Sharpes of Aberdeen Cane Rod Blanks

[joaniebo]

Quite a few years ago, I bought an assembled cane rod from a company that had purchased MANY impregnated cane rod blanks from Sharpes of Aberdeen and then assembled and sold them Stateside. After a few years, this company decided that they would no longer sell fishing rods (they were in another outdoor sports industry), so they sold their remaining inventory to a US rod builder.

Recently, I made contact with the US rod builder who had purchased the remaining inventory of Sharoes rod blanks and was able to purchase 4 sets sets of 2 piece, 2 tip, ferruled rod blanks in 7', 7 1/2" and 8 ' lengths in 3, 4 and 5 weights.

Have to sand the wraps (again) and do a final coat of varnish on the wraps and then the first 7' rod will be finished. Between tying a few more flies and assembling the remaining 3 sets of rod blanks, looks like I'll be busy for awhile.

As an added note, my wet fly / spider fishing is virtually all done with cane rods as I firmly believe that there's a distinct difference in the feel when trout fishing with a cane rod (just an OLD Bohemian's personal opinion).

[dj1212]

I agree with you totally there's nothing that has the feel of a good bamboo rod. I wanted a bamboo rod not long after I first got into fly fishing and that was it. All I've ever wanted to fish with. I worked for H.L. Leonard Rod in the mid 70's. Some of my time there I mounted Duracanes. Those blanks back then were made by Sharpes for Leonard I believe. Duracanes are still popular today if one comes up for sale.

[swellcat]

This post severely needs photos.

. . . my wet fly / spider fishing is virtually all done with cane rods as I firmly believe that there's a distinct difference in the feel when trout fishing with a cane rod . . .

Versus graphite?

What about fiberglass?

[joaniebo]

This post severely needs photos.

. . . my wet fly / spider fishing is virtually all done with cane rods as I firmly believe that there's a distinct difference in the feel when trout fishing with a cane rod . . .

Versus graphite?

What about fiberglass?

I also have an Orvis 9' T3 Graphite and Hardy Classic Lightweight, both are 4 piece, 5 wgt rods and cast nicely as mid-flex rods. The only fiberglass rods I have are a couple old Herters rods that I haven't used for many years.

Probably 15 - 20 years ago, I started to assemble a few rods using Partridge-of-Redditch blanks that I purchased directly from Partridge (in the UK) and from a fellow (Richard Jefferies - in France). That got me hooked on fishing bamboo fly rods. Along the way, I've also obtained several fully assembled bamboo rods.

Most of my rods, whether graphite or bamboo are mid to full flex rods which I prefer to fish in lieu of tip - flex / fastaction rods.

To me, there's more of a "feel" with a bamboo rod when a fish takes the fly and, several of my fishing buddies have also said that to me when they've used some of my rods. It might just be that the bamboo rods might be a little more sensitive when a fish takes the fly or that the graphite rodss absorb more of the energy.... who knows?

Re: pics of the Sharpes rods, I still need to finsih sanding the varnished silk line guide wraps of the first Sharpes blank and then apply another coat of spar varnish and letting the varnish air dry for a week or so before I cast / fish the assembled rod.

The other 3 sets of Sharpes blanks are just sitting in their flannel rod sacks awaiting this Old Bohemian to start putting on the corks grips, reel seats, etc. so it'll proably be awhile before these blanks will be fully ready for fishing.

Bob

[tups]

Bob. Are you at liberty to mention the name and contact information for the US rod builder? Also, what is the approximate cost pèr blank? If you are unable or uncomfortable answering these questions, I understand and won’t be offended.

[joaniebo]

Tups

He goes by “WIHEXROD” on the Classic Rod Forum where we communicated via PMs. I bought several sets of rod blanks and a finished tip section for a total price, so I don’t know what he might charge for one rod blank,

Bob

[Bazzer69]

Bob, I totally agree with you with that a cane rod has more “feel” than a glass or carbon rod. A cane of has more “spring” than the others. Carbon rods dampen when compared to cane so maybe this is the reason. I have a couple of older Hardy Cane rods which I would never get rid of. But I would love a Sharpes Featherweight
B

[Tom Smithwick]

I picked up a couple of the blanks a few years ago and let a couple guys from Project Healing Waters finish them off in my shop. I was impressed by the cane work, particularly on the thickness tolerances they achieved. Flat to flat measurements in any given spot were generally within a couple thousandths of an inch, which is impressive from any shop, especially so from a production shop. Nice tapers, too, that cast well.
I like their two hand salmon rods a lot as well.

[joaniebo]

For those interested in bamboo fly rods, I found this link where a lot of the old cane rod catalogs can be downloaded:

https://splitcaneinfo.com/?page_id=653

[joaniebo]

Here's some pics of the 7 1/2' 2 piece, 2 tip 4/5 weight rod.