Northwest Fishing Reports

A friend just gave me his Grandpa's antique rod, and I'm hoping some Grandpas here can give me some history?

* It's a Horton Bristol rod, four pieces - one for the handle, three for the rod. Looks like metal tubes and cork grips.
* Five foot length total, and "barrel" guides, all about 3/8", including the tip. It pretty stiff, probably because of the metal tubes and three joints. It doesn't have a lot of bend in the last third, so you would want to work a fish carefully until you tire it out.
* The collar on the end has the patent date as March 8, '87 and '89, and we're not talking 1900's.
* The reel mount is printed with "THE HORTON MFG CO/BRISTOL CONN", and the Bristol logo with a graphic of a rod with line snapping behind it.

The reel mount has me stumped. It has the current dimpled collar to accept the bottom leg of the reel, but the top is just a plain ring with a finger hook pointing down. I assume the earlier reels had flatter legs, and the top just slipped under the collar and you held it tight on casting with your finger. I have a cheap plastic baitcasting reel I can shave the legs down to fit under this, so I can go give this rod one last cast (I'm honored my friend passed it on, and wouldn't want to damage it).
Is there a safe way to clean the cork grips?

Anyone have any old-timey knowledge of the history of this rod?
Any idea what it's worth today (a little paint missing on the rod segments)? Though I'm not looking to sell it.

I'll attach a photo of the handle

Thanks - Tom Kennedy

Well in the meantime, I got a copy of Antique & Collectible Fishing Rods: Identification & Value Guide, and they do mention the Bristol rod, and list some values for poor/good/excellent condition. Horton/Bristol had several patents for steel tube forming. I see this is the only 4-piece rod they made, and it was made for packing, so you could take with you backpacking. in it's current condition, I think it would be worth about $40-$50.

I have had some steel rods in my hands before, it it amazes me that anyone use to fish with them. Believe it or not, they were cheep rods in their day, for the guys that could not afford Tonkin Cane or sectioned cherry wood rods. LOL

You can clean the cork safely with simple tooth paste and a soft bristle tooth brush. Do a little at a time, but the tooth paste, or baking soda, will remove the grime and dirt down to clean cork.

the cork doesn't really absorb, so the staining is typically on the surface. Very light grit emery cloth or sand paper will remove the top layer and not damage the cork handle. It cleans up very nice, and quickly.

Thanks for the clean-up tips, I'll proceed carefully. I'll try fishing it, but I wouldn't expect to use it regularly. If it was made for packing in a backpack, I suppose performance could be sacrificed.

Interestingly enough, I also have a Bristol rod, in it's cloth case. However, I have two additional rod segments, one a very short heavy section, the other a "spare". Both of the additional segments appear to be replacement or hand made. Lot's of history.