What are your opinions on aesthetics?

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rlnunleycom		#21	[url]	[-]
Posts: 439 01/13/2009 13:39	SecondHandWolf wrote: Now my pet peeve: so many rods are spoiled by a sloppy or ugly ink writing of the name, serial numbers, etc. Bold and dark is very ugly. Some look like a commercial stamp, which I think takes away from the elegance of the rod. Some writing looks like it was a dashed-off writing of a name and phone number. I think any maker should feel fine about contracting with someone who does have good penmanship. Not everyone can write with the elegance of Homer Jennings, so asking for help is fine. Secondhandwolf SHW, I agree. I have traditionally written "RL Nunley, Maker" on one flat and "x'x" xWT #xxxx" on another flat. I'm strongly considering going to a roll stamp (so strongly that I've had the layout done already) that simply says "RLNunley Maker" stamped on the butt cap in a box and putting nothing on the rod in ink but the Serial Number. Length and line weight? Hey, most of you guys can pick up a rod and say, "Hmmm... about 8' long, and I bet this casts a 5 wt pretty good". I really see no need to continue to write that on fly rods. Until the roll stamp is in my hot little hands, I think I'll just have the butt caps engraved and ink only the serial number on one flat. R.L. Nunley Rodmaker Last Edited By: rlnunleycom 01/13/2009 13:41. Edited 1 time.
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seattlesetters		#22	[url]	[-]
Posts: 519 01/13/2009 14:01	I like rods which are rather traditional and understated. I tend to like some form of gold wraps with tipping, signatures are fine and some burl is OK with me in a reel seat. I like a 13-ring, half wells grip with swelled top (or even a "peckerhead" style) on rods 8' and longer, and I like a slim little 10- to 12-ring cigar ending in a cap & ring on rods 7'6" and shorter. An agate stripper, if complimentary to overall look of the rod, is an elegant addition, IMHO. I also like N/S fittings, blued or natural is fine. Cane can be any color, but my least favorite is pure blonde. I like my cane varnished. No color preserver, no rattan, no intermediates, no engraving, no novels written on the rod, no disco balls, nugget bracelets or diamond-studded dollar sign necklaces.
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mattcliff		#23	[url]	[-]
Posts: 28 01/13/2009 15:42	Very interesting posts -- I hope others will weigh in. Re: color preserver: Thinking about it, I guess the reason I'm biased against un-preserved, translucent wraps is because I think they look graphite-y. I know there is some precedent for a few makers using un-preserved wraps going back to the 40s or 50s (Garrison, Dickerson(?)), so I admit it may just be what I grew up seeing -- plastic rods with translucent wraps, cane rods with preserved ones. But I do like the snappy look that properly-lacquered thread has.
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Berry Point		#24	[url]	[-]
Posts: 431 01/13/2009 15:43	My preference is for simple, understated elegance, but like so many things it can be expressed in different ways. I really like flamed and mottled cane with un-tipped tan or brown wraps, proportional cigar or reversed half wells grip, and a subdued wood spacer with down locking or cap and ring reel seat. I dislike sliding bands over cork, not because they are not pleasing to look at but simply because of a perhaps irrational fear of wobble, cork wear, and dropped reels--it's happened too often. I also prefer nickel silver hardware, natural or blued. There is just something substantial, a feel and look about n/s that aluminum does not convey. Most of my rods look something like that, but I think it would be boring to have them all look the same. I have an F.E. Thomas Browntone so deeply flamed that you can barely discern the wraps. It's gorgeous in its uniformity. Another has darkly flamed cane and black wraps, highly figured but blued n/s hardware, and a gorgeous and glossy amboina spacer. I consider it equally understated and really elegant. So too my big gun for salmon and steelhead which has that old Leonard straw colored cane with Chinese red wraps tipped black--an absolute classic in my book. But then there's that Wulff/Farlows for NT with its bronze or brass ferrules, replacement n/s and wood reel seat with aluminum and black plastic end cap, and those butt ugly teal-blue-green-whatever-colored wraps. Damn good thing it casts and fishes well…...
