After Maurice Net
Posted: Wed Jul 04, 2018 4:56 pm
Last year I met up with forum member Pershoreharrier (Keith) we chatted about many an angling topic but my real
interest was what Keith had brought with him - an original Maurice Ingham net - and my oh my it was something to behold. These nets are as rare as hens teeth and it was a most excellent gesture on Keith's part to bring it along to Norfolk for me to have a look.
Now, this is where the storey gathers momentum as I desperately tried to source an Ingham - obviously to no avail - well an original that is. I did however find a couple of makers producing similar designs to the Ingham but they lacked the size. Now around this time I placed an advertisement on the forum for 'free to a good home' old cane sea rods and other odds and ends. I was contacted by Dave - Old Man River - who duly collected the stuff a while later. After a week or so I was most delighted to receive some hand made floats which were rather smart and all handmade by David.
A week or two after this I was then treated to a couple of Cane and brass rod rests which were both very nice indeed and exquisitely made. It was then after building a long distance swapping of information, banter and the like we got round to discussing the Ingham nets. I duly sent pictures and dimensions over to David to see what his thoughts were. The conclusion was he would have a go at building one - Naturally I was very very excited at the prospect. As time rolled on it was apparent that there are a fair few stumbling blocks when making your own net as I am sure most of you are aware. The first issue was the brass block - no one was making them and more importantly anything that was available was in alloy. In the end David made his own which you will see is a work of art in itself. In fact all the brassware is sourced from other bits of old kit like chimney rod ferrules etc. and then altered to suit the net build aesthetically. Other obstacles were the weight of the net in relation to strength and size. Finding a former to steam the wood into shape etc. Sourcing a net to fit the net head - I was very keen to use a fine mesh and be able to change it as and when required rather than having it stitched into the net frame as per the original. The list was endless . . . . . .
Once I started to receive pictures of Davids progress I really could not believe what was happening - the net was coming together in such a superb fashion that I regularly had to pinch myself. Finally and after several months of endeavour and lots of swearing so Dave's wife has told me we met up in Norfolk for the exchange. Words could not express how I was feeling - it wasn't just the exquisite net - it was how it all came about, and most importantly of all was the standout gesture offered to me from David - to build it in the first place - generous, thoughtful, pragmatic, kind, creative and focussed what a chap.
I would like once again to thank David who had to put up and deal with a fair few headaches in the process of making
the net and ultimately in offering to try to build it in the first place - and the resulting net being a stunner . . . .
I hope you all agree.
I would also at this point just like to say that the likelihood of all of this coming together would be zero if it wasn't for this most wonderful forum - traditional fisherman - traditional values - a huge thankyou to our administrator Mark for making all of this happen for me and all of us - it is something to treasure - it is as rare as an original Ingham net.
Cheers.
See you in Herefordshire next week David
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Picture s of Dave's workshop during the making of the net
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interest was what Keith had brought with him - an original Maurice Ingham net - and my oh my it was something to behold. These nets are as rare as hens teeth and it was a most excellent gesture on Keith's part to bring it along to Norfolk for me to have a look.
Now, this is where the storey gathers momentum as I desperately tried to source an Ingham - obviously to no avail - well an original that is. I did however find a couple of makers producing similar designs to the Ingham but they lacked the size. Now around this time I placed an advertisement on the forum for 'free to a good home' old cane sea rods and other odds and ends. I was contacted by Dave - Old Man River - who duly collected the stuff a while later. After a week or so I was most delighted to receive some hand made floats which were rather smart and all handmade by David.
A week or two after this I was then treated to a couple of Cane and brass rod rests which were both very nice indeed and exquisitely made. It was then after building a long distance swapping of information, banter and the like we got round to discussing the Ingham nets. I duly sent pictures and dimensions over to David to see what his thoughts were. The conclusion was he would have a go at building one - Naturally I was very very excited at the prospect. As time rolled on it was apparent that there are a fair few stumbling blocks when making your own net as I am sure most of you are aware. The first issue was the brass block - no one was making them and more importantly anything that was available was in alloy. In the end David made his own which you will see is a work of art in itself. In fact all the brassware is sourced from other bits of old kit like chimney rod ferrules etc. and then altered to suit the net build aesthetically. Other obstacles were the weight of the net in relation to strength and size. Finding a former to steam the wood into shape etc. Sourcing a net to fit the net head - I was very keen to use a fine mesh and be able to change it as and when required rather than having it stitched into the net frame as per the original. The list was endless . . . . . .
Once I started to receive pictures of Davids progress I really could not believe what was happening - the net was coming together in such a superb fashion that I regularly had to pinch myself. Finally and after several months of endeavour and lots of swearing so Dave's wife has told me we met up in Norfolk for the exchange. Words could not express how I was feeling - it wasn't just the exquisite net - it was how it all came about, and most importantly of all was the standout gesture offered to me from David - to build it in the first place - generous, thoughtful, pragmatic, kind, creative and focussed what a chap.
I would like once again to thank David who had to put up and deal with a fair few headaches in the process of making
the net and ultimately in offering to try to build it in the first place - and the resulting net being a stunner . . . .
I hope you all agree.
I would also at this point just like to say that the likelihood of all of this coming together would be zero if it wasn't for this most wonderful forum - traditional fisherman - traditional values - a huge thankyou to our administrator Mark for making all of this happen for me and all of us - it is something to treasure - it is as rare as an original Ingham net.
Cheers.
See you in Herefordshire next week David
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--------------------
Picture s of Dave's workshop during the making of the net
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