For years now there has been a lot of requests for more glass two handers, especially blanks, to be brought to market. When Swift Fly Fishing released the Epic DH11 blank there was enough
initial interest that all available blanks sold out within a day and
another batch was soon rolled up.
This 11'6" 7/8/9 weight four piece two hander is a beast in every respect and from a custom builder perspective, the amount of work and materials needed to complete a build on one of these blanks is essentially doing the work of two complete builds in the end. It's not surprising that the cost of these builds are calculating out at or over $1,000 depending on the cork grade and hardware used.
Shane Gray of Graywolf Rods has added the DH11 to his Swift Fly Fishing Epic offerings and just finished his first client build on this blank. He sent along this album of the completed build yesterday and my first thoughts were..."HOT DAMN..."
Shane wrote... "Where to start about this two hander... Kevin, a longtime good client, sent the DH11 blank to me back in September, telling me he bought it the day Carl released them on his website, and he thought that this may be one of the first in the U.S.A.
I have built rods for Kevin in the past; he's a great rod builder himself so it seems I always get an order from him that is challenging. This one was no exception, and is not the first long glass rod I've built for him. Because of the diameter of the blank, I had to resurrect my old lathe with a larger headstock. It took me a month or so to put it back together and "fit" the blank in place. I glued the flor grade rings to the blank, starting with the aft grip. After turning and shaping the grip, I mounted the seat and the rest of the cork in place. I then turned the fore grip.
After several photos and some phone calls Kevin and I agreed on guides, wrap colors, and every other part of this build. All in all the rod came out really great and I look forward to Kevin's response once it arrives on his doorstep."
Check out the Graywolf Rods website for more information on Shane's unique offerings. Visit the Blog and Facebook page for the latest shop news, builds, and new projects.
This 11'6" 7/8/9 weight four piece two hander is a beast in every respect and from a custom builder perspective, the amount of work and materials needed to complete a build on one of these blanks is essentially doing the work of two complete builds in the end. It's not surprising that the cost of these builds are calculating out at or over $1,000 depending on the cork grade and hardware used.
Shane Gray of Graywolf Rods has added the DH11 to his Swift Fly Fishing Epic offerings and just finished his first client build on this blank. He sent along this album of the completed build yesterday and my first thoughts were..."HOT DAMN..."
Shane wrote... "Where to start about this two hander... Kevin, a longtime good client, sent the DH11 blank to me back in September, telling me he bought it the day Carl released them on his website, and he thought that this may be one of the first in the U.S.A.
I have built rods for Kevin in the past; he's a great rod builder himself so it seems I always get an order from him that is challenging. This one was no exception, and is not the first long glass rod I've built for him. Because of the diameter of the blank, I had to resurrect my old lathe with a larger headstock. It took me a month or so to put it back together and "fit" the blank in place. I glued the flor grade rings to the blank, starting with the aft grip. After turning and shaping the grip, I mounted the seat and the rest of the cork in place. I then turned the fore grip.
After several photos and some phone calls Kevin and I agreed on guides, wrap colors, and every other part of this build. All in all the rod came out really great and I look forward to Kevin's response once it arrives on his doorstep."
Check out the Graywolf Rods website for more information on Shane's unique offerings. Visit the Blog and Facebook page for the latest shop news, builds, and new projects.
2 comments:
Looks Epic! ;)
Another beautiful build Shane!!!!
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