I cleaned the varnish off the cork handle and reset and blued all the ferrules. Then the trouble started! The Celebrated Elephant silk was very poor quality. It was obviously made from a short staple silk and so it had a tendency to fuzz up and snap at my usual whipping tension. I decide to persevere and eventually finished the rod to a standard that I consider acceptable.
here are some pictures:
![Image](http://i1102.photobucket.com/albums/g451/seanmeeghan/WP_20150408_13_09_16_Pro_zps5jeidvgs.jpg)
Note that the tip appears to be a little short. This would appear to be standard on these rod as careful examination showed that the tip ring and whipping was original and hadn't been re-done.
![Image](http://i1102.photobucket.com/albums/g451/seanmeeghan/WP_20150408_13_11_06_Pro_zps6lzdtcxi.jpg)
There are several versions of this rod. Mine has the split cane splice on the middle section. Other versions have a whole cane splice or no splice at all. They all appear to have a "twin taper" tip section.
![Image](http://i1102.photobucket.com/albums/g451/seanmeeghan/WP_20150408_13_10_31_Pro_zpsyd84zkyw.jpg)
The transfer is perfect as are the reel fittings.
![Image](http://i1102.photobucket.com/albums/g451/seanmeeghan/WP_20150408_13_14_03_Pro_zpsmrm3jf3v.jpg)
The rod came with a bag in excellent condition.
I'm looking forward to using the rod over the next few weeks and I'll report back on how it performs.