Addendum to Dads bamboo fly rod #1

Question
Hi, Rich--

Was rereading the information you asked for and will try to offer as much as possible.  In addition to my first email --

I know that the rod was hand-made by an acquaintance of Dad's when he lived in Cincinnati, Ohio, during the seventies.  It does have flat sides, rather than round.  The two end pieces are 4 ft. long each, and both have #121 on them.  (I don't know if that is a standard size, or a number that meant something just to the maker.)  Fully assembled, the rod is 8 ft. long.  The metal parts that connect look like brass.  The metal at the bottom of the rod below the handle looks like copper.  Perhaps it is brass that is finished in a copper color?  or real copper?  I don't know.  The handle is cork.  The diameter of the rod just above the handle -- I don't have the most accurate measuring tool, but it isn't a half inch...perhaps more like 3/8 of an inch.

Sorry I didn't add everything in the first email--

Thanks!

Kim

Answer
Kim
J B Tonkin is neither a model name nor maker in my memory or books. It is a bamboo fly rod.

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

Bamboo Rod Restoration Handbook by Michael Sinclair

Classic & Antique Fly-Fishing Tackle: A Guide for Collectors & Anglers by A.J. Campbell

The reel seat is not copper, I would guess it is a steel / aluminum alloy.

It looks like  a decent rod but it is off the collectors radar and there for not going to resale for much. I wish I had more for you but it isn't even on the interent.

My best guess is 121 is the model , JB was the maker. You might check 70s newspapers and phone books at the library for a JB.

3 1/2 oz  is average for a 2 piece- take a look at some Orvis bamboo rods coming in under 2 oz .

Your rod is not the first rod made by a local maker , unknown to collectors and historians, that I have run into. I am one of them myself. There are only a handfull making a living at it but there are probably over a 1000 people who make their own bamboo rods. Some of them are actually great fishing tools. The fact that your fathers name is on the rod  tends to lead us in that direction as well.

Luck,
Mac

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