Master Bamboo Rod Makers Part 2 - Bjarne Fries From Denmark

          As you can see in the picture in Part 1 of this series of Master Bamboo Rod Makers and read in the caption to it this rod has an integrated bamboo ferrule. This is the invention of the Master Bamboo Rod Builder Bjarne Fries. I had contact with him for like 8-10 years ago when I had to decide which bamboo rod to buy. Recently I sent him an e-mail to get his permission to use the information on his website to explain about this kind of ferrule. Today I got a positive answer from him by e-mail. So I'll let you take part of some of the content of his website about this unique kind of ferrule.

Fries Integrated Bamboo Hexaferrule - F.I.B.H.

During the last years I have been working on a world wide novelty: 

The F.I.B.H.ferrule

The advantages

 
1. Low weight, about 1.5 grams! The weight of a smaller metal ferule is about 5 grams. This means a weight reduction of 3.5 grams! No big deal, you think? 3.5 grams halfway up a rod means a hell of a lot. Try to tape 3.5 grams of lead wire to your favorite rod's ferrule, make some casts and observe closely, remove the lead and do it again. You will quickly get my point. But we can just design the butt to move the extra 3.5 grams, some will say. OK, but this means more unnecessary material in the butt which can be avoided by a lighter ferrule keeping the butt section as light as possible, no dead weight here Mr.!

2. You will obtain a flexible assembly of the rod! It still will have a stiffening effect compared to a one piece rod, but it comes very close! Far better than a nickel silver ferrule.

3. You will never have to worry about aligning the guides of tip and butt anymore.

4. You will never have a twisting of tip and butt anymore. (A proper fit of ferrules on trout rods will not give this problem, but on a two handed salmon rod used for spey casting and the kind...). 

5. The unique, natural flow of energy from grip to tip.

6. The aesthetical aspect. A flow of pure bamboo not interrupted by some metal thing!

Maintenance of the FIBH-ferrule

 
From time to time rub the male of the ferrule with candle wax or even better dry hand soap. This will ensure easy separation and set up of the rod sections.
All F.I.B.H. rods come with a special wooden help tool to assist you, if you should have problems separating the rod sections.

How to use the F.I.B.H. help tool

1. Remove the rubber band on one side of the help tool and separate the two parts of this end. Now fit the help tool over the butt section just beneath the female part of the ferrule so that it is placed in the hole of the help tool. Put the rubber band back on the help tool.

2. Sit down on the ground with your legs straight in front of you, and holding the rod under the stripping guide, place the rod between your feet with the tip of the rod pointing away from you.

3. Now place the help tool under the sole of your feet and pull the butt section away from the tip. The rod will separate without problems. Don't use too much force which might cause the tip section to jump away and get damaged.

 
I am very proud to be the only rod maker in the world to be able to offer my unique F.I.B.H.-ferrule to my customers!

A picture of the F.I.B.H. ferrule on my favorite of Bjarne Fries rods - The Noodle

          As you understand of the first part in this series of Master Bamboo Rod Makers there are others that have adopted the technique and are making fly fishing rods with similar ferrules. Ulf Löfdal is one of them. In fact they know each other and Bjarne told me to give him his greetings. Now I consider that I have done so. Bjarne told me that rod makers were sceptic to this kind of ferrule when he started to build them 13 years ago but that it have been accepted in more recent times. He had the technique published in the online magazine Power Fibers some years ago. I remember that I printed it out since I was very interested in this kind of ferrule. To be continued...


Have fun Fly Fishing and Fly Tying,
M.O.