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Hipgnosis	Aesthetics?	#25	[url]	[-]
Posts: 497 01/13/2009 16:05	I'm for the KISS principle as well... seems that most makers tend toward this direction and I haven't seen too many gaudy rods out there these days. I really like the overall simplicity of the Dickerson look but the slightly enhanced embellishments of Gray and Spittler are pleasing as well. As to reel seats, metal work, ferrules, cane color, etc., it's all what the individual perceives to constitute an integrated whole in the appearance of the instrument. Mike HIPGNOSIS
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cdmoore	Quiet Proportion	#26	[url]	[-]
Posts: 2636 01/13/2009 18:04 Moderator	Over time, my aesthetic preferences in a rod appear to have solidified around what I call "quiet proportion" or, to use a jazz analogy, West Coast Cool: EC Powell, Gary Howells, Jim Hidy, Jimmy Reams, Marty Karstetter, Mario Wojnicki, Per Brandin, Eric Peterson, etc. I agree with previous comments that Young, Payne, Garrison, some FETs, and a few others have achieved similar results, but, for me, they lack a certain something. There are a few others on my list who add a twist to the themes above: Yoshida, Akimaru, Fries, Kakuhiro. Then there are the outliers: Moran (but not Jennings), Dave Kenney, Kawagarasu, and Kagerow. I'm sure there are some I'm missing. No time to snap photos of all, but here's a picture that I think captures what I mean. On top is a Kakuhiro. Below, in order from top to bottom: Hidy, Kagerow, Yoshida, Brandin, Reams, Howells. One other thing I've noticed. Powells, Youngs, and Paynes seem too age REALLY, REALLY well. Not sure yet about all the others. C "Occasionally, I hallucinate. About fly fishing. Well, not really. I guess I just forget about everything else." ~Tom Chandler Last Edited By: cdmoore 01/14/2009 12:15. Edited 2 times.
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Giff11		#27	[url]	[-]
Posts: 33 01/13/2009 18:07	My opinion is that less is more -- less writing on the blank, a simple cap-and-ring reel seat as opposed to a screw-lock seat, minimal thread wraps and no design/signature wraps, if possible. I have always admired those rods, and makers, who tend toward the subtle side when it comes to aesthetics.
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docbluedevil		#28	[url]	[-]
Posts: 56 01/13/2009 20:25	Are you all just describing your ideal rod? Or do you actually have one in hand that you could post a pic of? An "aesthetic" thread needs pictures.
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bobbeegee		#29	[url]	[-]
Posts: 2274 01/13/2009 20:27	PYochim wrote: I'm not a fan of intermediate wraps or cork reelseats. I like the contrast of a nice piece of wood with cane. I would agree, although the Granger Favorite is a rod that will knock your socks off with those beautiful intermediates! A truly beautiful, and classic rod, in my opinion. bobbyg Go Heels!!!
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Soft Hackle		#30	[url]	[-]
Posts: 1181 01/13/2009 21:25	I would agree with John Channer, of course I own one of his rods and it is very pretty in all respects. I also am a fan of black bakelite or plastic as first used by the Edwards family and still used by Spittler, Gray and others. I feel it adds a touch of elegance in some strange way. I normally abhor plastic on anything classic but love it on bamboo rods/
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rlnunleycom		#31	[url]	[-]
Posts: 441 01/14/2009 00:20	docbluedevil wrote: An "aesthetic" thread needs pictures. doc, here ya go. This is a rod that I sent out a few weeks ago and it's in a style that I like. The cane is lightly flamed, just a little past dark blonde. Cinnamon wraps, dark brown tipping, Thuya filler, C&R hardware, stepdown ferrules. The filler on this is not one of the more highly figured Thuya pieces I have, but it's a nice piece and compliments the wraps and cane color nicely. The stripper on this rod is agate and a brown color that matches the wraps almost perfectly. This little rod just "blends". R.L. Nunley Rodmaker
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docbluedevil		#32	[url]	[-]
Posts: 57 01/14/2009 00:38	R L Nunley - Understated, elegant, and timeless.
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Sparquero		#33	[url]	[-]
Posts: 155 01/14/2009 06:49	This really is a good topic! Kind of reminds me of going to the big box tool stores and eyeing the fancy looking tools with all the accessories, color coordinated, fancy features etc. and then looking in mine or a fellow tradesman's tool box or pouch. Usually what is in there is practical, well put together and well used, designed to actually do the job. I guess I feel the same about cane rods, classic looking but plain, perhaps even a traditional look, almost a 'tool of the trade' look. Darker flaming, sliding bands, unnoticeable windings etc. Which leads me to a question which has puzzled me for years and after reading the responses to this topic and noticing that most indicate a liking for the uncomplicated look it puzzles me even more. What is the difference between a Driggs River (for example only) rod by a very well respected full-time maker for $1,000 and the same taper with the same features by another well respected full-time maker for $2,000 or more. I even am puzzled by bamboo rods that sell for $3-4,000 and more. What is the difference in construction that can cost that much?
