News from the Fly Fishing Retailers show in Denver is that Sharpes of Aberdeen has bought both Abel Reels and Thomas & Thomas Rods. Steve Abel just got over a nasty bout with cancer and was ready to sell, so the Abel part of the deal was no huge surprise. The Thomas & Thomas matter came as a complete shock. Most people are speculating that Sharpes will phase out the production of both products in the USA and move manufacturing to the Orient. (I certainly hope not!) Thomas & Thomas has such an illustrious history that it would be very sad to see them lose their terrific reputation. The present manager/owner of Sharpes is a former manager at Hardy.
Background (courtesy of Tom Fry CANFF): - Mr. Sharpe recently visited TU Canada head office Calgary Alberta. announcing that Harold Sharpe of Aberdeen, Scotland, formerly of Scottie Rods, was going to visit their new office Mr. Sharpe, and his father J.S. Sharpe before him, developed many of the processes for impregnating cane, and his rods were of very high quality. Mr. Sharpe has been around for a while - he took over from his father in 1946, and retired in 1982, shutting down the original factory and selling everything. A number of Sharpe-built ferruled blanks were sold off at that time, some still turning up. Scottie rods are still being built under by an English company (see www.scottierods.com) which acquired the rights in 1982. He had an amazing grasp of the details of his craft, even if he occasionally had to struggle for a minute to remember some obscure specifics. He explained several mysteries of cane rod construction, and shared the usual fine tales about some of his customers. I learned, for example, that the traditional six-strip design can't have every piece milled to exactly 60 degrees; he said he prefers somewhere around 60.5 degrees, allowing the exterior of the blank to show no glue lines. He also gave some explanation of how some of the finer tips (.07" or less) could be made from the usual six strips. Neville (Nev) Gosling Greater Vancouver, B.C. Canada
