Bamboo Broker Updates

July 2008

2008-06-30T18:06:00.000-07:00

All,

Thanks to those of you I met at Greyrock in June, it was a great trip... even if most of the rises were the welts on my arms and legs from the MI state bird.

I am sorry to report that I will NOT have a new shipment of cane in before November of this year. The timing was way off last spring when I realized we had a major supply problem. Spring and summer is the absolute worst time to get new cane as the spring is the time the new bamboo is shooting (farmer's won't harvest then for fear of damaging the new crop) and summer is the torrentially rainy season (farmer's won't harvest then for fear of losing their tractors in the floods). Therefore I have to wait until the normal harvest time of September plus a month of curing before I can get back to China to select the next batch.

I'd like to confirm that there is absolutely no problem with the overall supply in China so unless you need cane tomorrow there is no reason to panic. We'll be back up and running like normal by this winter.

Please go ahead and write or call me to get on the wait list for this next shipment. I will let that list know when I know more about the timing of this year's cane. I expect the price to up a little but only about $1 a pole above this year's (those prices can be found at the bottom of this post).

Please contact me directly if you have any questions. Thank you one and all!!!

-Andy

-----------
[April, 2008]
The Mars Update

December 1999

AIRCRAFT ACCIDENT INVESTIGATORS have a special term for a particularly insidious type of accident--CFIT, or controlled flight into terrain. It occurs when human error in the cockpit, in the traffic control tower, or in the flight planning process in effect flies a perfectly good airplane right into the ground.

In the past 40 years, space flight has encountered all sorts of failure modes. Propulsion systems have leaked and exploded. Power systems have short-circuited. Observation instruments have failed to work or have been pointed in wrong directions. But until this year no CFIT had occurred in outer space.

Then, on 23 September, through a series of still-baffling errors, flight controllers at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a California Institute of Technology facility under contract to NASA, sent erroneous steering commands to the Mars Climate Orbiter as it neared the target planet. Obeying blindly like all true robots, the probe, metaphorically speaking, marched off the cliff and was destroyed.

NASA assigned three separate teams to investigate the embarrassing, US $125 million debacle and determine its cause. Preliminary public statements faulted a slip-up between the probe's builders and its operators, a failure to convert the English units of measurement used in construction into the metric units used for operation.

---------------------------

Yes, this is a bamboo update. No, the news is not great for some of you that have been waiting for cane.

As we see with the Mars probe accident, a small set of numbers can wreak havoc when they are not properly translated. We have experienced a similar occurrence in our bamboo ordering process this month. I recently received the Packing List for the container holding the rod makers Tonkin poles. I was looking over the numbers to ensure that this container held everything ordered. I noticed a few small discrepancies which is no surprise; there are often a couple of bundles too few or too many in these shipments. But then I read the fateful number 73. SEVENTY THREE:
12’ x 50/60 10 73

As in, of the 12’ x 2” poles that come ten to a bundle, there are a grand total of 73bundles on this container. The long and short of it is that this was not a typo and that is all of this size pole on this container. This is far short of the number of bundles already reserved on this very wait list.

I am not sure exactly what happened but the basic gist of it is that somehow my friend, translator and aid in China who is the eldest son of my supplier screwed something up. He is in charge of getting my orders and telling his father what to ship and when. This fellow has helped me in my business for about four years now (before that his sister and others have helped with the translations) and together we have ordered, loaded and shipped about ten containers per year. Nothing like this has ever happened and in short, we don’t have a good excuse for why it happened this time. Bottom line is the some people are going to have to wait for their cane.

Those who have been on the wait list the longest WILL have their orders filled.

Immediately upon finding out the exact number of poles on this container I was sure to make another order. As soon as my supplier is able to collect and dry enough poles I will high-tail it back to China to select more poles to ship to Seattle as quickly as possible. The earliest that this secondary order of poles will arrive is June of this year. One of the problems now confronting us is that spring is not the harvest time of year for bamboo in China and it will be a task to even collect enough poles. I do, sadly enough, have more poles sitting in my warehouse in China but far too few to ship alone. The logistics of shipping dictate that a product of this size is not cheap to ship unless enough material is collected to fill the better part of a shipping container. Therefore I must get back to China to buy more material to ship with this next order. [The current container set sail with a lot of other bamboo poles for non-rod making markets but those markets can not help fill the next container as they are seasonal and done for the year.] So it will be a while yet before I can get the second batch of cane to Seattle. Note that “June” is the best case scenario. The worst case scenario is that it is too damn rainy in the hills and the farmers can’t collect enough cane for an order this spring. In that case, I will not have ANY new cane in Seattle until next November.

