5 hours ago, The Maestro said:

I'm not really a fan of the trend towards unfinished blanks on high end rods either. I don't really care that it theoretically increases sensitivity by 0.1%. I prefer the aesthetics of a nicely finished blank with a clear coat to protect it. They're probably saving a pile of money by using these unfinished blanks yet still charging more for them.

I know what you mean. I’m torn on this. Some of my favorite rods are shiny and coated. Never had a problem with the finish on any rod. But I like unfinished blanks, too.

25 minutes ago, CrankFate said:

I know what you mean. I’m torn on this. Some of my favorite rods are shiny and coated. Never had a problem with the finish on any rod. But I like unfinished blanks, too.

It's a personal preference but if I'm paying big bucks for a rod, I want it to look nice. To me these unfinished blanks just don't look very good and like you said the finished rods I own are plenty sensitive. It's really a brilliant marketing strategy.  When you consider the extra costs involved in materials and labour not to mention all of the rods that probably end up getting rejected due to poor finishing, they must be saving a ton of money.  Then to top it off they charge even more for the "superior technology" of using an unfinished blank.  They must be laughing in our faces.

2 hours ago, The Maestro said:

It's a personal preference but if I'm paying big bucks for a rod, I want it to look nice. To me these unfinished blanks just don't look very good and like you said the finished rods I own are plenty sensitive. It's really a brilliant marketing strategy.  When you consider the extra costs involved in materials and labour not to mention all of the rods that probably end up getting rejected due to poor finishing, they must be saving a ton of money.  Then to top it off they charge even more for the "superior technology" of using an unfinished blank.  They must be laughing in our faces.

It is great marketing and they probably are, because when you think about it, it’s not easy to produce thousands upon thousands of perfectly glazed rods. That takes huge overhead. And the epoxy coatings are heavy. It goes to the extremes of technology to produce nearly weightless, durable shiny coatings. It’s probably only possible for major corporations. 

 

Yet, I just ordered another unfinished rod...go figure... but made in America in a small shop is pretty hard to do, too.