My bamboo rod broke at an Orvis store today.

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Dallasblues
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My bamboo rod broke at an Orvis store today.

#1

Post by Dallasblues »

Hello all.

I’m still new here and new to vintage gear collecting. I recently purchased a beautiful 8’ bamboo rod from eBay. The seller didn’t list many details beyond just “an old bamboo fly rod”. So I took it to my local Orvis to hopefully determine what line weight it’d need. The salesman felt like it’d need an 8 or more. As he was casting some 8 weight line in the parking lot we heard a loud crack. Sure enough… It had split apart. He felt terrible about it and so did I. I didn’t think this typically happened with bamboo rods.

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bugslinger
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Re: My bamboo rod broke at an Orvis store today.

#2

Post by bugslinger »

That’s a bummer! Unfortunately your rod is a post WW2 Japanese bamboo rod. Inexpensive and made with lesser quality bamboo. I would’ve started with a 5/6wt line but it still would’ve eventually broke. Yours might not even make decent tomato stakes......my .02

Dallasblues
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Re: My bamboo rod broke at an Orvis store today.

#3

Post by Dallasblues »

bugslinger wrote:
09/12/22 15:21
That’s a bummer! Unfortunately your rod is a post WW2 Japanese bamboo rod. Inexpensive and made with lesser quality bamboo. I would’ve started with a 5/6wt line but it still would’ve eventually broke. Yours might not even make decent tomato stakes......my .02
Ha! Fortunately I didn’t spend a ton of money on the rod. But still… 50 bucks is gone. I guess eBay might not be the best place to land a bamboo rod.

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bugslinger
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Re: My bamboo rod broke at an Orvis store today.

#4

Post by bugslinger »

Ouch.....fifty bucks is still fifty bucks! Coulda went towards a better rod. Bamboo is a fixable medium to repair.....six sided hex is way stronger than a hollow fiberglass/graphite tube. That splintered mid section appears to have a bad set (curve) also. Have you built any rods from blanks?

Dallasblues
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Re: My bamboo rod broke at an Orvis store today.

#5

Post by Dallasblues »

bugslinger wrote:
09/12/22 15:59
Ouch.....fifty bucks is still fifty bucks! Coulda went towards a better rod. Bamboo is a fixable medium to repair.....six sided hex is way stronger than a hollow fiberglass/graphite tube. That splintered mid section appears to have a bad set (curve) also. Have you built any rods from blanks?
I haven’t. That’s something that sounds really fascinating though!

BigPine
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Re: My bamboo rod broke at an Orvis store today.

#6

Post by BigPine »

I bet that salesman won't offer to cast another customer's bamboo rod!

NewUtahCaneAngler
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Re: My bamboo rod broke at an Orvis store today.

#7

Post by NewUtahCaneAngler »

Dallasblues wrote:
09/12/22 15:36
bugslinger wrote:
09/12/22 15:21
That’s a bummer! Unfortunately your rod is a post WW2 Japanese bamboo rod. Inexpensive and made with lesser quality bamboo. I would’ve started with a 5/6wt line but it still would’ve eventually broke. Yours might not even make decent tomato stakes......my .02
Ha! Fortunately I didn’t spend a ton of money on the rod. But still… 50 bucks is gone. I guess eBay might not be the best place to land a bamboo rod.
You can find many good, very good, or great bamboo rods on eBay. Just stay away from the Japanese memento rods and be prepared to spend >$50 for something of quality unless the seller - and other potential buyers - doesn't know what they have.

Dallasblues
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Re: My bamboo rod broke at an Orvis store today.

#8

Post by Dallasblues »

NewUtahCaneAngler wrote:
09/12/22 17:20
Dallasblues wrote:
09/12/22 15:36
bugslinger wrote:
09/12/22 15:21
That’s a bummer! Unfortunately your rod is a post WW2 Japanese bamboo rod. Inexpensive and made with lesser quality bamboo. I would’ve started with a 5/6wt line but it still would’ve eventually broke. Yours might not even make decent tomato stakes......my .02
Ha! Fortunately I didn’t spend a ton of money on the rod. But still… 50 bucks is gone. I guess eBay might not be the best place to land a bamboo rod.
You can find many good, very good, or great bamboo rods on eBay. Just stay away from the Japanese memento rods and be prepared to spend >$50 for something of quality unless the seller - and other potential buyers - doesn't know what they have.
Yep. I have to chalk this up to a learning experience. I wouldn’t have known a good rod from a bad one and when I saw it listed for $50 I thought I’d found a great deal. Fortunately the seller was kind enough to refund my money.

