Building The Rodfather SB1, A SageBuster 1wt [drc #9 - 8' 4pc 1wt] 28Apr21

I became a bit antsy with no pending Rodfather builds, so I fixed that. My only current "in starting rotation" Sage build now is the 7'10" 1 weight TXLF. I bought a Chinese blank and some inexpensive, but light, hardware to mate with it. The blank even came with a sleeve. Everything included, the rod will be ~$80 and may rival the 2 weight recently built for small stream fishing. I'm hoping it can replace my Sage 1 weight - mine is the SageBuster 1.

I was able to craft a new custom grip for SB1. I just dove on my leftovers and made a smaller half wells grip. The weight of the glue is noticeable when comparing my custom grip with a single turned block of grade A cork - but worth it for the cool, IMO.

The reel seat is an inexpensive aluminum chrome one but I still did add nice burled wood insert at acceptable weight. Still again, a smidge heavier than the pure cork insert I used recently on a 2 weight.

The 8' 4 piece blank is a nice shiny metallic green color. I'm using single-foot guides (for weight reduction and livelier action) and tiptop hardware of inexpensive chromed steel. I used Get Bent Fly Shop for all but the grip, thread, epoxy and build skills.

During some builds I find that one needs to grind the feet on the guides - this happens especially with cheap guides which may say they are pre-ground but rarely fit right off. The grind is to mate to the rod on the bottom of the feet and to create a gentle slope for the thread to ride in and out on during wrapping. I wrapped the SB1 with lighter sparkly green thread but that gets darkened with epoxy and yields a somewhat translucent look. The pics show after wrap and after epoxy.

The completed SB1 is super sweet and smooth and is a very righteous contender in the 1 weight category and may be THE winner on small streams. It measures out as a 1 weight - I was most concerned about this as sometimes Chinese blanks are much more powerful than marketed and getting righteous 1 or 2 weights is pretty hard. It's also a dutifully very fast shooter but still fine for dries. The stats are ERN 1.8 and AA 75°, which is so much faster than my Sage 1 weight, but is ~1 ounce heavier with a total weight of a scant 2.5 ounces (vs 1.6). I'm using my ultralight Sage Click II reel loaded with RIO Trout LT 2 weight line. The Trout LT is the only real choice down in these low weights. This thing is a hoot - I can't wait to use it on the upper Arkansas - I even measurement-marked it out to a very hopeful 20". How's it cast you ask? - An straight 65 ft into the wind - wow.