Before & After
Leonard 'Baby Catskill' - 7 ft, 2/1, circa 1920's - 60's (completed 9-21)
Delicate & diminutive Leonard Baby Catskill, Model 38L, 7 ft, 1-3/4 oz, 2/1, w/ original hang tag, rod bag & tube; well used AND well cared for.
BEFORE Restoration
Waxed cord butt wraps were carefully removed, & intact original wraps were re-sealed & re-coated w/ thinned varnish. Original varnish was polished with rubbing compounds.
AFTER Mild Restoration
Butt cap & sliding band were lightly polished, & gumwood spacer cleaned & oiled w/ 5 coats True Oil. Cork grip was left as-found to reflect rod's long history on the water.
AFTER Mild Restoration
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It's interesting to speculate whether the 7 ft fly rod that 'took the Catskills by storm' in the 1920's [AJ Campbell, 1997; Sparse Grey Hackle] was the Winchester [EW Edwards] 7 footer, or perhaps Leonard's 7 ft 'Baby Catskill'... Patrick Garner quips the '7-1/2 ft rod' Sparse describes must actually have been a 7 footer, as several notable 7 footers from Edwards & other makers made their appearance at that time [Playing with Fire, 2007].
Butt cap inscription reads "LEONARD, ROD, H.L. LEONARD CO., MAKERS, REG. US PAT. OFF." Preliminary check of Leonard catalogs suggests 1958 - 1964. Rod was missing butt section guides & had remnants of waxed cord re-wraps. Tip section guides & wraps all original. in good condition. Oddly, rod had similar waxed cord wraps added to the butt section above the cork grip (for measuring catch?). Upper wrap is exactly 11" from end of butt. An 11" trout would give quite a tussle on this ultra-light rod! Removal of cord revealed no damage to the cane. Delicate 4-1/4" cork grip darkly soiled, but very smooth. Gumwood spacer worn & darkened from use, & butt cap & sliding ring heavily tarnished. 
Rod exhibits an extremely fine tip, measuring 0.048" over varnish, 0.044" under varnish. Ferrule is 0.139", approx 9/64th's. AFTER Mild Restoration
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Abercrombie & Fitch 'Yellowstone Special' - 8-1/2 ft, 3/2, circa 1920's (completed 8-20)
The 'Yellowstone Special' is an historic fly rod in many ways. It was produced for the venerable New York tackle house of Abercrombie & Fitch by a number of makers over several decades. including Edwards, Montague, Heddon, & possibly Union Hardware; some even say by FE Thomas using Chub/Montague components (see Hatton's lavishly illustrated book of vintage rods). There are many examples of the 'Yellowstone Special' pictured on the web, w/ wrap patterns & colors differing slightly to completely from one another.
This Montague-made YS was subject to a partial amateur restore, using non-vintage components & modern threads. Happily the tip sections retained many original wraps & guides from which to ascertain the original silk colors & components. The signature wrap pattern was carefully re-constructed through further research & consultation with Rex Eads, a knowledgeable Montague collector.
BEFORE - Butt & mid sections have received first restore efforts w/ modern threads & modern components
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BEFORE - Notice tip sections retain many of their original wraps & nickle silver guides
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Determining Wrap Colors:
Hinted at by the beginning re-wrap above, original colors of Montague's Yellowstone Special were red combined w/ light yellow. A combined effect has occurred on many existing rods, which has confused many collectors & restorers (including Hatton) - the original red silk fades & the yellow wraps darken w/ dirt & old varnish, leaving all wraps appearing uniform beige. This has caused many collectors to state that they have seen these 'Yellowstone Specials' in a variety of color patterns.* Careful removal & inspection of a few relatively preserved old wraps on the tip sections of this rod revealed the true original colors: Guide Wraps were red tipped w/ yellow; & Intermediates alternate between red and yellow.
The Signature pattern is likewise a precise & lyrical alternation of wide & narrow red & yellow wraps. Discoveries like this is one of the small joys in this work.
Note: *An apparent Montague made Yellowstone Special has just appeared for sale on a dealer site, having an identical wrap pattern, except all silk wraps are green or muted green. So perhaps Montague did sometimes change their colors... or is it a vintage re-wrap...?
Hinted at by the beginning re-wrap above, original colors of Montague's Yellowstone Special were red combined w/ light yellow. A combined effect has occurred on many existing rods, which has confused many collectors & restorers (including Hatton) - the original red silk fades & the yellow wraps darken w/ dirt & old varnish, leaving all wraps appearing uniform beige. This has caused many collectors to state that they have seen these 'Yellowstone Specials' in a variety of color patterns.* Careful removal & inspection of a few relatively preserved old wraps on the tip sections of this rod revealed the true original colors: Guide Wraps were red tipped w/ yellow; & Intermediates alternate between red and yellow.
The Signature pattern is likewise a precise & lyrical alternation of wide & narrow red & yellow wraps. Discoveries like this is one of the small joys in this work.
Note: *An apparent Montague made Yellowstone Special has just appeared for sale on a dealer site, having an identical wrap pattern, except all silk wraps are green or muted green. So perhaps Montague did sometimes change their colors... or is it a vintage re-wrap...?
AFTER - Notice red guide wraps tipped in yellow, & alternating red & yellow intermediates
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AFTER - Notice the precise & lyrical alternation of red & yellow silk in signature area
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Heddon #10 - 8-1/2 ft, 2F, 3/1, circa 1940's (completed 5-20)
Heddon #10 fly rod w/ wonderfully swelled butt was discovered in very weathered condition. Stored in the farmhouse on grandparents' small farm in Texas ranch for many years, rod had suffered many years of exposure to moisture, heat, & dust. All sections had significant de-laminations, including tip section which was parted over fully 2/3 of its length. Varnish was dried out/missing, and stripper, most snake guides & tip top were missing.
