The Hammer Continued!

The handle section is complete and so far the total weight of the rod is 5.48 ounces.
The guides still need to be wrapped and the finish still has yet to be applied, but I am hoping that the total finished weight is under 6 ounces.

The handle came out just as I had hoped.
The Charcoal Silvertone wood has beautiful tones and contrasts, and goes very will with the color of the St. Croix 4F1006.4 blank.

I will be starting the wrapping process today and will certainly post photo's form all to see.
I plan to use Black thread for the primary color. I believe it will accompany the Charcoal Silvertone wood very well. I plan to use Dark Green and Matte Silver Metallic for accent and trim bands as they will accent the Shiny Gunsmoke hardware and the color of the blank.

I believe this is going to be one of the nicest rods I've ever had the pleasure to building, but time will tell.

Tight lines!
Brian

"The Hammer" - Updated

I have received most of the components for "The Hammer".
The only item I am still waiting on is the Charcoal Silvertone wood to arrive, and then it's game on!

When the components arrived I inspected everything to make sure nothing was broken or defective. Upon inspecting the guides I couldn't help but notice how light they were in physical weight, so I busted out the digital scale.

To my amazement the entire guide set (10 guides plus the tip-tip) weighed in at .08 ounces, or 2.1 grams! The reel seat skeleton weighed in at .72 ounces.
Together this is combined weight of only .8 ounces!.
The wooden inlays and reel seat insert will add a couple of ounces at most, so the end product should be extremely lightweight and ultra sensitive!

I am even more eager to get started now than I was just a week ago. Getting these items in to my hands has given me the bug. I can't wait to get started on "The Hammer"

Here are a few pictures of the guides, reel seat hardware, and the custom made labels: