i am not saying he didnt make some lemons because when you cut corners the quality will suffer

[Nigel Rainton]

Gord,

Some of Mr Barlow's early rods were made on good quality blanks, he even made some on Hardy blanks. I don't know where he sourced his later blanks but they were very porous, the weave of the cloth was crude and the wraps were so bad on some rods they had a pronounced bend !

I think the sheer volume he produced was bound to result in one or two 'good' rods, you seem to have been lucky :-)

[DrJohn]

Hi SofaSurfer,

a little more insight from your good self, during what period was the Vortex brand in production?

I know little or nothing about E.T Barlow apart form the two rods I have.

Appreciated,

John.

[Nigel Rainton]

DrJohn,

Mr Barlow started by making kids rods. Solid fibre glass, 6' - 8', brass ferrules, poor quality rings and whippings. They were almost indestructible and coupled with an Intrepid reel (he was a wholesaler for Intrepid) they were excellent value. We literally sold hundreds each month. After his initial success with kids rods he expanded his range, he was always bringing new designs for us to sell.

Mr Barlow was a manufacturer and wholesaler of fishing tackle, he seemed to be able to supply any item of fishing tackle at a weeks notice. His approach was to copy fishing rods like Henry Aitken's Superflex, Hardy, Bruce and Walker, Davenport and Fordham, Abu etc. and sell them much cheaper. Most of his rods were based on Henry Aitken's designs but did not have the finish or quality fittings. Vortex rods usually retailed at about half the price of the originals. He had some blanks made to his own specification but mainly bought blanks and had them fitted out by homeworkers, hence the poor quality.

I used to see him regularly from 1969 to 1972. He was a nice old man and always cheerful. He always left us with more stock than we needed ! I lost contact with him when I moved to Cornwall and I don't know what happened to him or his business.

I always regarded his rods as better than Woolworth but not as good as Henry Aitken. I think the people on ebay who describe the rods as 'rare', 'vintage', 'collectable' are misleading.

The company E.T. BARLOW & SONS (VORTEX) LIMITED was based at POND HOUSE, WESTON GREEN, THAMES DITTON, SURREY. Company Number 01396753 was dissolved.

[Pentonhook]

When I spoke to Tony Fordham some time ago he told me that the Vortex
rods were based on Sportex blanks and he supplied them.

Ted's son still runs a tackle shop from the same address in Thames Ditton,
now called Esher Angling Centre.

[Nigel Rainton]

Pentonhook,

Thanks for the info. I know he also used Fibretube blanks because he got an AFTM #6 2 piece fly rod blank for me and I finished it myself. His son's shop does not have a website.