As for this current shipment the only fair thing I can think to do is to doll out the cane on a first come first serve basis; those who tried to order poles last November and ended up on this wait list will get their order. I will contact some customers who placed larger orders and ask that they split their orders in two to ensure that some of the “smaller” makers will get their orders. Orders that I cannot fill at this time will get filled as soon as I can land the next batch of poles. I will go to China again in November of this year to buy a larger number of poles so that we do not run into this supply problem again. Only once in my 12 years of business have I been out of cane and that was only for about three weeks. I never expected this drought and I am very sorry to many of you who need poles to keep your businesses and hobbies alive.

I will be getting in touch individually with all of you on the wait list over the next week to make arrangements for shipping or to let you know if you are on the next wait list. The container is due to arrive in Seattle next Monday and it should be cleared of customs (and delivered to my warehouse) the following week. Shipping can commence immediately thereafter.

An important note is that I do have a limited number 1 7/8” and 2 1/4"-2 1/2" poles available. I will offer these poles to the people on this wait list starting with the folks longest on the list. I will post notices if/when these sizes run out as well.

I have started a secondary Wait List onto which I will put the names of all those who can expect bamboo to ship out of Seattle sometime after May. Of course there are no obligations from anyone on either the primary or secondary wait list.

I think it is also important to note that I do not feel that our overall bamboo supply is in any danger at all. I’ve not heard any such rumors floating around out there but I would like to comment that the bamboo market in Southern China seems as healthy as ever and I have no reason to believe that we will not be able to see as much bamboo as we would like to in the rod makers market by next winter. This is somewhat of a colossal error for the short term but it will not affect us in the long run.

Please contact me directly if you have questions or need more information. Thank you one and all.

Sincerely,
-Andy

-------------------------------------------------

Winter 2008

Gentlemen,

Greetings! Finally, an update, the first in over a year. I'm not quite moving at the speed of bamboo here but we are getting somewhere at last.

I was in China for the last two weeks of November selecting more fly-rod cane for 2008. My current supply in Seattle is completely exhausted. This new shipment will be in the warehouse by mid-February. I am compiling a "Wait List" now for North American and select overseas makers. Whoever wants to order cane can just let me know and I will add their names to the list. When I know more about the arrival date of this shipment I will let everyone know and start setting up shipments at that time.

I am working directly with rod makers groups in Australia, Europe and Japan this year. Shipments to all three locations will leave China by February of 2008. Contact me directly if you are not yet on a contact list for these locations. We will need confirmed orders by late January for these groups.

There are three sizes to choose from this year: 45-50mm, 50-55mm and 55+mm (that is roughly 1 7/8", 2", 2 1/4+"). As is normally the case, the smaller cane tends to be a bit "cleaner" in complexion while the largest pieces have more... uh, "character marks"... The big stuff is certainly big and heavy though; this is the stuff that guys building salmon or spey rods get excited about. Or guys who just like the big stuff. These poles are still a bit rare and there will only a couple hundred available per continent.

The overall quality of this year's poles is very good. But it is NOT a year for makers of blonde rods. Unlike my last selection period two years ago, this was not a year of exceedingly clean cane. There seems to be a pattern in the bamboo world that either renders poles that are a bit lighter weight and cleaner in complexion or heavier-weight with more marks. This year's poles are of the latter category. Blonde rods will have visible marks on them. These marks are the typical "water marks" most makers are familiar with. While not actually caused by water these are natural marks on the surface of most poles. How deep the markings go into the fibre is variable. Some of this year's poles have a lot of brown "freckles" on them but in my experience most any light brown marks are ONLY on the surface of the cane and they disappear when the enamel is scrapped off.