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thousandstar		#34	[url]	[-]
Posts: 133 01/14/2009 10:43	I like flamed tone, earth colored wraps. I add my opinion about price differences and rod construction. I think your paying the high price for the signature on the rod, it has little to do with construction.
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rlnunleycom		#35	[url]	[-]
Posts: 443 01/14/2009 11:08	The difference in the price isn't always just a matter of paying for the makers reputation. Sometimes it does have to do with subtle differences in quality of work... examples: maker A had nice wraps, but they're a little tighter in some places than in others, making light and dark areas in the wraps. maker B has perfect wraps, no light or dark places, no shimmers, no flaws.. maker A has great finishes on his rods, that are almost flawless. Maker B has finishes on his rods that you have to use a strong magnafying glass to find ANY flaws in. Maker A has almost perfect glue joints on his rods. You're rarely find what could be called a really bad glue line. maker B throws away any blank that has a noticable glue line. So, what I'm saying is that it's a matter of fine detail in many cases, not just in the difference in the signature on the rod. maker A pays quite a bit of attention to detail and gets a good price for his rods. maker B pays meticulous attention to detail and commands a higher price for his rods... and it's well deserved. R.L. Nunley Rodmaker
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ibookje		#36	[url]	[-]
Posts: 1402 01/14/2009 13:01	Not to forget the old adage "more demand than supply". Whether this is because the maker was praised by a book (like Splitting Cane) or simply has a long history of making rods and is aging (like Bob Summers) causing long waiting lists as well. Aging isn't inteded as anything else but demographically. But this wasn't the question, so let's go back to the topic. I think (and this is a quite a lot of work) it would be nice if someone could make a pictured list of developments in time in terms of what maker/company set the standard which others follow(ed)? Jay
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creakycane		#37	[url]	[-]
Posts: 2011 01/14/2009 14:03	Leonard Payne Young Thomas Powell Edwards Garrison one could add Winston Most of the rods I like aesthetically (Flame Taylors, blond Aroners, just about all Jennings, T & T Individualists, older Jenkins, Summers, Spittler, Fody to name a few) are variations/crosses on the looks of these "canonical" styles. I'm sure these styles evolved from generations before, but I leave that to experts in vintage rods to elborate. I am tough to please but do like a diversity of styles. I don't care for spiral wraps regardless of who did them and I don't care for delrin on a rod seat, but if it has at the head of the grip a la edwards, Carlson and Spittler, I can be convinced - just seems right. Too many sig wraps, bold intermediates, sloppy extensive writing, printed bags, too much ornate scrolling on harware, white ivory/tusk scrimshaw spacers --- all, just say no. Screwlocks from T&T are nice, as are the heavy aluminum jobs that look-paynelike on some rods....
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docbluedevil		#38	[url]	[-]
Posts: 59 01/14/2009 17:54	There are many variations of rod aesthetics that I like, depending on my mood and day of the week. But I'm pretty constant in what I don't care for (and wouldn't request) (similar to some of Creakycane's prefs): Spiral wraps Intermediates Sloppy inscriptions (but any handwritten sig is still better than a silk-screened/stamped sig) Full wells grips (since I cast with my index finger extended, pointing to my target) Reel seats without a wood or cork spacer Chinese red wraps on blonde cane
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ibookje		#39	[url]	[-]
Posts: 1403 01/14/2009 18:01	Since nobody yet has spoken for liking fancy cosmetics, I hope this is not preventing people who DO like fancy cosmetics to speak out. Last Edited By: ibookje 01/14/2009 18:27. Edited 1 time.
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Serendipity		#40	[url]	[-]
Posts: 1292 01/14/2009 18:39	I like simplicity and a finely tuned sense of proportion, but I also like to see some small detail that gives me pause. Let's be honest. a lot of elegant, understated cane rods look alike. I like to see something that causes me to take a second look. It's generally a small thing: This NS winding check on a dark flamed Tom Nigro rod is a case in point. I can't resist T&T reel seat hardware. It's a cut above. In general I prefer the oxidized slide band. I can make a case for flair. One day many years ago, I was walking along the Willowemoc and I came upon a fine caster. The red wraps on his straw colored Leonard almost glowed in the morning sunlight. Garish? Nope. Stylish as his stroke. What don't I like? Ivory inserts. Engraving that borders on the Gothic. Tiger flaming. Cheap hardware. (I cringe when I see a beautifully constructed rod with a cork reel seat and a lightweight, black, cap and ring. Yes, it's very light, but I'd gladly trade an extra 1/2 ounce for a little style.) richard
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