When did ornamental wraps go away?

[QED]

Just curious.  I have a bunch of high end rods and they don't have any extraneous, purely ornamental wraps.  When did this happen?  I get that the ornamental wraps aren't functional and they add weight, but they were aesthetically interesting.

[Lead Head]

My best guess is a combination of the time it takes + labor costs, and a emphasis on lightweight. 

[bulldog1935]

Where you're always going to find it is custom salt and surf rods.  This website came up, and there are some tasteful examples of his wrapping details.   

https://naplescustomfishingrods.com/the-finished-product/

 

 

But there's a fine line between bastante and bastante *

When you see the latter, it's tough for me to imagine someone paid extra money for that. 

 

Simple wraps with maybe a little tipping color makes me happy. 

 

Valleyhill does a nice job with finishing details, mostly choice components, and using resin color. 

 

but this is still why I choose them - the colors just happened. 

______________________________

* @Deleted account - the word transliterates "enough" but it translates too much

[dodgeguy]

I like my rods simple. Black unpainted blanks with black reels.

[Deleted account]

1 hour ago, bulldog1935 said:

But there's a fine line between bastante and bastante

LOL. I'm considering changing my screen name to Demasiado Hilo...  

[Mike L]

I’m not a fan of any sort of bling on a fishing rod. 
I’ve never bought a rod because of the way it looks. 

Always Function over Form

 

 

 

 

 

Mike

[Tatulatard]

1 hour ago, Mike L said:

I’m not a fan of any sort of bling on a fishing rod. 
I’ve never bought a rod because of the way it looks. 

Always Function over Form

 

 

 

 

 

Mike

Have you refused to a buy a rod based on how it looks?  Form over function right?  I have this problem with vehicles.  A minivan would be an ideal fishing and camping vehicle as well as a utility vehicle and daily with 25+ MPG but I can't do it.  I just can't.   

[Mike L]

27 minutes ago, Tatulatard said:

Have you refused to a buy a rod based on how it looks?  Form over function right?  I have this problem with vehicles.  A minivan would be an ideal fishing and camping vehicle as well as a utility vehicle and daily with 25+ MPG but I can't do it.  I just can't.   

Yes I have, I walk right by them.
I buy rods and reels because of what I want/need it to do, not because its color coordinated or may clash with my hat!

 

 

 

 

Mike

 

 

 

 

[Finessegenics]

There's a custom rod maker in my area who's very big on ornamental wraps. He makes some cool stuff and has repaired a few rods for me. I just don't see the appeal of paying to have a decorative wrap done. I've held some of the rods and they're still very lightweight. My guess would be it was too labor intensive to bother with continuing for rod manufacturers. To be honest though, I couldn't care less how a rod looks...could be hot pink or the nastiest combination of colors you can imagine. Subconsciously, it might have an effect on me when seeking a new rod but that's impossible to say. I'd just never pay to have my rod look a certain way. To each their own!

[J Francho]

8 hours ago, QED said:

When did this happen?

They seemed to disappear from production rods in the 1980s. 

[TnRiver46]

I’m fishing with some folks in their 70s and 80s this week, they have their fiberglass rods from their youth. We were just remarking yesterday on how cool the guide wraps were, they also have their names on their rods 

[MAN]

We just decided to take the very last remaining ornamental wrap we had left in the assortment (surf rod) off for the '23 lineup.  No labor cost savings to be had....its just not really a thing anymore.  Most custom rod builders still utilize it, and as soon as I see a someone with a ornamental wrap there a 90% chance it was a custom build. Which is neat. Let the custom guys have it. Gives them an advantage over the massed produced stuff

[bulldog1935]

2 hours ago, J Francho said:

They seemed to disappear from production rods in the 1980s. 

This is a pretty accurate date - you can question how valuable or even how handsome those Fenwick wraps were. 