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Bill Charles
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Re: My bamboo rod broke at an Orvis store today.

#9

Post by Bill Charles »

Ouch!!!

My advice would be consider a good quality blue collar maker such as South Bend. You don't need to put out a lot of $ and they are excellent value. The 8 1/2' rods are particularly nice.

3creeks
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Re: My bamboo rod broke at an Orvis store today.

#10

Post by 3creeks »

My intro to Bamboo for fishing started with a $100 3 weight rod from the 'Bay. I fished it for a long time and caught a lot of fish with it. I think you just got unlucky.

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carl otto
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Re: My bamboo rod broke at an Orvis store today.

#11

Post by carl otto »

A word to the wise. A lot of folks know nothing about bamboo rods and unfortunately that includes some(?) store clerks. To the uninitiated graphite rod caster a bamboo rod is this seemingly heavy antique. They equate the weight to mean it takes a heavier line when in reality it does not. So I can see some one uneducated in these things thinking your rod was made for a heavy line, hence the 8 weight line trial. The rod became overloaded with the resulting fracture, as well as, it was not a high end rod and there also could have been manufacture faults in play also.

Lesson 107: When figuring out the line weight for an unknown bamboo rod start out using a 4 weight line and work your way up until you find the sweet spot/correct line size. Most older rods did not take line weights less than a 4 so that is a safe starting point.

Many makers of classic rods did not designate a line weight for their rods (notably Payne) since the actual best line to use on a rod is many times a subjective user choice and took into account the variances the bamboo used in the manufacturer can play in action also. (Bamboo is not a homogeneous material, it is a natural grown product and therefore, like with wood used in construction, the various structural parameters can vary some 20%. Meaning two identically tapered rods made from two different culms of bamboo can be an entire line weight or so different in their line casting capacities.)

Live and learn,

Carl

bluesjay
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Re: My bamboo rod broke at an Orvis store today.

#12

Post by bluesjay »

Hi Guys, What a great place to break a bamboo rod!

Jay Edwards

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bamboo rodley
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Re: My bamboo rod broke at an Orvis store today.

#13

Post by bamboo rodley »

I also made the mistake of buying a Japanese rod as my first bamboo rod purchase. I then bought a low grade Monty that broke when I flexed the tip slightly in my hands. I figured it probably had already been broken and then repaired by the seller just enough to sell it. But still, I have purchased many nice rods on ebay, and fortunately for you, you have found this site where you can learn a bit before you purchase another rod. Building from blanks is a great skill to learn, and even if you don't do a perfect job, having a fishable rod that you did the building on will make that rod special. I recommend it.

boo4life
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Re: My bamboo rod broke at an Orvis store today.

#14

Post by boo4life »

Most of those vintage Japanese rods were purchased by US occupation forces after the war ended and brought home as souvenirs. Just about every one I've seen on ebay came in a square wooden box with a small compartment holding some funky looking flies. They also mostly have a small price point. This is one way to tell what you're looking at.

superfly
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Re: My bamboo rod broke at an Orvis store today.

#15

Post by superfly »

I bought my first "orvis" bamboo rod on ebay years ago, When it arrived I put it together and did a wiggle and it snapped in half right at the ferrule. Sent it to Orvis to get it repaired and was told that the rod was an imposter, not at all an Orvis. (even inked as Orvis Battenkill) I didn't know better but did get refunded after a long drawn out ordeal. I got scammed

billems
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Re: My bamboo rod broke at an Orvis store today.

#16

Post by billems »

I once visited a shop that had a Big Name bamboo fly rod for sale in a lighted cabinet. I asked to see it. Nice rod. I asked if I could joint the rod in order to get a sense of how it felt. When I finished, and pulled the rod apart, I discovered the ferrule wrap ha unspun, and an accordian of silk hung in the air between the sections. The owner was as nice as he could be. But I slouched out of the shop, feeling just awful, regretting the whole thing.

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