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But that Heddon one is a dead ringer. The others are more of a taper, but that one is a definite knob.

But is there a name for that grip shape. Should I call it Bulldog. (G) Hell, it kind of makes me think of the head of a bull dog. Maybe that's it. I'll call it the Bull Dog grip. But then I'd have to pay you a royalty on each and every one of them and I've done four so far. (G)

bulldog1935 wrote:

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here is the one that Dennis ended up with for me, and has become my benchmark grip.
Floyd Burkett is made one close to it on a rod he's building for me currently.

I really like the feel of the grip dropping away in the front when the thumb-ridge right up front.
But I also like mine to taper off a bit in the back as well, and be widest in the center - right at 1.0" for me.
Your grips look cozy.

Yes, I like that one on your rod above. That is pretty similar to mine, might be a little fatter. Mine run just a little under 1" down to about 15/16" most of the time. That grip is, of course, much less radical looking than mine with the knob. Like you said above I think that one has been called a modified half wells for a long time. I don't know what to call mine, maybe a modified cigar, just don't know. My usual grip is a half wells and I've called it a "classic half wells" for a long time just for a bit of a different slant. I think guys like to have names for these things.

eagleman43 wrote:

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I have a 1998 Clemens catalogue that has a grip just like that. It is called a Fenwick Style Fly Rod Grip. 6 3/4" long and $16.69.
RY

I was thinking of the Fenwick grip when I was doing these. It is not really the same thing, though, since the Fenwick rods had what has become known as modified half wells grips. I, too, wouldn't want to put the Fenwick name to it giving the impression of my copying something from Fenwick, though, that surely wouldn't be bad, given that the Fenwick glass rods were some of the most successful rod lines ever to hit the market. And just damn fine fishing rods too. I would never want to be thought of a copying anything, even though, we all know there is very little new any more. I'm always amused at someone's "new" fly.

Wow back in 1998. Dick French owned the business. Dick was a good personal friend, did me a bunch of favors over the years. He was a wonderfully generous fellow. Dick made it possible for a lot of folks to get started in doing rods. He had great prices and would carry you along through every step. I remember the first time I met him. He and I had booths right beside each other at a show in the Philadelphia area maybe back in the early 90's. He was selling Lamiglas blems to folks by the inch. You could end up getting a great blank for $25. He had one there that Mary Lu had wiggled several times. She likes really fast action rods. When we were packing up to leave, Dick handed the blank across the booth divider to her. Told her to have me build it into something she could enjoy. I did just that and she has used the rod ever since. Another year I was doing some two handed rods for a group of fellows. I needed three lower grips with nice composition cork bulbs on the bottoms. The only place I could find them was on Loomis factory rods. I asked Dick about them and he said he didn't know where they came from but he would do some checking. A couple weeks later a package came in the mail with three of the grips in it. A little note from Dick said his friend at Loomis passed them along to him. Dick would never accept a cent for anything like that. Just a damn generous fellow.

Duff wrote:

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Hiram Leonard and E.F. Payne made grips like that in the 1890's. George Varney and Hiram Hawes also used versions of the grip in the early 20th century. Drawings of the rods may be seen in Trout Tackle Two by Ernest Schwiebert. Dave's grip looks very much like one by E.F. Payne in 1899. Dave's is more pleasing to my eye in that it is a less exaggerated version. The closest one I could find to Bulldog's Heddon grip was Hiram Hawes' Paramachene Tourist circa 1895. So you could easily call it a "Hawes" grip, although it's hard to argue against Scud's suggestion.

A Hawes grip. I like the sound of that. That kind of relationship was what I was looking for. I guess I wouldn't be stepping on any privileged design or such, would I. I guess I could call it a Hawes Style grip. That's got a nice ring to it. Thanks Duff. I'll shoot Scud's suggestion under the table to someone who I think will appreciate it. (G)