@TnRiver46

Two of the best rod designers and builders of all time, John Harrington c. 1960, and Bill Phillipson 1971 - a splash of mylar. 

If you go way back, cane rod builders had signature wraps. 

Leonard, c. 1915

FE Thomas, 1918

 

[TnRiver46]

6 minutes ago, bulldog1935 said:

This is a pretty accurate date - you can question how valuable or even how handsome those Fenwick wraps were. 

@TnRiver46

Two of the best rod designers and builders of all time, John Harrington c. 1960, and Bill Phillipson 1971 - a splash of mylar. 

If you go way back, cane rod builders had signature wraps. 

Leonard, c. 1915

FE Thomas, 1918

 

“They don’t make them like they used to” 

[Deleted account]

LOL. A (drunk) Navy buddy of mine inadvertently transliterated in a Valparaiso bar once, being a native speaker, I tried to warn him, but he didn't listen...

[casts_by_fly]

11 hours ago, QED said:

Just curious.  I have a bunch of high end rods and they don't have any extraneous, purely ornamental wraps.  When did this happen?  I get that the ornamental wraps aren't functional and they add weight, but they were aesthetically interesting.

 

I guess it kinda depends on what you want to class as purely ornamental.  I have a fenwick HMG sitting here that is < 10 years old that has a pair of 'framing' wraps above and below the decal.  They are simple black wraps with gold, spaced thread inlays, but they serve no purpose than to frame the Fenwick logo and rod info.  Like said above though, as labor costs started to add up on rods, its an easy place to save a couple points of margin.  Trim wraps are another one.  For the longest time there was the main guide wrap and then a contrasting thread wrap on the end (often metallic thread).  Then trim wraps disappeared on the top halves of rods.  Then on the bottom halves.  I have a set of All stars from the early 90's here that have the full trim wraps. I'd have to check in the basement on some other rods.  The more ornamental things like diamond wraps or spaced out spirals I would say started disappearing in the 70's.  I have a couple 70's vintage fiberglass here with them.

 

 

[QED]

9 hours ago, Mike L said:

I’m not a fan of any sort of bling on a fishing rod. 
I’ve never bought a rod because of the way it looks. 

Always Function over Form

 

 

 

 

 

Mike

 

As I noted in my original post, I have a bunch of high end rods without any bling, so that was never a decision variable.  Was just curious when the transition (on the high end) from ornamental wraps to none happened.

[Tatulatard]

9 hours ago, Mike L said:

Yes I have, I walk right by them.
I buy rods and reels because of what I want/need it to do, not because its color coordinated or may clash with my hat!

 

 

 

 

Mike

 

 

 

 

Sounds a little like you do value looks after all.  

[papajoe222]

The last rod I purchased with a crosswrap was back in the late 90's and it was a high-end rod.

Their absence is one of the reasons I began building my own rods.  Crosswraps, inlays, and decorative trim bands are what I learned to do once I mastered wrapping guides.   Now I have exactly the power/action I want with an eye catching finish.

 

[WRB]

Ornamental rod wraps are more craftsmanship then functional. If you enjoy craftsmanship adding ornamental guide wraps to the fore grip rod wraps isn’t going to add enough weight to be noticed.

Tom 

[Trox]

If it aint blingin', It aint slingin'

[Chris Catignani]

I've done quite a bit this year....year of the chevron.

[throttleplate]

chrome doesnt get you home, former harley owner.

[GRiver]

My wife asked me once,

“How come your rods all seem to match your reels? Why does everything in your boat looks like it goes together? Even your life vest looks like it was made with the interior of your boat.

Why can’t you put on pants and shirt that match?

 

She even asked once why my fishing gear and boat was always neat and in order, but couldn’t  fold my clothes and put them away with out wadding them up. 
So be careful if the when your women folk start to notice you really have an eye for fashion…. It might be only for fishing gear but it makes them go    “Hmmmmm….”
 

[J Francho]

Always make sure your purse matches your belt and shoes.