Need Advice on Purchasing an F.E. Thomas Special Fly Rod

[Bernard]

I am looking at purchasing an F.E. Thomas special rod that is 8'6"
with another tip that is 1" shorter than the first. It comes with the
original aluminum case and cloth. It is unknown if the stripper guide
(first guide at the base) is original or has been re-wrapped. All the
other guides are original and have a nice patina on the thread, (the
stripper guide has no patina on its thread). This rod is in otherwise
excellent condition, with minor dirt here and there (minor because it
comes off with your finger). It's an all cork handle and has F.E.
Thomas SPECIAL Bangor. ME Stamped on the Reel seat and a "5" stamped
on the butt. The Ferrules are also in excellent condition and there
are no splits in the bamboo at all. The seller is asking $2000.00 for
this rod. Would I be getting a good deal for what I'm getting?
Should I offer less? I don't want to offend the seller but I'm a
little hesistant because of the stripper guide's condition. Any
advice would be appreciated.

[Wayne Knight]

"Bernard" > wrote in message
om...
> I am looking at purchasing an F.E. Thomas special rod that is 8'6"
> with another tip that is 1" shorter than the first. It comes with the
> original aluminum case and cloth. It is unknown if the stripper guide
> (first guide at the base) is original or has been re-wrapped. All the
> other guides are original and have a nice patina on the thread, (the
> stripper guide has no patina on its thread). [snip] The seller is asking
$2000.00 for
> this rod. Would I be getting a good deal for what I'm getting?
> Should I offer less? I don't want to offend the seller but I'm a
> little hesistant because of the stripper guide's condition. Any
> advice would be appreciated.

I've quit getting most of my cane collector catalogs so I am not "up" on
current cane prices but $2K for an 81/2' rod not made by Payne, Dickerson,
or Gillum seems a little high to me.

If you want something in that price range, I'd look for something from
Sommers, Mauer, or Schroeder, all of which should be closer to $1,500 in
stead of $2,000.

[Wayne Knight]

"Bernard" > wrote in message
om...
> I am looking at purchasing an F.E. Thomas special rod that is 8'6"
>

hate to follow up my own post but this site lists a similar model rod for
$995, i really think the asking price might be high.
http://www.ricksrods.com/tackle.html

[Charlie Wilson]

"Wayne Knight" > wrote in message
...
>
> "Bernard" > wrote in message
> om...
> > I am looking at purchasing an F.E. Thomas special rod that is 8'6"
> >
>
> hate to follow up my own post but this site lists a similar model rod for
> $995, i really think the asking price might be high.
> http://www.ricksrods.com/tackle.html
>
>
I wouldn't take that price as a benchmark; locally, we refer to that
business as "Rick's Ripoffs".

[Bernard]

"Charlie Wilson" > wrote in message >...
> "Wayne Knight" > wrote in message
> ...
> >
> > "Bernard" > wrote in message
> > om...
> > > I am looking at purchasing an F.E. Thomas special rod that is 8'6"
> > >
> >
> > hate to follow up my own post but this site lists a similar model rod for
> > $995, i really think the asking price might be high.
> > http://www.ricksrods.com/tackle.html
> >
> >
> I wouldn't take that price as a benchmark; locally, we refer to that
> business as "Rick's Ripoffs".

Man, I thought F.E. thomas rods were worth more than that, I saw tons
of sites listing them between 1500 and 3000, what makes the difference
for the higher priced ones? (thanks for letting me know about the
hose job I was about to recieve)

[Wolfgang]

"Bernard" > wrote in message
om...

> Man, I thought F.E. thomas rods were worth more than that, I saw tons
> of sites listing them between 1500 and 3000, what makes the difference
> for the higher priced ones?

Status.....Adam Smith.....more bang for the
buck....credulity....quality....the willing suspension of
disbelief.....discernment....

Wolfgang
it's your checkbook, take your pick.

[DGracia]

Hi all,

Been a long time since I posted here, though I still lurk from time to time.
Saw this post and had to put in my two cents.

A couple of things on the F.E. Thomas rod. If the second tip is an inch
shorter, then it was broken and the tip-top just moved down. If the stripping
guide looks like it has new threads, it has new threads.

Many F.E. Thomas Special's had agate stripping guides. If it is an agate
guide, it may be the original guide that has just been re-wrapped. Hard to
tell if it is not. Easy to tell if the rest of the guides are original or not.
**All** F.E. Thomas rods used snake guides that curved to the left as opposed
to the "normal" ones that curve to the right. The English snake guides curved
that direction and virtually all split bamboo rods used them up until the
1920's. Then, made-in-the-USA guides became commercially available and
virtually all of the US rod makers started using them. Not F. E. Thomas, he
used the snake guides that curve to the left on all his rods. So it's easy to
tell if they're not original.

Early F. E. Thomas Specials were a very light straw color with intermediate
wraps between the guides. Later he perfected a darkening process (had to do
with the chemicals he used as he started flame-tempering rods) and his claim to
fame were the browntone F. E. Thomas rods. The straw color rods were not
flame-tempered and are significantly different in action than his browntone
rods. Personally I think the straw color rods with the intermediate wraps have
a more appealing appearance.

In any case, as you describe this rod, $2000 is too much. The shorter tip is
the worst offender as far as value goes. No chance of getting top dollar for
rod with a broken (shortened) tip.

The wraps sound like an amateur's work, even if their quality is good. A good
rod builder/restorer such as Jim Schaff in California could match the thread
wraps so you couldn't tell the difference. Jim could probably supply an
original stripping guide if needed too.

If you want to purchase this rod as a collectable expecting its value to
increase, I'd probably pass this one by. If you want to fish this rod, I'd
haggle the price with him.....a lot. Be sure you cast the rod yourself to make
sure it is a rod you'd enjoy fishing if that's your purpose.

Hope this helps,
Dan


Dan Gracia
Orvis
Dan Gracia
Orvis

[Wayne Knight]

"DGracia" > wrote in message
...
> Hi all,
>
> Been a long time since I posted here, though I still lurk from time to
time.
> Saw this post and had to put in my two cents.
>

Top notch as usual Dan, welcome back.