Ogden Smith rod, but what is it ?

[Old Man River]

I have just taken possesion of an Ogden Smith rod today, when I collected it it was not what I expected and in fact I am really pleased with it , I think it is an earlier O.S and that it is a fly rod, could be easily be wrong in that though as the handle would be a tad long for a fly rod, not a salmon rod as too short and not stout enough , but what do I know about Salmon Rods ? Very little.

Description..

3 piece rod with spare tip section. Cane in top class condition , but really needs a rebuild, could actually be used as is. Has a slight set but that can be sorted easily enough.
Lockfast ferrules
Assembled 9ft 2 inches in length less the missing rubber but cap.
Handle 23 inches long .
Fully lined agate rings throughout .
Clear agate “Tulip’ style tip rings .
Full intermediate whippings ,
No transfer or logo on the cane, Cane scuffed but undamaged on butt section
It has a fixed lower reel fitting “shoe”inscribed “Ogden Smith “ with a two fishing hooks above a fish logo.
Same Logo on the Brass tapered winding check.
Inscribed “Ogden Smith,62 St James St, Picadilly . London SW 1.on the brass butt cap .
Comes in a very tatty O.S rod bag with logo .







Now I am in a quandrary as to what to do with this rod. It would make a lovely short Avon style float rod with the handle adapted to take a couple of sliding reel bands ,and high bells fitted .

Do I rebuild as is , using the original fittings ?
The problem with that is I would not use it as I find the reel position very uncomfortable .

Any suggestions as to which OS rod it is gratefully recieved , also , is it a collectors piece, or just a run of the mill rod.Do I rebuild as is or adapt to my own specs etc etc.

I would suggest it was a more expensive rod when manufactured due to the quality of the fittings and line guides , which incidentally are all fly rod sized .

No idea what to do myself. Its a nice problem to have though .



David

[Pallenpool]

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[Old Man River]

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David

[Gilbert]

Hi Dave

why not slip another winch band on before you fit another butt cap . ? that should give you an Avon.

i don't have a clue as to it's identity , but it's a nice thing .

[Olly]

David, why not just move the fixed bottom fitting up to where it is comfortable - only 4 screw holes away!

I have done that on one of mine as it keeps the original parts together.

Possibly a universal fly/spinning rod. According to old catalogues there were a few made by various makers.

[Old Man River]

I have sort of made my mind up what to do with it , in fact it is what Olly ( and Pallenpool ) suggested. Use the original lower reel shoe fitting, but replace it further up the handle . The handle will need reducing in diameter a bit as the reel band wont go far enough up the handle to be in a comfortable position, but that is not a problem.

I am going to replace the agate inters with low bridge rings,and perhaps add another ring ,I may just “adjust” the ring spacings a little to suit its use. I have a nice agate low bridge butt ring that will complement the rod, leave the tulip tip eye in place . I found a nice sized rubber butt cap to fit the rod, not sure if I will us it or make a turned Oak or Mahogany one yet .

After cleaning up the ferrules to put the rod together there was a slight knock on the butt section ferrule, it is a nickel silver lockfast , and the knock was where the female ferrule had loosened over the years, so I have removed it after sorting the pin. I will re seat it in due course. The cane is a lovely honey colour underneath the age old varnish, I am going to use Danish oil on the blank when I get that far along .

The original glue is now quite fragile and I think perhaps the tapered winding check and other ferrules will need reseating as well, but those are job for another day .





My plan was to leave this as a “work in progress “ until winter comes, but sometimes you get an itch and just have to scratch it a little.

David

[Olly]

Just looking for an Ogden Smith catalogue and cannot find one!

However looking at a Hardy 1934 catalogue it states 'The ''Tulip'' agate end ring for spinning rods'. Perhaps the OS is just that a spinning rod which makes it more ideal for use as a twin tipped coarse rod than a fly rod I would think?

[Old Man River]

Could be Olly, There does not seem to be a lot of info re O.S rods available, no brochures etc , strange as they are good quality cane and very well made. Not a cheap rod in their day I believe .

I have heard that there is a chap on the classic fly rod forum that has a bit of info on OS rods, I think he is called Afghantrout or something similar .

Tulip Tip rings are not uncommon, but they are increasingly hard to find these days.

I have two now

David

[Olly]

Well I have quite a few - - all attached to rods! Allcocks and Hardys mostly!

[Old Man River]

Well I have quite a few - - all attached to rods! Allcocks and Hardys mostly!

Thats just greedy

David .