Recently custom rod builder Matt Leiderman completed a build on a white fiberglass Kabuto 7033 blank that really impressed me. I asked Matt to provide a bit of information on the build, his thought process going into it, and his overall impressions of the Kabuto blanks.
Matt wrote... "I've been building more and more with Japanese blanks recently. As a builder, it’s fun is to play with the transparency of the glass and finding thread colors which "pop" on the light colored blanks. Kabuto blanks have an interesting glass pattern, almost a very light mottling. He has two versions, a white glass and an amber glass. The white is not just a flat "white" color but they have almost a very, very light blue hue to the blank. When the light hits the blank they truly glow.
I really wanted to do something different on this blank that I had not tried yet. I used a ventilated grip which has about a 1/16" gap between the rings. It certainly has a unique feel and look to it. I will decide after fishing if there are any advantages to the grip style. The seat is tiger maple with a very thin nickel silver cap inlaid at the butt. Overall it's a lightweight and simple setup with some interesting details."
Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.
"The lemon yellow silk stands out from the blank and on nearly any other blank the color would simply disappear.
The absolute best part of this build is of course the wonderful blank that Kabuto provided. This 7' three weight is one of the finest light glass blanks made. Occasionally light glass can be slow and whippy however this blank is maintains a crispness while being a true three weight.
Kabuto fly rods have been well received by those lucky enough to cast or own one however I hope even more people begin to acquire rods and/or blanks from our Japanese rodbuilding friends. I hope that the more the market grows for these rods the more new designs we will have to drool over. I am constantly impressed with the quality of the blanks and the actions they provide."
Matt Leiderman may be limiting the number of orders that he takes for 2011, so if you are interested in one of his inspired builds you just might want to start the dialouge now.
I think that I need to order up one of the white fiberglass Kabuto 7643 blanks and let Matt do the work on it. I like the feel of the Kabuto fly rod blanks a lot and Matt Leiderman is nothing short of an artist.
Matt wrote... "I've been building more and more with Japanese blanks recently. As a builder, it’s fun is to play with the transparency of the glass and finding thread colors which "pop" on the light colored blanks. Kabuto blanks have an interesting glass pattern, almost a very light mottling. He has two versions, a white glass and an amber glass. The white is not just a flat "white" color but they have almost a very, very light blue hue to the blank. When the light hits the blank they truly glow.
I really wanted to do something different on this blank that I had not tried yet. I used a ventilated grip which has about a 1/16" gap between the rings. It certainly has a unique feel and look to it. I will decide after fishing if there are any advantages to the grip style. The seat is tiger maple with a very thin nickel silver cap inlaid at the butt. Overall it's a lightweight and simple setup with some interesting details."
Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.
"The lemon yellow silk stands out from the blank and on nearly any other blank the color would simply disappear.
The absolute best part of this build is of course the wonderful blank that Kabuto provided. This 7' three weight is one of the finest light glass blanks made. Occasionally light glass can be slow and whippy however this blank is maintains a crispness while being a true three weight.
Kabuto fly rods have been well received by those lucky enough to cast or own one however I hope even more people begin to acquire rods and/or blanks from our Japanese rodbuilding friends. I hope that the more the market grows for these rods the more new designs we will have to drool over. I am constantly impressed with the quality of the blanks and the actions they provide."
Matt Leiderman may be limiting the number of orders that he takes for 2011, so if you are interested in one of his inspired builds you just might want to start the dialouge now.
I think that I need to order up one of the white fiberglass Kabuto 7643 blanks and let Matt do the work on it. I like the feel of the Kabuto fly rod blanks a lot and Matt Leiderman is nothing short of an artist.
3 comments:
I'd have to say that is one sweet rod. It looks from his web sit everything he makes is top shelf.
I love glass rods, and I'm glad I stumbled onto this site through OBN... Any ideas where I can order glass blanks at a decent price?
Fly and Fin...Matt Leiderman's rod work is high end for sure.
upacreek333...send me an email at thefiberglassmanifesto@gmail.com and I can help you out on glass blank sources.
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