Old Shakespeare fishing rod

Question
Hi Joe,
I came across an old fishing rod of my grandfather's up in the rafters of his
home. It is a Shakespeare Model 1120--6 1/2. It appears to be either cane or
bamboo. It has only 2 guides on it. Both in the same place on opposite sides
of each other. And it has only one rod tip. It measures 9' 2 1/2" over all. The
rod measures 6'8" and the handle 2' 6 1/2". I sure would appreciate it if you
could tell me the date of manufacture and if it is worth anything?
Many thanks,
Harry Hanssen

Answer
Hi Harry,

Just to clear up a popular misunderstanding, cane and bamboo are the same thing.  Two names for the same thing often leads to confusion.

According to the Shakespeare web site, this rod was introduced in 1939 and is a surf casting rod called the Continental.  Value is always a function of condition of the rod; in Good-Very Good condition this one would be valued in the $50-$65 range.

The guides on opposite sides of the shaft serve the purpose of allowing you to fish with the rod for a period of time and then turn the rod shaft over and fish with the other side.  This is useful in bamboo rods because the stress on the bamboo of fighting larger fish can cause the bamboo fibers to stretch along the outside of the curve in the rod.  By turning the rod over, you stretch the fibers on both sides equally and maintain a straight rod shaft.

As long as there are no splits or delamination issues with the bamboo, you can still fish with the rod.  For modern use, you might want to have some additional guides added to it to distribute the load better on the rod and improve performance.

Thanks,  Joe