Bamboo/fly rod ferrules

Question
QUESTION: Hi I appreciate you availability, i am a retired person,
got into fly fishing or any kind of fishing only 8 years
ago, am now even attempting to "re-craft" some typical old
bamboo rods i can get relatively cheaply since that is a
lot cheaper than buying new blanks so i am desperately
looking for an e-mail site that sells all common size
ferrules can you help me? thanks
Stephen

ANSWER: Hi Stephen,

Restoring flea market and garage sale rods is a very good way to get started in rod building and it is rewarding to fish with rods you have returned to proper working order.

You can find ferrules at places like Mudhole, Jann's Netcraft and Golden Witch to name a few.  They all have web sites where you can purchase direct.  You can also find New Old Stock (NOS) ferrules offered on the onlien auctions from time to time.  I have a few ferrules in stock but no longer list them in my catalog (Black Dog Tackle) so the options are limited.

You may have some trouble locating exact matches for the rods you are restoring in terms of style of ferrule.  You should be able to find the right sizes, but the styles may vary considerably.  Most of the older bamboo rods will have either Brass or German Silver (Nickel over Brass) ferrules.  The Brass ferrules are soft and you would be better off replacing them with German Silver.

If you want to upgrade the ferrules to a more modern set, look for the so-called "Super-Z" style ferrules.  You may find these to be more to your liking.

Thanks,  Joe

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Joe thanks so much learned more on this site than have been
able to on Internet in two days. Just wanted to let you
know that if you have any female/male 13/64 thrum 16/64 i
would be anxious to purchase whether used or new depending
on price of course thanks so much  (or from anyone else on
line).

Answer
Hi Stephen,

Most likely, your best bet to get multiple sets of ferrules would be to go to one of the suppliers I listed earlier.  I have a few sets, but can't be sure I would have all the sizes since I quit carrying them in inventory a while back.

You should be able to find ferrules from relatively inexpensive models to pretty much whatever you want to spend.  To restore those old rods back to where you can fish with them, start with the less expensive models and get soem experience installing them.  When you get good at it and start restoring valuable antiques, you can think about using really expensive ferrules.

Thanks for the compliment.  Some of this stuff is hard to find unless you work with it every day.

Joe