Eden Bromfield

The Great Whale River, Hudson Bay. Large brook trout inhabit these waters and readily take dry flies. This river, like the remaining free flowing rivers in the region are threatened by hydro-electric development.

Excellent Atlantic salmon water. River is in Ungava.

Brook trout stream, Jan 04

Of necessity, simple feather inlay on bamboo fly rod. Not for the traditionalists but single foot guides (Sic)were used throughout. Rod finished by hand with Epifanes Spar Varnish.

Inlaid wooden handle installed on darkly flamed 9.5 ft, 7 wt bamboo blank. Handle finished with Tung oil and blank with Epifanes spar varnish.

Jungle cock on silk thread base.

Fresh run Atlantic salmon lurking in the grass. The second of the season.

Assorted handle inlay pieces

Inlaid fly rod handle being shaped on the lathe. Wood types used include ebony, amboyna and birds-eye maple. Made entirely with hand tools, except for the lathe shown here. Finally got round to turning this handle down before departing on another fishing trip. Made the mistake of making the handle a little too busy. Also the trim inlays are too thick -- they should have been about 1/16 inch thick. Oh well, next time.....

Native brookies caught 7 June 04. The fly rod is an old 8 wt salmon rod, with plenty of character!!

Prototype "spiral" inlay being turned on the lathe. Similar to the "double helix" design except that this one spirals asymetrically around the blank. Photo shows the other side of the blank with spiral going to the left. If the inlay is extended lengthwise, it becomes a "Butterfly". Interestingly if the blank is rotated the "butterfly" flaps its wings!

Prototype of a new handle inlay, "Spiral", being turned on the lathe. Similar to the earlier Double Helix design except that this one spirals asymetrically around the blank. Photo shows one side of blank with spiral going to the right. If the "Spiral" inlay is extended lengthwise it becomes a "Butterfly".

An octet of tears (an outburst?) being turned on the lathe

Prototype handle inlay being turned on the lathe.

Another view of the prototype "tear drops" handle inlay pieces. All pieces are in the rough and the spurs of ebony need to be sanded off. Note: I am reposting this photo as the last one "disappeared" after a few hours.

New handle inlay pieces. Decided to call this design "teardrops" because of all the grief it gave me in the making! Prototype inlay pieces are in the rough, are covered in red wood dust and the "spurs" of ebony still need to be sanded off.

This is a prototype of a new inlay that is being turned on the lathe. Made without any jig or power tools (except for the lathe shown here). I am in the process of making a number of more complex inlays and photos will be posted when completed.

Thirty-two piece inlays to be used in fly rod handles. Made without a jig or power tools (except for a lathe).

Wood handle and reel seat insert finished with Sutherland Welles polymerized tung oil sealer followed by polymerized tung oil. The finish is not complete and still has to be polished with abrasives. Tung oil has been used as a wood finish for thousands of years. It is used in marine applications, as a finish for floors and fine furniture amongst other things.

The redwood/ebony handle after a single treatment with polymerized tung oil sealer. Redwood is extremely porous and the tung oil penetrates deep into the wood. The tung oil also darkens the wood considerably. Not sure that I like the confusion of the burl pattern with the checkerboard inlays! Still, the dark handle will probably match up with the greenheart rod it is intended for.

The redwood burl and ebony handle I made about 8 months ago for a greenheart fly rod. Finally got around to turning it down. Redwood is very soft and light and it turns very easily. The mandrel is from Andy Dear.

Turning a handle on the rod using a spindle steady from OneWay. Poor man's dust collector (after the idea by Tom Kirkman) in background.

An old photo showing a stainless steel hook-keeper (made from the eye of a hook and a small washer) inserted into the wooden butt of a fly rod reel seat so as not to cause interference while casting. Adapted from the idea kindly provided by Terry Henson

Handle inlay detail. Reelseat wood is Vera.

Detail of inlaid detachable fighting butt.