I would only buy a rod if I planned on using it to fish, which would limit me from buying older valuable rods that might not be fishable, but there would still be plenty to choose from. Even though I own quite a few rods, I don't consider myself a collector. And if I could afford to collect something, I think it would be something other than bamboo fly rods. Maybe old roadsters, and a few newer ones as well.
Okay, I was going to leave this thread go and appreciate all the comments. Now I have to admit why I'm leery about making a big investment with my limited knowledge. I bought an "Orvis" off the bay. It had Orvis serial #s and checking them the were listed as 7' 3/2. It did have the same thread color and handle as another nice Orvis I had but some things didn't seem right. One tip snapped at the ferrule and looked like it had been worked before. I sent the rod one of our members to make a new tip or repair this one and he informed the blank was not an Orvis at all and rod was a fake with Orvis signature and serial # just added from somewhere. The rod still seems Orvis and I should get another opinion on it to know for sure.
Then I bought an unfished Leonard off the Classified with the agreement I wanted this one checked out. I took some good pictures and put it on Appraisal forum and immediately was informed if it was a Leonard blank then it had been majorally refinished with guides and wrap color Leonard never used. It was a nice rod and for half the price I'd have kept it but was not paying that for a Leonard hoax and did get a full refund from board member who now had a fake on his hands that I later did some checking and he'd bought off the bay for half of what I paid him.
Reasons like this is why I better take my wife's advice and take the money I'd set aside and get the zero-turn mower I really need for my yard.
rsagebrush wrote:RK Bolt rods are actually quite spendy, and deserve to be, and are in the same price range as the Howells rods I see selling nowadays. I don't think he is doing any Howells copies either. He does have some older Howells blanks for the same price though.
I've had them both and prefer the Bolt rods myself.
I've been lurking and this thread prompted me to speak up. I've seen this be an issue in the past with reputable dealers. Oft times they go with what a consigner or seller tells them about a rod. Its hard to wrap your head around all the nuances of all these makers when you've got a lot of rods to list. Caveat Emptor and all that. There was a recent rather startling listing of a bunch of quite sought after rods on a pretty well-known dealer site - of which I saw several inaccurate to apocryphal descriptions with no disclaimer or caveats to said descriptions. It pays to know your stuff. Always.
bassman wrote:...I bought an "Orvis" off the bay. It had Orvis serial #s and checking them the were listed as 7' 3/2. It did have the same thread color and handle as another nice Orvis I had but some things didn't seem right. One tip snapped at the ferrule and looked like it had been worked before. I sent the rod one of our members to make a new tip or repair this one and he informed the blank was not an Orvis at all and rod was a fake with Orvis signature and serial # just added from somewhere. The rod still seems Orvis and I should get another opinion on it to know for sure...
If it's not a bother, would you please post photos of the rod?
Compare and contrast every detail. From the tip to the rod bag. Vintage Fly Tackle still has its incredible library of resource. I fell into a Howells rod that was too good to be true and used another rod I had, the book, and pictures of other rods online to verify.
A well made fake may be easy to spot by the knowledgable collector. What about the guy who is ready for a "good" rod, who is not an expert? I've handled some very nice rods built on famous maker's tapers, fine rods every one. However, they were not represented, or labeled, as fakes. Change some labeling/branding? I fly fished, and have owned many rods for 35+ years, I know I can be fooled.
I'm still waiting to see photos of any "high end" bamboo fly rod that has been passed off and subsequently verified as a purposeful "fake" by experts/dealers on this Forum.
Scott
Flyman615
"An undisturbed river is as perfect as we will ever know, every refractive slide of cold water a glimpse of eternity" - Thomas McGuane
I don't recall EVER seeing a photo of one. The only thing I've seen are rods being passed off as shorter versions of a particular model, that were obviously cut down. Don't even know if those qualify as "fakes".
Mark