The overall colour of the bamboo is very good. As always I do allow for some cane with a greenish tinge to it. This is not the grass-green colour of poles that still need sun but a very light green. Often these poles cannot be made more yellow because if they are left in the sun they will quickly crack; they are as dry as can be. Depending on the weather at the time the poles are dried sometimes the poles just never get to that deep straw-yellow colour some makers prefer. Oddly enough the Chinese swear up and down that the poles with a bit of green in them represent stronger bamboo while they say the more yellow poles are getting older and weaker. The Chinese aren't rod makers though and they don't play a role in determining what is best for you makers. In any event, any green tint should cook out evenly.

I took to having the bottom 5-15 inches of each pole cut off. What I am trying to do is maximize the node spacing while leaving the heaviest part of the cane (the bottom of the pole) in tact. I pick a spot on each pole that I think gives us the best of both worlds.

As always, no slash marks or burn marks on this cane.

Prices are still being determined. I am waiting to learn what my final costs will be for shipping and importing. I will keep the prices as close to last years as possible. I imagine the prices may go up about $1/pole. I will get another update posted here on that issue within a couple of weeks. A price ESTIMATE is as follows:

45-50mm (1 7/8”) 10 pcs/bundle
~1-4 bundles $145
~ 5+ bundles $125

50-55mm (2”) 10 pcs/bundle
~1-4 bundles $185
~ 5+ bundles $165

55+mm (2 1/4+") 5 pcs/bundle
~1-5 bundles $115
~5 bundle maximum per order

Shipping rates will be similar to the past. This averages between $90-$140 per 1-4 bundle order depending on location throughout N. America. International shipping rates very widely, contact me for a quote. I am feverishly working on shipping rates for customers taking part in the group orders in Australia and Europe. My goal is to land the poles at one major city in each country for the same above prices so your shipping costs will only be the cost from Sydney or Stockholm or Hamburg for example.

Don't hesitate to write to me directly with any questions or comments.

Thank you one and all.

Warmth and joy to all as we speed on toward a new year!

-Andy
bamboo@w-link.net

The Mars Update

2008-03-20T12:57:00.000-07:00

December 1999

AIRCRAFT ACCIDENT INVESTIGATORS have a special term for a particularly insidious type of accident--CFIT, or controlled flight into terrain. It occurs when human error in the cockpit, in the traffic control tower, or in the flight planning process in effect flies a perfectly good airplane right into the ground.

In the past 40 years, space flight has encountered all sorts of failure modes. Propulsion systems have leaked and exploded. Power systems have short-circuited. Observation instruments have failed to work or have been pointed in wrong directions. But until this year no CFIT had occurred in outer space.

Then, on 23 September, through a series of still-baffling errors, flight controllers at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a California Institute of Technology facility under contract to NASA, sent erroneous steering commands to the Mars Climate Orbiter as it neared the target planet. Obeying blindly like all true robots, the probe, metaphorically speaking, marched off the cliff and was destroyed.

NASA assigned three separate teams to investigate the embarrassing, US $125 million debacle and determine its cause. Preliminary public statements faulted a slip-up between the probe's builders and its operators, a failure to convert the English units of measurement used in construction into the metric units used for operation.

---------------------------

Yes, this is a bamboo update. No, the news is not great for some of you that have been waiting for cane.

As we see with the Mars probe accident, a small set of numbers can wreak havoc when they are not properly translated. We have experienced a similar occurrence in our bamboo ordering process this month. I recently received the Packing List for the container holding the rod makers Tonkin poles. I was looking over the numbers to ensure that this container held everything ordered. I noticed a few small discrepancies which is no surprise; there are often a couple of bundles too few or too many in these shipments. But then I read the fateful number 73. SEVENTY THREE:
12’ x 50/60 10 73

As in, of the 12’ x 2” poles that come ten to a bundle, there are a grand total of 73bundles on this container. The long and short of it is that this was not a typo and that is all of this size pole on this container. This is far short of the number of bundles already reserved on this very wait list.

I am not sure exactly what happened but the basic gist of it is that somehow my friend, translator and aid in China who is the eldest son of my supplier screwed something up. He is in charge of getting my orders and telling his father what to ship and when. This fellow has helped me in my business for about four years now (before that his sister and others have helped with the translations) and together we have ordered, loaded and shipped about ten containers per year. Nothing like this has ever happened and in short, we don’t have a good excuse for why it happened this time. Bottom line is the some people are going to have to wait for their cane.

Those who have been on the wait list the longest WILL have their orders filled.

