Handyman Specials-Final Price Reductions!

Rod #25

South Bend #59

9'0" 3/2 7wt

Decal on shaft reads as follows:

South Bend

A Name Famous In Fishing

No 59----9'

HCH or C GBF

The Excel Oreno Line

Positive Lock DL reel seat sporting bright hardware over copper brown anodized aluminum spacer-6" Comficient Grip has thumb rest and without moisture relieving grooves-hook keeper-winding check-bright ferrules-chrome stripping & tip top guides, stainless steel snake guides-silk wraps of black and white jasper-flamed bamboo-all sections appear to be full length and unaltered TBS; the butt section is approximately ¼" longer than the rest of the sections and appears to have been made that way-One tip section has a miner set- Judging from the decal and hardware I believe this rod to be circa 1950's

Overall this is a gorgeous rod with deep flaming and rich golden nodes that feels surprisingly light in the hand for a 9' Bass rod! If you're looking for a nice Bass or big fish rod you won't find a finer one at this price-rod is in excellent original condition and ready to fish with the exception of the mid section male and female ferrules are loose and need to be reset-Comes with what I believe to be the original bag and fiber case

$150.00 (includes S&I in the lower 48 (USA)-other locales will need to be calculated and added to the price of the rod)

Rod #75

Phillipson "Paramount"

9'0" 3/2 7wt 5 5/8oz

Down locking reel seat with gold anodized hardware over a butterscotch colored plastic insert-Elliptical grip is in very good condition with no hook keeper gouges and only slight ridging-N/S winding check-Perfection stripping and tip top guides-tungsten steel snake guides-nickel silver ferrules- main wraps are black and white jasper with gold and black accent wraps (very sharp)-Finish still in great shape-Original bag-Replacement PVC case

Studying this rod and how it was dressed from the factory I would guess it to have been made between 1946 and 1949 but I believe it was probably 1949 since "49" is part of the script on the butt section

This rod is fishable as is but has a ferrule click at the butt female and the mid male connection which feels to me like a loose fit between the two rather than a loosely mounted ferrule (an easy fix)-It also has one scarfed tip located between the last snake guide and the tip top guide which is discernible due to the difference in color between the two pieces of cane but on the plus side the guide wraps match almost thread for thread all the way up the two tip sections (this tip also has a set that you may or may not want to address)

All in all; this rod has great bones, casts with the best of them and with little effort will make someone a wonderful big water or light steelhead rod!

$150.00 (includes S&I in the lower 48 (USA)-other locales will need to be calculated and added to the price of the rod)

Rod #97

Dave Cook "Majestic"

8'6" 3/2 4/5wt

Rod is equipped with an all metal down locking reel seat anodized black and silver-modified cigar grip (tapered to the front) that is in excellent condition-chrome plated winding check-bright guides and ferrules-cane is a very attractive dark shade of brown and carries the Dave Cook decal along with the model designation "Majestic" and finally a decal stating that it is impregnated Tonkin Cane-wrapped in brown and dressed with green trim wraps (again very attractive)-all sections full length-comes with original bag and labeled case

There are two issues with this rod; first and foremost the varnish has softened somewhere along the way leaving a rough finish as the result. I have lightly rubbed out the finish which smoothed it out quite a bit and I think if someone spent more time with it they could probably get the finish back to where it should be. The second issue is there's a small split in the rear reel foot pocket which needs to be soldered. I have placed a protective cap over it which has solved the problem and also acts to protect the butt cap from being scratched while fishing. Even with the above described issues this rod casts beautifully and is quite fishable as is! With a little more elbow grease someone would have a very attractive and collectable rod.

I had originally thought this rod was made by Horricks Ibbotson for the famed Dave Cook Sporting Goods Company of Denver, Colorado but after seeing the identical rod on Len Codella's site www.codella.com advertised as Phillipson made I contacted Len to see if he could convince me that these two rods were in fact made by Phillipson; He was pretty convincing. Phillipson or H-I this rod is a bargain at its current price (Len has is listed at $475.00)! I also thought that a past owner had attempted to apply a coat of varnish over the impregnated cane and it didn't take but the rod Len has listed is varnished as well convincing me that this rod was varnished at the factory and not tampered with as originally noted.

$150.00 (includes S&I in the lower 48 (USA)-other locales will need to be calculated and added to the price of the rod)