There is an 8 1/2 ft rod listed on the unamed site #
It is marked "Defiance" Impregnated any ideas what it is? Maker?
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riflegunbuilder |
Defiance Rod? |
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There is an 8 1/2 ft rod listed on the unamed site #
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freestoner.fiberglassflyro... |
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It's a Horrocks-Ibbotson, top of the line or near to it. Probably a 5 or 6 weight. A rod model I've never seen before- but when it comes to H-I and
Montague, it seems as if there's always another one.
I'm wary of H-I models I don't know about, because in the case of that company, price and quality are often completely decoupled. The most popular tapers are the 2-piece rods, and they were some of the cheapest rods H-I made. On the other hand, the most expensive rods- the "Registered" models, which included Old Hi's Hi-Test, the Vernley, the Chancellor, and a few others- have pretty mixed reviews. Although some people say they're fond of a couple of the models, I don't recall which ones in that bunch they are. And some of the others are widely considered stone dogs. Worst of all, during some of the model years, H-I reinforced their most expensive rods with a thin rod of vanadium steel, with results on the weight and action that could have been predicted (although I suppose they were following the lead of Hardy, who did the same thing with some of their rod models for a while.) That means that one year's Chancellor might have a thin core of vanadium steel, and another year's production of the same model escaped that engineering fad. No way to tell just by looking. As for the H-I "impregnation" process, the secret formula was fairly straightforward- creosote, aka "Woodlife." Hey, it's water resistant- and it probably does the job okay, although in cosmetic terms, the often streaky and uneven results are pretty much what you'd expect from brushing a bamboo rod with creosote (although I have a pretty nice example of a Cascade that actually looks pretty good- a rare 8' model that's my favorite 3-piece H-I, I've mentioned it on the Forum before.) Most all of the impregnated cane H-I rods were also varnished over, afterward. As a rule, most of them don't have that even, satin, nonsticky finish that impregnated Orvis rods or Phillipson rods have. Although I think I've seen a few examples of the Registered rods that are impregnated but not varnished,it was a while ago, and I can't be sure. By the end of H-Is bamboo era, most of their rods got the treatment, and were vanrished over top of it.
Last Edited By: freestoner 03/06/2009 12:59.
Edited 3 times.
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GoneFlyFishin |
Defiance Rod... | #2 | ||||
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I agree with Freestoner. Looks like an H-I to me. I've never seen Montague rods marked as impregnated like this, or as "Registered". The only impregnated Montague rods I've seen are those done in conjunction with Orvis, and these were very high-end rods. The ones I've seen had Montague hardware found on the Manitou and Red Wing, with a wood reel seat spacer, and were marked as "Orvis Impregnated" on the (Montague-made) butt cap. These rods appear to be completely Montague made using the Orvis impregnation process on the cane. . . . Rex
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freestoner.fiberglassflyro... |
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That square "Impregnated Tonkin Cane" decal on the Defiance rod is conclusive evidence that it's a Horrocks-Ibbotson.
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