Immediately upon finding out the exact number of poles on this container I was sure to make another order. As soon as my supplier is able to collect and dry enough poles I will high-tail it back to China to select more poles to ship to Seattle as quickly as possible. The earliest that this secondary order of poles will arrive is June of this year. One of the problems now confronting us is that spring is not the harvest time of year for bamboo in China and it will be a task to even collect enough poles. I do, sadly enough, have more poles sitting in my warehouse in China but far too few to ship alone. The logistics of shipping dictate that a product of this size is not cheap to ship unless enough material is collected to fill the better part of a shipping container. Therefore I must get back to China to buy more material to ship with this next order. [The current container set sail with a lot of other bamboo poles for non-rod making markets but those markets can not help fill the next container as they are seasonal and done for the year.] So it will be a while yet before I can get the second batch of cane to Seattle. Note that “June” is the best case scenario. The worst case scenario is that it is too damn rainy in the hills and the farmers can’t collect enough cane for an order this spring. In that case, I will not have ANY new cane in Seattle until next November.

As for this current shipment the only fair thing I can think to do is to doll out the cane on a first come first serve basis; those who tried to order poles last November and ended up on this wait list will get their order. I will contact some customers who placed larger orders and ask that they split their orders in two to ensure that some of the “smaller” makers will get their orders. Orders that I cannot fill at this time will get filled as soon as I can land the next batch of poles. I will go to China again in November of this year to buy a larger number of poles so that we do not run into this supply problem again. Only once in my 12 years of business have I been out of cane and that was only for about three weeks. I never expected this drought and I am very sorry to many of you who need poles to keep your businesses and hobbies alive.

I will be getting in touch individually with all of you on the wait list over the next week to make arrangements for shipping or to let you know if you are on the next wait list. The container is due to arrive in Seattle next Monday and it should be cleared of customs (and delivered to my warehouse) the following week. Shipping can commence immediately thereafter.

An important note is that I do have a limited number 1 7/8” and 2 1/4"-2 1/2" poles available. I will offer these poles to the people on this wait list starting with the folks longest on the list. I will post notices if/when these sizes run out as well.

I have started a secondary Wait List onto which I will put the names of all those who can expect bamboo to ship out of Seattle sometime after May. Of course there are no obligations from anyone on either the primary or secondary wait list.

I think it is also important to note that I do not feel that our overall bamboo supply is in any danger at all. I’ve not heard any such rumors floating around out there but I would like to comment that the bamboo market in Southern China seems as healthy as ever and I have no reason to believe that we will not be able to see as much bamboo as we would like to in the rod makers market by next winter. This is somewhat of a colossal error for the short term but it will not affect us in the long run.

Please contact me directly if you have questions or need more information. Thank you one and all.

Sincerely,
-Andy

-------------------------------------------------

Winter 2008

Gentlemen,

Greetings! Finally, an update, the first in over a year. I'm not quite moving at the speed of bamboo here but we are getting somewhere at last.

I was in China for the last two weeks of November selecting more fly-rod cane for 2008. My current supply in Seattle is completely exhausted. This new shipment will be in the warehouse by mid-February. I am compiling a "Wait List" now for North American and select overseas makers. Whoever wants to order cane can just let me know and I will add their names to the list. When I know more about the arrival date of this shipment I will let everyone know and start setting up shipments at that time.

I am working directly with rod makers groups in Australia, Europe and Japan this year. Shipments to all three locations will leave China by February of 2008. Contact me directly if you are not yet on a contact list for these locations. We will need confirmed orders by late January for these groups.

There are three sizes to choose from this year: 45-50mm, 50-55mm and 55+mm (that is roughly 1 7/8", 2", 2 1/4+"). As is normally the case, the smaller cane tends to be a bit "cleaner" in complexion while the largest pieces have more... uh, "character marks"... The big stuff is certainly big and heavy though; this is the stuff that guys building salmon or spey rods get excited about. Or guys who just like the big stuff. These poles are still a bit rare and there will only a couple hundred available per continent.