AFTER - Ferrules were re-set & polished, reel seat hardware lightly polished, & cork grip lightly sanded.
AFTER - All guides were replaced with vintage NOS guides & wrapped w/ jasper silk matching original wraps under aged varnish.
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AFTER - Owner requested addition of one snake guide on mid (3 instead of usual 2). Faint 'ghost marks' of original guide position are visible, where spacing was changed.
BEFORE - Tip section almost fully de-laminated, showing remnants of original glue
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Hardy "Fairy" Fly Rod 9-1/2 ft, 3/2, circa 1920's (completed 4-19)
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Hardy "Fairy" fly rod was received in very good original condition, save for thick darkened varnish beginning to break down & become sticky. Partial Restoration: Old varnish was removed without damaging original wraps; wraps were cleaned and sealed w/ lacquer, and 2 coats of new varnish added to the rod. Additional repair to bottom of varnished cork grip included replacing bottom two rings covering uplocking reel seat hood, & cleaning and lightly sanding full grip. 
Compromised varnish on signature area of Hardy Fairy butt section (left)
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Cleaned & re-varnished original wraps on butt section
Comparison of varnish removed (left) with original compromised varnish (right) on butt section
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Hardy Fairy fly rod after partial restoration including stripping old varnish, cleaning original wraps, sealing, & applying new varnish, plus repair of cork grip
Leonard "Catskill " Fly Rod 9-1/2 ft, circa 1920's (completed 11-18)
After (photo courtesy of rod owner)
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 Before
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Historic early "classic era" Leonard Catskill that belonged to owner's grandfather was in poor condition w/ short dog-legged "splinted" tip, missing guides, worn/loose wraps, & thick soiled varnish. Original Leonard reel seat had been repaired w/ mis-matched plated butt cap, split & poorly soldered to barrel.
Rod was fully restored including replacing reel seat w/ proper vintage Leonard reel seat, restoring the original cork grip, polishing ferrules, removing old varnish, replacing missing agate stripper & right-twist snake guides, wrapping new intermediates, & re-varnishing the cane. Additionally, two matching 9-1/2 ft original Leonard tips were located in very good condition & were fitted to the rod.
Rod was fully restored including replacing reel seat w/ proper vintage Leonard reel seat, restoring the original cork grip, polishing ferrules, removing old varnish, replacing missing agate stripper & right-twist snake guides, wrapping new intermediates, & re-varnishing the cane. Additionally, two matching 9-1/2 ft original Leonard tips were located in very good condition & were fitted to the rod.
Afterward
Recently at the NW Regional NFLCC show, a man for whom I had restored this Leonard asked me to sit down, if I had time... He then told me a colorful story about the grandfather (& grandmother) who owned the Leonard I restored for him. I hope to relate this full story soon, after the grandson gives his OK to reveal the details about this fine rod....
Recently at the NW Regional NFLCC show, a man for whom I had restored this Leonard asked me to sit down, if I had time... He then told me a colorful story about the grandfather (& grandmother) who owned the Leonard I restored for him. I hope to relate this full story soon, after the grandson gives his OK to reveal the details about this fine rod....
After
Granger "The Goodwin Rod" Fly Rod, 9 -1/2 ft, 1930's (completed 11-15)
This beautiful early Granger was discovered completely intact, but had suffered from severe varnish melt-down, including a thick overcoat of newer varnish over the old varnish. Excess varnish was removed, the rod polished, and most of the fine decorative & intermediate wraps replaced with silk matching remaining original wraps. The rod was then protected with a very light coat of thinned varnish.
This beautiful early Granger was discovered completely intact, but had suffered from severe varnish melt-down, including a thick overcoat of newer varnish over the old varnish. Excess varnish was removed, the rod polished, and most of the fine decorative & intermediate wraps replaced with silk matching remaining original wraps. The rod was then protected with a very light coat of thinned varnish.
Before
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Before
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Before
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After
Montague Manitou Fly Rod, 9 ft, 1930's (completed 10-15)
Montague's top model during the early classic period, fitted w/ high quality hand-welted nickel silver ferrules, Agate stripper & tip tops, & historic Landman nickel silver & hard rubber reel seat.
(Rod had been left for several months in its box out in the rain, & required a close-to-full restoration, except for the second tip, 3rd section down, which required only cleaning & polishing.)
Montague's top model during the early classic period, fitted w/ high quality hand-welted nickel silver ferrules, Agate stripper & tip tops, & historic Landman nickel silver & hard rubber reel seat.
(Rod had been left for several months in its box out in the rain, & required a close-to-full restoration, except for the second tip, 3rd section down, which required only cleaning & polishing.)
After
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After
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After
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After
Montague Fly Rod, 9-1/2 ft, Varney Era, early 1900's (completed 3-15)
Full intermediate wraps, blued hand-welted nickel silver ferrules, nickel silver cap & ring reel seat & winding check. Elongated tapered cigar cork grip. Blackened steel snake guides + Agate stripping guide. Bamboo & ferrules were in solid condition. Wraps, corroded snake guides, missing & corroded tip tops, damaged stripper & deteriorated varnish required complete restoration.
(Rod belonged to an uncle, & was passed down to current owner, who wished to see it restored to its original bright condition.)
Full intermediate wraps, blued hand-welted nickel silver ferrules, nickel silver cap & ring reel seat & winding check. Elongated tapered cigar cork grip. Blackened steel snake guides + Agate stripping guide. Bamboo & ferrules were in solid condition. Wraps, corroded snake guides, missing & corroded tip tops, damaged stripper & deteriorated varnish required complete restoration.
(Rod belonged to an uncle, & was passed down to current owner, who wished to see it restored to its original bright condition.)
After
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Before
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Before
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