Aldo Silva , owner and founder, produces graphite fly blanks in his factory in Canzo, Como province (Lombardy, Italy. The factory's name is Modern Fly (update January 2011, the link is broken. Will follow it up...IMPORTANT INFORMATION! I spoke with Aldo on 31 January 2011 and he told me he sold the company and went into another business. He is still acting as an independent consultant and you can reach him through his website) . Modern Fly, produces 170 models of fly rods and sells rodbuilding equipment and fly fishing rod blanks all over Europe and worldwide as well.

Contact (update January 2011,not in business anymore):

Mr. Aldo Silva
Modern Flies, Via Tagliamento 5 22035 Canzo (Co) ITALY

Here is how Aldo make his fishing rod blanks.

1. Project development

Firstly, Aldo design a new rod according to his long experience. Millimeter paper and pencil are the instruments. But everything is in his head already, he simply put his ideas on paper.

2. Laying of the graphite sheet on a flat surface

The flat surface is actually a heated surface and the sheet is further heated with an iron for the following steps. Done by hand.

3. Cutting the graphite sheet according to the project specifications

4. Rolling up of the graphite sheet around a steel mandrel

A very delicate moment. Done by hand. The mandrel has got a conical shape (taper design, do you remember?) . A rod company has sevral of these mandrels, each for a different taper design.

5. Pressing of the mandrel-graphite-sheet tube

The graphite rod starts to take shape.

6. External Application of a Shrinking Film

A thin film of special material is now wrapped around the raw graphite rod. This film shrinks at high temperature. If the fishing rod blank does not go through this step you see "helicoidal" lines along the rod blank.

7. Tempering

The graphite sheet is still wrapped around the mandrel, a thin film of special material was laid on its surface. Now it's the time to put the whole in the oven (at about 125 °C I learned somewhere else...)

The high temperature has the effect to expand the graphite sheet while the special film on the outside shrinks, on the contrary. This opposite reactions create and big pressure on the graphite sheet which modifies its molecular structure also because of the action of the high temperature.

8. Removing of the external film and of the steel mandrel

Done with the help of a special machine.

9. Rectification

This is the most important part and it's done only by Aldo, and not by his employees. Done by hand on a special grind machine, it requires a lot of experience. Basically, the left-overs of the shrinking film are removed, but also some graphite material where necessary, that is after a quick shaking of the rod which is enough for Aldo to understand where he must apply corrections.

10. Finishing of the Rod

The other fishing rod parts which are common knowledge for us rodbuilders are assembled in the highest possible accuracy (reel seat, rod handle, snake guides, stripping guides, tip-top).

Are you satisfied with the explanation? No? Good. In fact there is much more to know about blanks!

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