Post by Chee Yung on Oct 28, 2007 13:45:36 GMT 8
Rod Story # 8: Thomas & Thomas Paradigm 8’ 2/2 5wt
Hi BOBs,
This story started like any other story worth telling… at a totally different place and time that had nothing to do with T&T.. or so I thought.
I was at Harvard studying yet another laboratory layout, struggling to overcome jetlag and feeling totally sorry for myself for having only glimpses of the Catskills from 3,000 ft without wetting a flyline. In my hand I held a brochure of the Old Kingdom (Vermont) where more trout lurked and the closest I got to Maine, where Leonard rods originated, was a nice meal of Maine lobsters… at Legal Seafoods no less.
Fast forward 3 weeks and I was staring at an offer to sell a Maxwell Era Leonard by a forummer named PetefromVermont… AHA! The Old Kingdom is beckoning and I could hear both Leonard and Maxwell hailing from the Catskills. I HAD to have the rod. Soon, pictures of the Maxwell arrived from Pete but the script on the rod did not look very ‘Maxwell’ and many fellows in the Classic Rod Forum also felt it was not a true Maxwell but more like a Maxwell Era rod. Darn! I was stuck in a deal that turned sour.
But while he diligently sought for verification of the Maxwell, Pete was also selling a Payne and a T&T to fund his antique firearms collecting habit. Hmmm T&T… AHA! Thomas & Thomas was created by Tom Maxwell and his brother in law Tom Dorsey and the Paradigm rod offered was from the Individualist series that is a collectors grade rod featuring mirror tips, swelled butt, clear wraps, oven tempering and glass-like varnishing. The serial number 3788 was about the time (early 1980) there was still some collaboration between Maxwell and Dorsey (Maxwell sold his share of T&T in 1976) plus the possible involvement of great makers like Aroner, Bob Taylor, Len Codella and Tom Moran ( believe it or not, Tom Maxwell’s wife was also finishing T&T’s once upon a time, this says a lot about the ladies touch).
Paradigms were also among the most desirable models in that golden age of T&T (1980 to 1990) where many rods were made for world leaders and royalty (Prince Charles and Princess Diana had a pair). I immediately pounced on the rod and soon it arrived, swell butt and all.
However, some freak accident busted one of the tip tops and I was depressed for a while. Fortunately, good Uncle Wong helped me remove and replace the damaged tip top with a nice new one after both of us were certain that the bamboo blank tip is sound. Phew! Pete was gentlemanly as expected and even offered to compensate me for the trouble as well as sending me 2 sets of very expensive Hopkins & Holloway tips from UK as replacement. It was a good transaction after all.
The experience didn’t stop there as Uncle and I took the T&T for some testing. I hit fish after fish that morning on the good tip top and decided that the rod had great luck. Later that day I went lawn casting with the repaired tip top and Viola! The rod casted the entire SA Mastery 6wt WF line! In fact, the rod had power to spare if only I had the skill to control it. It was wonderful and casting it side by side with my 5wt Jaguar was like riding two different powered but just as capable motorbikes that cut through the wind like blades.
Here are some pictures of the T&T: a swelled butt beauty with typical Maxwell hook keeper, clear transparent silk wraps tipped with maroon, 2x2 nodes, mirror tips, golden brown oven tempered cane, mirror–like varnish, blued guides and ferrules, western cork grip and dark walnut reel seat insert playing up the polished nickel silver uplock reel seat with T&T engraved stamp… a bevy of beauties posing with Marcelo’s rod and finally a Zebra that thanked me for releasing it…
Another treasure for the Kuan family!
Until the next story… happy canerod fishing!
CY
Hi BOBs,
This story started like any other story worth telling… at a totally different place and time that had nothing to do with T&T.. or so I thought.
I was at Harvard studying yet another laboratory layout, struggling to overcome jetlag and feeling totally sorry for myself for having only glimpses of the Catskills from 3,000 ft without wetting a flyline. In my hand I held a brochure of the Old Kingdom (Vermont) where more trout lurked and the closest I got to Maine, where Leonard rods originated, was a nice meal of Maine lobsters… at Legal Seafoods no less.
Fast forward 3 weeks and I was staring at an offer to sell a Maxwell Era Leonard by a forummer named PetefromVermont… AHA! The Old Kingdom is beckoning and I could hear both Leonard and Maxwell hailing from the Catskills. I HAD to have the rod. Soon, pictures of the Maxwell arrived from Pete but the script on the rod did not look very ‘Maxwell’ and many fellows in the Classic Rod Forum also felt it was not a true Maxwell but more like a Maxwell Era rod. Darn! I was stuck in a deal that turned sour.
But while he diligently sought for verification of the Maxwell, Pete was also selling a Payne and a T&T to fund his antique firearms collecting habit. Hmmm T&T… AHA! Thomas & Thomas was created by Tom Maxwell and his brother in law Tom Dorsey and the Paradigm rod offered was from the Individualist series that is a collectors grade rod featuring mirror tips, swelled butt, clear wraps, oven tempering and glass-like varnishing. The serial number 3788 was about the time (early 1980) there was still some collaboration between Maxwell and Dorsey (Maxwell sold his share of T&T in 1976) plus the possible involvement of great makers like Aroner, Bob Taylor, Len Codella and Tom Moran ( believe it or not, Tom Maxwell’s wife was also finishing T&T’s once upon a time, this says a lot about the ladies touch).
Paradigms were also among the most desirable models in that golden age of T&T (1980 to 1990) where many rods were made for world leaders and royalty (Prince Charles and Princess Diana had a pair). I immediately pounced on the rod and soon it arrived, swell butt and all.
However, some freak accident busted one of the tip tops and I was depressed for a while. Fortunately, good Uncle Wong helped me remove and replace the damaged tip top with a nice new one after both of us were certain that the bamboo blank tip is sound. Phew! Pete was gentlemanly as expected and even offered to compensate me for the trouble as well as sending me 2 sets of very expensive Hopkins & Holloway tips from UK as replacement. It was a good transaction after all.
The experience didn’t stop there as Uncle and I took the T&T for some testing. I hit fish after fish that morning on the good tip top and decided that the rod had great luck. Later that day I went lawn casting with the repaired tip top and Viola! The rod casted the entire SA Mastery 6wt WF line! In fact, the rod had power to spare if only I had the skill to control it. It was wonderful and casting it side by side with my 5wt Jaguar was like riding two different powered but just as capable motorbikes that cut through the wind like blades.
Here are some pictures of the T&T: a swelled butt beauty with typical Maxwell hook keeper, clear transparent silk wraps tipped with maroon, 2x2 nodes, mirror tips, golden brown oven tempered cane, mirror–like varnish, blued guides and ferrules, western cork grip and dark walnut reel seat insert playing up the polished nickel silver uplock reel seat with T&T engraved stamp… a bevy of beauties posing with Marcelo’s rod and finally a Zebra that thanked me for releasing it…
Another treasure for the Kuan family!
Until the next story… happy canerod fishing!
CY
