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The Process
In all manner of design, I believe in form following function. But that doesn't mean the form shouldn't be spot on as well.
Every step of the process and every material that is used in constructing one of my fly rods is carefully considered.
To more closely follow the fibers which make up a culm of bamboo, I hand split and hand plane the bamboo for all of my rods. To keep the fibers as continuous as possible I displace nodes instead of just sanding them flat. To strengthen the bamboo against taking a set and to quicken its action slightly, I oven temper the bamboo. These time tested (and time intensive) steps help create the most uniformly responding, accurate and durable bamboo rod possible.
Once the bamboo rod blank has been created, the careful critique of methods and materials continues to the flor grade cork grip, the nickel silver ferrules and shop made reelseat hardware. The finest silk thread available is used for wrapping guides. Each wrap gets at least three coats of varnish before the entire rod receives three additional coats.
Once I thought of ferrule plugs as a cosmetic touch. Then I accidentally dropped a section (with plug) ferrule first on the shop floor. There was a chip out of the varnish on the plug but the ferrule suffered no damage. Now, ferrule plugs come standard on all of my rods.
Even the material and construction of my rod bags has been scrutinized. I use a lightweight linen for the bag so that the rod sections don't get twisted or held with a slight bend when stored in the tube, which over time could result in a set in the tips. Also, the hems on my bags fold to the outside so there is no seam to catch guides or tip tops when removing sections from the bag.
Then, after 60 to 80 hours of work, the result of all of these steps is a finely crafted, finely performing, hand made fly rod. And when only the highest quality materials are used and assembled with extreme care, attention to detail, and classic aesthetics, I think you may find the form as pleasing as the function.