Tonkin Bamboo Float Case. Barder Rod Co – Makers. 1999.

This a superbly practical and handsome Barder Rod Co Float Case that’s long enough to contain a varied assortment of floats up to 10″ in length. The naturally pithy nature of the bamboo’s inner surface is the perfect medium to store hand-made floats in.

The tube is made from flame-tempered Tonkin bamboo. The base is the natural dam of the bamboo’s node. The lid is hand-turned English Yew which has lovely figuring and delightful warmth to it. The lid has a cork shaft to fix it in the tube. The mouth of the tube is silver-soldered brass, sweated onto the cane for a seamless and permanent fit.

The Indian ink inscription is: Tonkin Case For Floats up to 10″. Barder Rod Co ~ Makers. 99.

I think Colin inscribed this, but he insists that it was me. We haven’t come to blows over it, but there was a quiet spell before elevenses this morning. It’s a very nice case. We made these from the thick ends of bamboo poles used for rod making. Some, like this one, didn’t make it into rods because they’d been of interest to insects in China. You can see the attractive freckles on this case in the pictures that accompany it. I think they do for it what the small mole on her upper lip does for Cindy Crawford.

To say that these cases are rare is an understatement. We didn’t keep a record of how many we made, but it was few, and this is the third one we have been able to offer.

Indispensable for the keen float angler and connoisseur.