jay harvey cleveland bamboo fly fishing rod

Question
hi i hope you can help me.. my 81 year old friend gave me his vintage fly fishing rod it is bamboo & has 2 tips its 9 foot long &  the signature on the pole is  jay Harvey  & it also has the name Cleveland .. i did some research & found it was 1 of 5 poles made & named after presidents.. my friend said the fishing pole is from the 1930s & i have the rod bag & metal rod tube.. i just noticed they is 1 eye missing on 1 of the tips since its a 2 tips rod & the eye that is missing is the bottom eye on just 1 tip is this a costly repair? i would like to possible get it fixed if its  worth having repaid & i would greatly appreciate your opinion..  i hope i do not sound to stupid but i have no knowledge on vintage fishing poles~ the rod also has the x3lb  does this  mark stand for 3 pounds thanks you so much  for any info you can offer me & best wishes ~james munyon

Answer
James,
According to  Bamboo Rod Restoration Handbook by Michael Sinclair, the "Jay Harvey" rods were a brand name sold exclusively by the Edward K. Tryon Company of Philadelphia, PA. Beginning in the early 1930a these rods were sold as the high grade rods offered by Tryon.  The Jay Harvey rods came in five grades and seventeen models.  The five grades were all named after former US Presidents...Washington, Jefferson, Jackson, Cleveland and Lincoln. The earliest Jay Harvey rods (one model only) were made by Montague and the name Jay Harvey is stippled into the metal reel seat. Beginning in about 1934, all Jay Harvey rods were made by Heddon and the line expanded to five models.    Pre WW II Jay Harvey rods did not have tipping wraps.

The rod dates from the 1930s-1950s.  Tryon did not make rods, they had their bamboo rods made by other companies.  Around 1934 the Jay Harvey appeared in their lineup and these rods were made by Heddon.  There were five grades of Jay Harvey rods that had Heddon equivalents as follows:  Washington (Heddon #50), Jefferson (Heddon #35), Jackson (Heddon #20), Cleveland (Heddon #13) and Lincoln (Heddon #10).  These are pretty nice rods.

Value of the rod depends on actual condition of the rod.  I assume you have the rod bag as well as the rod tube.  In Good-very Good condition the rod value is in the $100- $550 range; in Excellent-Mint condition in the $175-$200 range.  These show up from time to time so they are not rare rods; but, they are fairly scarce and pretty good examples of Heddon trade rods.  

Heddon made good to above average fly rods.

Price Book:
Antique & Collectible  Fishing Rods: Identification & Value Guide Homel, Dan. 1997 (2nd edition 2000) add about 30% for age of book.

Homel gives the Heddon 9'  model "#13 "Lucky Angler" fly rod  with an extra tip, 3 sections the  value of  $40, 100 and $185 for poor, good, excellent condition respectively.

X3b  - no idea - your  rod  (a pole is someone from eastern Europe) weights a lot less than 3 lbs. It could best be guessed as a store inventory mark but it is not fishing or bamboo rod related.

Costs of repair
I would probably want to remove all guides if one is missing , there is any other loose threads or if the finish is not perfect - cost is 45 per section.

You might find someone at your local fly shop to re-wrap the guide and put a little water proof finish on that thread . But I also straighten rods , clean up cork and metal . If there is a breakdown in the finish at the male ferrules and other places, it can cause the rod to break.

Luck
Mac

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