Post by Chee Yung on Oct 8, 2005 18:17:39 GMT 8
Rod Crafting (1843- 1960) by Jeffrey L. Hatton
Hi Bobs,
My personal search for old classic rods started more than two years ago when I wanted a beautiful name for my daughter that poetically represented my love for trees, nature and fishing. It dawned upon me one day, after yet another frustrating internet name search, that ancient fishing rods were made of greenheart, lancewood and ash. I could not bear to let her suffer endless teasing with ‘Greensleaves’
,….. ‘Lance’ is male 
,…. and therefore settled for ‘Ash’ with poetic ‘lee’ ie ‘Ashley’ which means a ‘clearing in a grove of ash trees’… imagine sunlight streaming into such a spot like steps to heaven! It was for me, a moment of divine inspiration 
.
Ashley is 21 months now and knows the difference between a bamboo rod and a graphite one and loves pictures of cane rods which she describes as ‘swish-swish bumboo’… So, I did what a good father should do and begged for a copy of Jeff’s beautifully illustrated work on classical rods that spanned 3 eras for her continual ‘education’. Jeff
, being the ever obliging gentleman not only let me have his last copy of Limited Edition on retail ( the remaining twenty copies will be sold on auction), he also inscribed a beautiful Artist’s Remark with the words ‘ To Ashley Kuan, I hope you and your father spend many hours together not only with Bamboo in print but also in your hands carrying on the centuries old tradition of Fly Fishing. Humbly yours, Jeffrey L Hatton, Paonia Colorado USA’ . So you understand why this book will always stay close to my family’s heart. Thanks Jeff!
The book features hundreds of museum grade rod pictures spanning the eras of great rods. The eras mentioned are:
The Smith Age (pre 1870), when skilled craftsmen, usually gunsmiths, crafted customized rods of wood and later Calcutta cane, fitted them with incredibly ingenious fittings like ‘no friction’ trumpet guides, 3 ring tip tops, creating multi configurable rods and various mind boggling gizmos that even now are rehashed and copied by modern graphite makers. Believe it or not, ‘interline’ rods actually existed in solid wood in the 19th Century! Even more amazing is the level of finish that have lasted the centuries. All these details were lovingly captured on camera by Jeff and were just as delicately described by him in writing with flourishing strokes of fancy fonts. Marvellous!
The Expansion Era (1870 to 1900), where mass production took over and names like Chubb, Divine, Leonard and Varney began to gain prominence. Calcutta cane was the main rod building material and fittings like reel seat were shared among specialized manufacturers. Fly rod design also evolved into lighter and shorter rods and the 2 tips with single mid and butt sections configuration gained popularity. What was also interesting was how these makers marketed their work with various brochures and delightful descriptions of cane rods. This was the time when the idea of ‘hand made by a craftsman’ versus ‘production’ took hold as another marketing method. ‘Authenticity’ became important as rod-making kits became available. Interesting!
The Classical Era (1900 to 1960), saw the rise of makers who pushed the boundary of rod building with new materials ( Tonkin cane), new tapers ( tournament casting rods and delicate dry fly rods), new aesthetics ( spartan but clean lines and no intermediate wraps) and new construction (hollow building, better glues, flame tempering etc.). These Greats include Reuben Leonard, Jim Payne,Young, Edwards, Gillum, Dickerson and Garrison. The rods from this era could perform so well and looked so fantastic that 100 years later, even with graphite and boron rods, we are still waxing lyrical over the magical action of these golden age classics. Awesome
!
But just when I thought everything has been said and done… Jeff put up pictures of his work in the concluding pages…. Now imagine partaking of a book starting with Love (with his dedication of his work to his parents), stuffing your eyes bleary with a buffet of beautiful and interesting pictures of classic rods and finally imbibing sweet desert of Jeff’s own unique work… you will understand why I was in a cane induced trance for a few weeks!
Ashley did flip through most of the pictures with me, which I consider to be rather unique for a child her age…. She even pointed at the Divine Fairy as her favourite rod picture… sigh! Expensive tastes….Maybe she will own a Fairy someday or maybe she will learn from Jeff how to make a rod of white ash 
and find that calm enlightenment great artists achieve…after all it is already written in her name.
