Dick Walker on split-bamboo

[Vagabond]

There has been speculation on what Dick is alleged to have said about split-bamboo.
Remember that Dick was a great winder-upper and leg-puller.

So it is worth looking at what he actually wrote in his Magnum Opus.

Just found it - from my First Edition of Stillwater Angling Page 34

It has been explained to me that you can run into brick walls with glass rods, drop them on a hard floor, or beat down nettles with them, without their suffering damage. For such uses they may be excellent, but I use fishing-rods for fishing, and for fishing I prefer split-cane. I have yet to see good split-cane broken through any fault in the material, but there is much split-cane which fall far short of the best; and some of the best I have seen has come from James, of West Ealing, and Walker, of Hythe in Kent.

Bob Southwell made blanks for both the above firms.

OK, so material science has moved on since then - that does not turn good split-bamboo into rubbish. Edited September 28, 2013 by Vagabond

[Barry C]

I can assure you all that if you borrow your grandads best split cane without asking, then jump off of a bus with it sideways to the upright handrails it will break.

 

Not only that you will have a sore *rse and no pocket money or fishing for quite some time.

[Anderoo]

There has been speculation on what Dick is alleged to have said about split-bamboo.

Remember that Dick was a great winder-upper and leg-puller.

 

So it is worth looking at what he actually wrote in his Magnum Opus.

 

Just found it - from my First Edition of Stillwater Angling Page 34

 

 

 

Bob Southgate made blanks for both the above firms.

 

OK, so material science has moved on since then - that does not turn good split-bamboo into rubbish.

 

I guess the question then, is what would Dick Walker use today? Does anyone who knew him (Chevin) have an idea? And would he be sponsered by Pallatrax?

 

Vagabond, I'd be very interested in seeing some of your good quality cane rods one day, if that's possible? I must admit, my opinion of cane is probably skewed by pretty poor quality stuff.

[chesters1]

trouble is that was then this was now

i would hate to think of using a fine rod just in case it fell apart ,i know scotch glue was used on the ferrules and even in bad examples of rods the chance of it leaving a ferrule on one rod stuck on the other section when the now powdery glue fails was getting common (did it myself with a MK4 a few months ago .)

what was the individual sections of cane glued together with?

Edited January 14, 2011 by chesters1

[Tony U]

I suspect he would be using a carbon composite of some sort; wasn't he involved in producing the first carbon composite rods for Hardy's, the Hardy Farnborough fly rod I believe.

Edited January 14, 2011 by Tony U

[Vagabond]

I can assure you all that if you borrow your grandads best split cane without asking, then jump off of a bus with it sideways to the upright handrails it will break.

Is that what you did?

 

I once demolished a greenheart fly rod by trying to vault a five-barred gate whilst carrying it (something I had done several times before without mishap) My mate was delighted (he couldn't vault a patch of dandelions) "Four faults !" he cried.

 

My mate's father slammed a car door on one of my split-bamboo MK4s - that didn't do it a lot of good.

Ten years later his stupid son did likewise to one of my split-bamboo light spinning rods.

 

But properly used and cared for, a good split-bamboo will last for ever.

[Vagabond]

,i know scotch glue was used on the ferrules

 

what was the individual sections of cane glued together with?

 

The ferrules on a good rod were a tightish drive fit - no glue involved.

 

The triangular strips were glued originally with casein glue, then from about the 1950s with urea-formaldehyde.

 

I have read many times that these glues deteriorate with age, and the rod sections will come apart. I have several split-bamboo rods ranging from the 1920s to the early 1960s. None of them show any such tendency.

[Alan Stubbs]

The ferrules on a good rod were a tightish drive fit - no glue involved.

 

The triangular strips were glued originally with casein glue, then from about the 1950s with urea-formaldehyde.

 

I have read many times that these glues deteriorate with age, and the rod sections will come apart. I have several split-bamboo rods ranging from the 1920s to the early 1960s. None of them show any such tendency.

 

 

I doubt urea-formaldehyde will degrade significantly as it's used to bond the paper laminates together in the making of stuff like Formica. In the mid-70's I used to import about 1500 tonnes / month of saturating base kraft into the UK for just that purpose.

[Vagabond]

I guess the question then, is what would Dick Walker use today?

 

Vagabond, I'd be very interested in seeing some of your good quality cane rods one day, if that's possible?

 

 

Dick being Dick, he would almost certainly have given most of his self-made rods away by now. Someone only had to admire one, and he would say "Take it - its yours" then set to and make himself a new one.

 

About the time carbon rods came available, Dick was into reservoir trout, and yes, he was concerned with the development of that material. As I said before, that didn't mean that good cane rods suddenly became useless.

 

Anderoo - didn't you look at a couple of my cane rods at Wingham ? I rarely fish with anything else there.

[Vagabond]

I doubt urea-formaldehyde will degrade significantly as it's used to bond the paper laminates together in the making of stuff like Formica. .

 

Yes, that is consistent with what I have found, but there was a spate of doom and gloom stories re degradation about the 1970s . Probably started by people hoping to sell carbon rods as replacements for cane.