The Traditional Fisherman's Forum

Barbelseeker wrote: ↑Wed Jul 13, 2022 10:39 am Nice to see an 18" good engineers rule or is it 24"

I had to "Calibrate" those at a paper plant I worked at years ago... you just compared it to the "Control" measure at a certain temperature to make sure it was in tolerance...
Sorry for the hijack...

A trumpet version is heavier than a donut version so that's my theory well and truly shot down in flames. That last Unknown one may be a J B Walker kit rod, they do seem to feel nicer.

Wal.

I now have three rods all of which were marked J B Walker. Two are SU MK1Vs and one MK1V Carp. I have totally rebuilt all three and each has a dowel section in the handle. I believe though I'm not sure are all ash dowels though one was slightly different in colour and could be beech. and the dowel section were wrapped in a black cord at the spliced end.

I think Chapmans used Aluminium tubing.Terry

ReelMaker wrote: ↑Fri Dec 02, 2022 1:09 pm I think Chapmans used Aluminium tubing.Terry

Yep, that was the case - I was told by Chapmans (John) when I visited them that the idea was that the handles could be machine-produced to a high standard and that this saved them material (cane) and labour costs over a cane/cork handle - the idea was to remain cost effective as fibre-glass came onto the market. I've fished with a Mk.IV and a 550, I much preferred the 550.

Iirc, the Mk.II and Mk.III in DMAL were made with dowel handles. Mine isn't, but then it's a relatively recent blank.

I'm uncertain about my 1965 Sharpes Carp.

I have two 1990's Tony Croft MkIV carp rods. One feels very light in the hand and I've been told that this rod is all through split cane. I've never used it. The second one feels heavier and I'm uncertain if it has a whole cane or dowel butt but either are possible. I've frequently had the rod bend down into the handle, certainly as far as the reel seat. Next time I'm stuck into a good fish, I'll have to see if the bend goes all the way through to the butt.

I'd been very keen to use a MKIV that definitely has a whole cane butt section to see the difference it makes. However, wasn't Walker's intention just to save money by ordering a shorter butt section split cane blank?