"Strength and Luck" - Kabuto 7'0 #3wt for Alex

Kabuto 7'0 3wt for Alex with Perfect Agate guide and red trim bands

Another beautiful rod built for Alex in Massachussets, this time a 7'0 wt. The rod features a gorgeous agate stripper guide from Perfect-Europe that matches the rod beautifully. the wraps are transparent and finished with a narrow (3 turns of YLI 100 Silk) red trim band. This blank was unusual and even more beautiful than usual from Kabuto in that it had a red spiral line running all through the butt section from the manufacture process - the trim band matches it perfectly. The running guides and tip top are Snake Brand guides.

Alex asked me if I could do something special for the rod and whether I could incorporate the words Strength and Luck in Japanese. After much debate we decided that it would be a nice idea to try to incorporate it into the bamboo reel seat. This was worrying, I have a very limited supply of bamboo suitable for making reel seats and there was a huge risk of failure and ruining a full days worth of work on the lathe in making it work. The results, however, are beautiful and unique.

Anyone who has ever made stacked bamboo reel seats probably shares my reluctance to make them - bamboo has fibres like steel, blunts my lathe knives in seconds and has a nasty tendency to split, splinter and explode - especially on a wood turning as opposed to machine lathe. The results are always beautiful though and it is very rewarding to see the final product.