What are your thoughts on thread colors for ferrule wraps? Do you try to make them disappear? Or do you, to borrow a phrase from Norm Abrams, “celebrate the joint”?

I have a bit of a quandary with the rod I’m currently building. It’s a 5-piece, so there’ll be four ferrule wraps. I’m thinking disappearing wraps may be the way to go on this.

That's the beauty of winding them yourself. If you fish it for a season and don't like it - next winter strip it and redo. Repeat as desired. Your fishing buddies will think you have a whole new rod collection every year!

I'm in the "quiet celebration" category. I don't hide them, but I don't make the wraps flashy either. I wrap the ferrules with the same thread combination as the guides. For black rods I like black wraps with white tipping. That's as close to invisible (or flashy) as I get.


Tom

Hello
A wise rod maker once told me to always wrap and finish the ferrule unions in black thread.
His theory was that most of the problems with rods stem from or involve the ferrules.

If the ferrules are done in black you can always find black thread,also when when a black repair/rework is completed it's invisible.
Not that it's something I do anymore but it is worth considering.

I think you need to make your assessment in a case by case basis,the ferrule size,number of, and style do make a difference.

Also agree with Tom one of the nice things about being a rod tinker is knowing how to change things,always nice if you dislike the look further down the road you can change it.

Tight Lines And Wrapped Loops
Andy M

I always wrap the ferrules so that you can find them when it is time to take the rod down in fading light; either a contrasting color, or putting the tipping in the middle of the wrap, or something distinctive like bright single thread bands, etc.

Black ferrule wraps coated with epoxy are nice too. "There's always room for black"! And, black is easy to match.

Yup. Gaddis, you know, there is an exception that proves the rule, which is why it is a rule. I think you could find a "white" thread that is not bright and would blend with the rod, or a slightly creamy/tan thread that would blend, and of course either could be experimented with for clarity if not color preserved. Pretty sure that's what I would do. Surprised there aren't any pics or links to illustrative pics yet.

"Celebrating the joint" doesn't sound good to me, but being able to see it is good--casual glance while fishing tells of a slightly loosening ferrule fit, and upon disassembly as mentioned above. I compromise with trim or white alignment dots and stick with unobtrusive wraps relative to the blank color.

You might want to research what the manufacturer of the blank says if possible. Some blanks, CTS for example says you do not need a ferrule reinforcement thread wrap, and you will not void the warranty if you don't or do put one on the blank. They add extra material at the female end of the blank section, leaving it up to the builder if they want to put a thread wrap there. Not everyone does this, so it might be worth a reach out to the blank manufacturer. Since you have a 5 piece blank, I can understand your thought process.

Another option if you do need to wrap the ferrules, you could use natural silk to make an invisible wrap or use a thread color that will give you the least amount of contrast with regard to the blank color. Lets say you have the color of a Steffen blank, that brown, I'd use a light orange or rust color thread, which when covered with epoxy or spar, will blend right into the base color of the blank, very little contrast. If looking for an invisible wrap, natural color silk will go totally translucent on colored blanks. If you have a "clear white" (like a Kabuto), White Silk will so the same. Keep in mind if you use Spar on a "white blank", your still going to get that amber hue.

Best bet, try a couple of test wraps on the blank where your cork is going, easy enough to remove when you figure out the thread color and get ready to complete the rod.

For those that were following this, what I ended up with can be seen here: https://fiberglassflyrodders.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=68556.

Gudebrod Gold (340) color-preserved for the primary wraps, with dark brown tipping. Medium brown without CP for the ferrule wraps.