Fly.................................... blank!

I would normally put up all the photos when I have completed the rod... but I just could resist putting up this....  :)

MATAGI Super Blank - UL

Seems like ultralight tackle is in..  and everybody have to own at least one UL rod.

Here's another UL built from Matagi TR60 Super Trout blank. This local area fishing blank is a 6'0" 2 piece, 2-6lb rated and made of carbon fiber.

Custom design cork grip.

Shaped

Matagi Andrew's flat face trigger reel seat with black wood insert.

Test fitting. Found out that the transparent resin butt cap does not match the concept of the handle. It have to go....

Thought of doing the wrapping in dark brown, afraid the rod will look too earthy.. and it goes back to more conventional color... BLACK

So, black it is.. with a single silver thread trimming

Matagi Rod decal..

Cork Seal for protective coating..

Micro guides..
 

The smallest guide used is only #4.5
 

The butt cap finally arrived...

Darker color butt cap to match the handle.

MATAGI fiberglass UL

Building another MATAGI fiberglass XUL blank. 6' 2-4lb noodle action with lots of fun hooking up palm size fish.

No cork component this time round. Just simple skeleton reel seat and a EVA butt piece. I used an aluminium insert for the reel seat.

Fuji K-guides KR concept.

MATAGI butt cap

MATAGI Rod decal.

Metallic white thread wrapping to  K-guide with silver trimming.

Another angle of the guides .

The full handle view.

Simple, white and clean...

I wonder how it looks with black frame guides...  :)

Modern "Classic" Trigger reel seat

WELCOME to my first chapter of 2015.

2015 .. vintage style reel seats...

I brought this back all the way from Japan last year. These reel seats are produced by Glass Eye Works in Japan. 

There are several company who are still manufacturing this kind of reel seat, Glass Eye Works, Brightliver, Vagabond... just to name a few. 

This type of vintage reel seats are still in demand in the market although their segment are small.

To add some personal touch to those reel seat blanks, the grip for these reel seats are custom made from wood.

Commonly the handle will look something like that. Finger notches are carved to the grip for more comfortable handling.

To further enhance the personalization... additional carving can be done to the butt area of the wood grip like this....

Wicked!!!!

More photos of that in different angle below.

When the carving done, the wooden grip was given a coat of epoxy and left to dry.

These are the photos of the completed reel seats. Now I just need to build half of a rod for this reel seat.

The wood grips above was carved by a friend of mine up north, Anthony Ooi. 
I would like to thanked him for taking his time to customized the wooden grip for me and for taking up the challenge to carve the skull on the handle butt.


Here is another brand of the vintage reel seats...

... but this will be another story!