Thursday, June 21, 2012

As slick as GLASS

After following The Fiberglass Manifesto for over a year now. Seeing how hard Cam works to get people to try fly fishing with a fiberglass rod, it became apparent that the glass revolution is growing by leaps and bounds and I might be missing something cool. Not being able to hold out any longer, I was able to order two white fiberglass blanks from Kabuto Rods in Japan. Yasuyuki Kabuto is considered by many to be one of the premier glass rod builders around today, so when the opportunity to get a few of these hand crafted blanks came up I pounced on it.



After looking at pictures of rods that other custom builders have done with these blanks, I have decided on taking a classic glass blank and making it a little more modern. It's just what I do.
I will probably not use the traditional cork western grip and instead put a carbon fiber wrapped foam grip on it instead.


In lieu of the traditional snake guides, I am leaning towards putting on Black Pearl Recoil guides.


The hardest decision for me has to do with the reel seat. It has to be spot on to make the whole build come together. I am leaning towards a blued nickel Struble reel seat and just need to decide on what the spacer will look like.



The good thing is i'll have plenty of time to decide since the blanks won't ship until late August.
Can't wait to get these in and get started so I can see what glass is all about.
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9 comments:

  1. Brandon S.June 21, 2012 at 10:44 PM

    Im starting a 3 wt build soon and I really like the look of the carbon fiber grip. How would you make a grip like that and what materials would I need?

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    1. Texas Fly Fishing AdventuresJune 22, 2012 at 8:56 AM

      Brandon, you would need two part foam like they use as floatation in boats. It has to be mixed and cured. After curing you shape it on a lathe, then you would add the carbon fiber fabric and use rod finish to apply it to the grip. Trim, sand and then refinish and you are done.

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  2. AnonymousJune 22, 2012 at 9:56 AM

    I haven't quite embarrassed carbon fiber grips yet- but I appreciate them as different. I really like the blanks you secured and look forward to seeing the final product. I know- I just know that it won't be long until I get into rod building. See you in the high ground.
    -AA

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    1. AnonymousJune 22, 2012 at 9:58 AM

      autocorrect fatality- embraced not embarrassed. My apologies.

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    2. Texas Fly Fishing AdventuresJune 22, 2012 at 1:43 PM

      The fiber grips are nice because they are tough. They don't chip and crack like cork does over time. They also have great grip and feel, even when wet. I was curious when I put my first set on a bass rod that I made. Didn't take long to lose the worries.

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  3. ChrislewistxJune 22, 2012 at 6:22 PM

    Excellent, it will be really interesting to see a different style build then what everyone else is doing. The Kabuto blanks are beautiful, and love all the classic builds people do. It is just always nice to see something different. Good luck, and I hope you have more patience then me. I'd probably blow a gasket trying to wait till August....lol

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  4. Isaac MillerJune 28, 2012 at 11:38 AM

    It's probably safe to say that I'm jealous. I've been drooling over those Kabuto blanks for a long time now...

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    1. Texas Fly Fishing AdventuresJune 28, 2012 at 7:39 PM

      I missed them the last two times he posted some for sale. It took me close to a year to secure these.

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