The overall quality of this year's poles is very good. But it is NOT a year for makers of blonde rods. Unlike my last selection period two years ago, this was not a year of exceedingly clean cane. There seems to be a pattern in the bamboo world that either renders poles that are a bit lighter weight and cleaner in complexion or heavier-weight with more marks. This year's poles are of the latter category. Blonde rods will have visible marks on them. These marks are the typical "water marks" most makers are familiar with. While not actually caused by water these are natural marks on the surface of most poles. How deep the markings go into the fibre is variable. Some of this year's poles have a lot of brown "freckles" on them but in my experience most any light brown marks are ONLY on the surface of the cane and they disappear when the enamel is scrapped off.

The overall colour of the bamboo is very good. As always I do allow for some cane with a greenish tinge to it. This is not the grass-green colour of poles that still need sun but a very light green. Often these poles cannot be made more yellow because if they are left in the sun they will quickly crack; they are as dry as can be. Depending on the weather at the time the poles are dried sometimes the poles just never get to that deep straw-yellow colour some makers prefer. Oddly enough the Chinese swear up and down that the poles with a bit of green in them represent stronger bamboo while they say the more yellow poles are getting older and weaker. The Chinese aren't rod makers though and they don't play a role in determining what is best for you makers. In any event, any green tint should cook out evenly.

I took to having the bottom 5-15 inches of each pole cut off. What I am trying to do is maximize the node spacing while leaving the heaviest part of the cane (the bottom of the pole) in tact. I pick a spot on each pole that I think gives us the best of both worlds.

As always, no slash marks or burn marks on this cane.

Prices are still being determined. I am waiting to learn what my final costs will be for shipping and importing. I will keep the prices as close to last years as possible. I imagine the prices may go up about $1/pole. I will get another update posted here on that issue within a couple of weeks. A price ESTIMATE is as follows:

45-50mm (1 7/8”) 10 pcs/bundle
~1-4 bundles $145
~ 5+ bundles $125

50-55mm (2”) 10 pcs/bundle
~1-4 bundles $185
~ 5+ bundles $165

55+mm (2 1/4+") 5 pcs/bundle
~1-5 bundles $115
~5 bundle maximum per order

Shipping rates will be similar to the past. This averages between $90-$140 per 1-4 bundle order depending on location throughout N. America. International shipping rates very widely, contact me for a quote. I am feverishly working on shipping rates for customers taking part in the group orders in Australia and Europe. My goal is to land the poles at one major city in each country for the same above prices so your shipping costs will only be the cost from Sydney or Stockholm or Hamburg for example.

Don't hesitate to write to me directly with any questions or comments.

Thank you one and all.

Warmth and joy to all as we speed on toward a new year!

-Andy
bamboo@w-link.net

Winter 2008

2008-01-04T11:53:00.000-08:00

Gentlemen,

Greetings! Finally, an update, the first in over a year. I'm not quite moving at the speed of bamboo here but we are getting somewhere at last.

I was in China for the last two weeks of November selecting more fly-rod cane for 2008. My current supply in Seattle is completely exhausted. This new shipment will be in the warehouse by mid-February. I am compiling a "Wait List" now for North American and select overseas makers. Whoever wants to order cane can just let me know and I will add their names to the list. When I know more about the arrival date of this shipment I will let everyone know and start setting up shipments at that time.

I am working directly with rod makers groups in Australia, Europe and Japan this year. Shipments to all three locations will leave China by February of 2008. Contact me directly if you are not yet on a contact list for these locations. We will need confirmed orders by late January for these groups.

There are three sizes to choose from this year: 45-50mm, 50-55mm and 55+mm (that is roughly 1 7/8", 2", 2 1/4+"). As is normally the case, the smaller cane tends to be a bit "cleaner" in complexion while the largest pieces have more... uh, "character marks"... The big stuff is certainly big and heavy though; this is the stuff that guys building salmon or spey rods get excited about. Or guys who just like the big stuff. These poles are still a bit rare and there will only a couple hundred available per continent.

The overall quality of this year's poles is very good. But it is NOT a year for makers of blonde rods. Unlike my last selection period two years ago, this was not a year of exceedingly clean cane. There seems to be a pattern in the bamboo world that either renders poles that are a bit lighter weight and cleaner in complexion or heavier-weight with more marks. This year's poles are of the latter category. Blonde rods will have visible marks on them. These marks are the typical "water marks" most makers are familiar with. While not actually caused by water these are natural marks on the surface of most poles. How deep the markings go into the fibre is variable. Some of this year's poles have a lot of brown "freckles" on them but in my experience most any light brown marks are ONLY on the surface of the cane and they disappear when the enamel is scrapped off.

