impregnated cane

[Match Aerial]

Yes it does beresford I think it also stops to some degree rods taking a set.
Views will differ on how it changes the rod action,I can only speak from my own experences but in my opinion it produces a far stiffer blank.
It adds weight but so does several coats of varnish.
If I was to start production again of bamboo rods I would not bother making any but impregnated cane, just my opinion but I think its far better.

[JAA]

Yes it does beresford I think it also stops to some degree rods taking a set.
Views will differ on how it changes the rod action,I can only speak from my own experences but in my opinion it produces a far stiffer blank.

You'd expect that if the resin penetrated completely. The resin itself would be 'stiff', plus it would bind fibres together more tightly (like resin in a glass fibre rod) and lastly would resist deformation of the rod's cross-section as it bends, leading to a more linear restoring force as a function of deflection from 'straight'.

[Beresford]

The other thing is that it looks so lovely. The satin lustre of the polished but unvarnished cane contrasting with the gloss of the whippings and in some paces the copper strengthening whippings makes for a lovely looking rod. Sharpes of Aberdeen always used really good quality fittings as well, in my opinion.

I am surprised that there isn't more of a demand for impregnated cane rods these days.

[Kingfisher]

I found a story on the net once about a chap who lost his scottie rod over the side of his boat. He returned the following year with a pal who was a diver and retreaved the rod. After they dried it out all it needed was a new set of guides.

[RightCharlie]

I've now got three Partidge of Redditch, 2 x 11 foot & 1 x 10 foot, very nice in the hand and never seem to show signs of wear!

[JW1]

Are the impregnated rods from Sharpes/Scottie safe to work on, only I've been looking at a broken one, which I want to shorten and re-varnish which would involve a lot of wood working.

JW

[Nobby]

Don't forget that only the outer surfaces have large quantities of power fibres. re-profile the cane and you will cut through them. That said, I did it once to a rod that had lost 9 inches from the tip and it performed fine after re-profiling. I once spoke about the rod to John Chapman and he explained that since I had only taken the cane down a little I still had plenty of fibres in the cane.

[Match Aerial]

The tip sections on a good cane rod will be almost all composed of power fibres.
If you take a tonkin pole and polish the cut off section the depth of power fibres are clearly visible.
On some poles they are more prominent than others. I used to measure the power fibres and use them to best effect in each section of the rod. More powerfibres in the butt section and I would pick a pole that matched the job.

[Northern_Nomad]

I've got a Sharpes 3 piece fly rod which I reckon is probably pre 40's due to the twist lock ferrules on it. The numbers on the butt cap also don't match up to later rods as per the guide. Even more importantly it isn't impregnated but normal split cane.

It's in poor condition at the moment and is in the "in tray" awaiting attention.

So my question is when did they start impregnating rods? Are pre impregnated rods desireable or unwanted? Anyone seen catalogues showing this type of build. I'd be interested to know.

Cheers

Neil