Till the next book review,
Cheers
CY
Hi Bobs,
My personal search for old classic rods started more than two years ago when I wanted a beautiful name for my daughter that poetically represented my love for trees, nature and fishing. It dawned upon me one day, after yet another frustrating internet name search, that ancient fishing rods were made of greenheart, lancewood and ash. I could not bear to let her suffer endless teasing with ‘Greensleaves’
,….. ‘Lance’ is male 
,…. and therefore settled for ‘Ash’ with poetic ‘lee’ ie ‘Ashley’ which means a ‘clearing in a grove of ash trees’… imagine sunlight streaming into such a spot like steps to heaven! It was for me, a moment of divine inspiration 
.Ashley is 21 months now and knows the difference between a bamboo rod and a graphite one and loves pictures of cane rods which she describes as ‘swish-swish bumboo’… So, I did what a good father should do and begged for a copy of Jeff’s beautifully illustrated work on classical rods that spanned 3 eras for her continual ‘education’. Jeff
, being the ever obliging gentleman not only let me have his last copy of Limited Edition on retail ( the remaining twenty copies will be sold on auction), he also inscribed a beautiful Artist’s Remark with the words ‘ To Ashley Kuan, I hope you and your father spend many hours together not only with Bamboo in print but also in your hands carrying on the centuries old tradition of Fly Fishing. Humbly yours, Jeffrey L Hatton, Paonia Colorado USA’ . So you understand why this book will always stay close to my family’s heart. Thanks Jeff!The book features hundreds of museum grade rod pictures spanning the eras of great rods. The eras mentioned are:
The Smith Age (pre 1870), when skilled craftsmen, usually gunsmiths, crafted customized rods of wood and later Calcutta cane, fitted them with incredibly ingenious fittings like ‘no friction’ trumpet guides, 3 ring tip tops, creating multi configurable rods and various mind boggling gizmos that even now are rehashed and copied by modern graphite makers. Believe it or not, ‘interline’ rods actually existed in solid wood in the 19th Century! Even more amazing is the level of finish that have lasted the centuries. All these details were lovingly captured on camera by Jeff and were just as delicately described by him in writing with flourishing strokes of fancy fonts. Marvellous
!The Expansion Era (1870 to 1900), where mass production took over and names like Chubb, Divine, Leonard and Varney began to gain prominence. Calcutta cane was the main rod building material and fittings like reel seat were shared among specialized manufacturers. Fly rod design also evolved into lighter and shorter rods and the 2 tips with single mid and butt sections configuration gained popularity. What was also interesting was how these makers marketed their work with various brochures and delightful descriptions of cane rods. This was the time when the idea of ‘hand made by a craftsman’ versus ‘production’ took hold as another marketing method. ‘Authenticity’ became important as rod-making kits became available. Interesting!
The Classical Era (1900 to 1960), saw the rise of makers who pushed the boundary of rod building with new materials ( Tonkin cane), new tapers ( tournament casting rods and delicate dry fly rods), new aesthetics ( spartan but clean lines and no intermediate wraps) and new construction (hollow building, better glues, flame tempering etc.). These Greats include Reuben Leonard, Jim Payne,Young, Edwards, Gillum, Dickerson and Garrison. The rods from this era could perform so well and looked so fantastic that 100 years later, even with graphite and boron rods, we are still waxing lyrical over the magical action of these golden age classics. Awesome
!But just when I thought everything has been said and done… Jeff put up pictures of his work in the concluding pages…. Now imagine partaking of a book starting with Love (with his dedication of his work to his parents), stuffing your eyes bleary with a buffet of beautiful and interesting pictures of classic rods and finally imbibing sweet desert of Jeff’s own unique work… you will understand why I was in a cane induced trance for a few weeks!
Ashley did flip through most of the pictures with me, which I consider to be rather unique for a child her age…. She even pointed at the Divine Fairy as her favourite rod picture… sigh! Expensive tastes
….Maybe she will own a Fairy someday or maybe she will learn from Jeff how to make a rod of white ash 
and find that calm enlightenment great artists achieve…after all it is already written in her name.Till the next book review,
Cheers
CY