The overall colour of the bamboo is very good. As always I do allow for some cane with a greenish tinge to it. This is not the grass-green colour of poles that still need sun but a very light green. Often these poles cannot be made more yellow because if they are left in the sun they will quickly crack; they are as dry as can be. Depending on the weather at the time the poles are dried sometimes the poles just never get to that deep straw-yellow colour some makers prefer. Oddly enough the Chinese swear up and down that the poles with a bit of green in them represent stronger bamboo while they say the more yellow poles are getting older and weaker. The Chinese aren't rod makers though and they don't play a role in determining what is best for you makers. In any event, any green tint should cook out evenly.

I took to having the bottom 5-15 inches of each pole cut off. What I am trying to do is maximize the node spacing while leaving the heaviest part of the cane (the bottom of the pole) in tact. I pick a spot on each pole that I think gives us the best of both worlds.

As always, no slash marks or burn marks on this cane.

Prices are still being determined. I am waiting to learn what my final costs will be for shipping and importing. I will keep the prices as close to last years as possible. I imagine the prices may go up about $1/pole. I will get another update posted here on that issue within a couple of weeks. A price ESTIMATE is as follows:

45-50mm (1 7/8”) 10 pcs/bundle
~1-4 bundles $145
~ 5+ bundles $125

50-55mm (2”) 10 pcs/bundle
~1-4 bundles $185
~ 5+ bundles $165

55+mm (2 1/4+") 5 pcs/bundle
~1-5 bundles $115
~5 bundle maximum per order

Shipping rates will be similar to the past. This averages between $90-$140 per 1-4 bundle order depending on location throughout N. America. International shipping rates very widely, contact me for a quote. I am feverishly working on shipping rates for customers taking part in the group orders in Australia and Europe. My goal is to land the poles at one major city in each country for the same above prices so your shipping costs will only be the cost from Sydney or Stockholm or Hamburg for example.

Don't hesitate to write to me directly with any questions or comments.

Thank you one and all.

Warmth and joy to all as we speed on toward a new year!

-Andy
bamboo@w-link.net

WINTER 2008

2007-12-21T12:03:00.000-08:00

Gentlemen,

Greetings! Finally, an update, the first in over a year. I'm not quite moving at the speed of bamboo here but we are getting somewhere at last.

I was in China for the last two weeks of November selecting more fly-rod cane for 2008. My current supply in Seattle is completely exhausted. This new shipment will be in the warehouse by mid-February. I am compiling a "Wait List" now for North American and select overseas makers. Whoever wants to order cane can just let me know and I will add their names to the list. When I know more about the arrival date of this shipment I will let everyone know and start setting up shipments at that time.

I am working directly with rod makers groups in Australia, Europe and Japan this year. Shipments to all three locations will leave China by February of 2008. Contact me directly if you are not yet on a contact list for these locations. We will need confirmed orders by late January for these groups.

There are three sizes to choose from this year: 45-50mm, 50-55mm and 55+mm (that is roughly 1 7/8", 2", 2 1/4+"). As is normally the case, the smaller cane tends to be a bit "cleaner" in complexion while the largest pieces have more... uh, "character marks"... The big stuff is certainly big and heavy though; this is the stuff that guys building salmon or spey rods get excited about. Or guys who just like the big stuff. These poles are still a bit rare and there will only a couple hundred available per continent.

There will be a VERY limited supply of the AA poles again this year. These are poles that excel in all criteria of size, heft (fibre density), colour and overall appearance. My rule is that I keep half of these poles in the mix of the regular "A" poles while I pick out half to sell on their own. These poles are $50/ea and sold in two-pole bundles only (one bundle per maker). There are only a grand total of 20 of these poles (out of over 8,000 poles I sorted through). First come first serve to reserve these AA poles, starting NOW!

The overall quality of this year's poles is very good. But it is NOT a year for makers of blonde rods. Unlike my last selection period two years ago, this was not a year of exceedingly clean cane. There seems to be a pattern in the bamboo world that either renders poles that are a bit lighter weight and cleaner in complexion or heavier-weight with more marks. This year's poles are of the latter category. Blonde rods will have visible marks on them. These marks are the typical "water marks" most makers are familiar with. While not actually caused by water these are natural marks on the surface of most poles. How deep the markings go into the fibre is variable. Some of this year's poles have a lot of brown "freckles" on them but in my experience most any light brown marks are ONLY on the surface of the cane and they disappear when the enamel is scrapped off.

The overall colour of the bamboo is very good. As always I do allow for some cane with a greenish tinge to it. This is not the grass-green colour of poles that still need sun but a very light green. Often these poles cannot be made more yellow because if they are left in the sun they will quickly crack; they are as dry as can be. Depending on the weather at the time the poles are dried sometimes the poles just never get to that deep straw-yellow colour some makers prefer. Oddly enough the Chinese swear up and down that the poles with a bit of green in them represent stronger bamboo while they say the more yellow poles are getting older and weaker. The Chinese aren't rod makers though and they don't play a role in determining what is best for you makers. In any event, any green tint should cook out evenly.

I took to having the bottom 5-15 inches of each pole cut off. What I am trying to do is maximize the node spacing while leaving the heaviest part of the cane (the bottom of the pole) in tact. I pick a spot on each pole that I think gives us the best of both worlds.

As always, no slash marks or burn marks on this cane.

Prices are still being determined. I am waiting to learn what my final costs will be for shipping and importing. I will keep the prices as close to last years as possible. I imagine the prices may go up about $1/pole. I will get another update posted here on that issue within a couple of weeks. A price ESTIMATE is as follows:

45-50mm (1 7/8”) 10 pcs/bundle
~1-4 bundles $145
~ 5+ bundles $125

50-55mm (2”) 10 pcs/bundle
~1-4 bundles $185
~ 5+ bundles $165

55+mm (2 1/4+") 5 pcs/bundle
~1-5 bundles $115
~5 bundle maximum per order

Shipping rates will be similar to the past. This averages between $90-$140 per 1-4 bundle order depending on location throughout N. America. International shipping rates very widely, contact me for a quote. I am feverishly working on shipping rates for customers taking part in the group orders in Australia and Europe. My goal is to land the poles at one major city in each country for the same above prices so your shipping costs will only be the cost from Sydney or Stockholm or Hamburg for example.

Don't hesitate to write to me directly with any questions or comments.

Thank you one and all.

Warmth and joy to all as we speed on toward a new year!

-Andy
bamboo@w-link.net

SUMMER/FALL 2006 UPDATE

2007-11-23T13:25:00.000-08:00

I returned to China in February of this year to select a new batch of bamboo poles for makers of split cane rods. This was my first trip in about five years in which I was not hosting friend, family or curious traveler and I found that being alone in China really aloud me to get a lot of work done! I was able to sort through the approximately 7,000 poles my supplier had picked out for me in about five days, which left me with some time to do some exploring in the Yunnan Province, two provinces to the west. Down south in Yunnan (just north of Burma) is pretty damn hot year-round. I arrived at 10:30 at night to 85-degree weather. Each day I was there was a bit warmer as March was coming on. I can’t imagine being there in August! And the Chinese like to combat the heat by energizing the body with heat… as in, hot food. And they are not kidding around. My last meal there stuck with me for about five days after I returned home!

In any event, the bamboo I worked with on this trip was absolutely fabulous. VERY clean cane for the most part. Some selection days were filled with nothing but exceedingly clean cane, pole after pole! And the size, weight, color and overall quality are all very good as well. Overall it is just great cane this time around. I spoke with Harold Demarest up at Corbett Lake in April and he said the same thing about his shipment this year. Good stuff!

It is not a result of the cane quality but my material, shipping, ocean freight and import charges have all increased. Some of these went up fairly significantly. As a result, for only the second time in my ten years, prices are going up. Ten-bucks per bundle.

Also, I have decided to stop separating the large culms from the 2” pieces. I did this since I had not experienced a strong demand for the larger cane in the past two years. Of course, in the past four months or so the demand for the big pieces has shot up but I’m mixing the big poles in with everything else. Many bundles will have a couple of nice big ones in there now!

And I do have a very limited supply of AA poles. These are poles that rate exceptionally high in size, weight and appearance. These are in bundles of 3 and sell for $120/bundles while supplies last (and they won’t last long).

Trucking rates continue to slowly rise. Contact me directly for the latest rates.

One bundle (10 pieces) = $175
Five or more bundles = $155