112 



KINKS OF ALL KINDS 



to say, the outdoor sportsman, the 

 kind above all the rest. Even 

 those of our brotherhood who are 

 well to do do not have the time 

 that they want to themselves, or 

 perhaps better, to the bass and 

 trout and the enjoyment experi- 

 enced in their capture. How 

 many of us have not felt the an- 

 guish of passing by a beautiful 

 stream on a good day because of 

 lack of equipment or time in 

 which to get things ready? This 

 has led many to carrying many- 

 pieced rods in their suitcases 

 while traveling. But even these 

 require time to get ready. When 

 one imagines every unused mo- 

 ment an unused chance at some 

 beauty of the dark water, any 

 means of adding rapidity to 

 preparation and still not hazard- 

 ing the efficiency of equipment is 

 hailed with joy and enthusiasm. 



The impatience experienced on 

 numerous chilly mornings when 

 cold-stiffened fingers made it hard 

 to thread the line through the 

 guides, led the author to adapting 

 or perhaps transposing a device 

 known for years on the family 

 sewing machine, which allowed 

 threading through an eye, without 

 pushing the thread through. All 

 of us know of it, and some, too, 

 may have used the scheme in this 

 application, but it is not widely 

 known, and is too good to keep. 

 I have only tried it as a two-piece 

 wire guide (Fig. E), but varia- 

 tions of many kinds have oc- 

 curred to me. The form used 

 patterns somewhat after common 



snake guide, but as the chief ad- 

 vantage of this form (strength) 

 is lost by breaking the wire be- 

 tween the attached ends, slightly 

 heavier wire should be used, al- 

 though this is not compulsory. 



The means of making these is 

 very simple. Phosphor bronze 

 wire was used by the author, but 

 German silver does very well. 

 The wire is carefully flattened for 

 ^s inch (according to size of 

 guide) with a light hammer and 

 a smooth iron surface. A nail the 

 size of the guide aperture is then 

 filed off on one side (Fig. A), and 

 the flattened end of the wire 

 (Fig. B) is held here, parallel to 

 the nail, with a pair of pinchers. 

 With another pair, or the fingers, 

 the wire is bent sharply to the 

 left and spirally around the nail 

 for nearly a complete turn. The 

 unflattened end of the wire is 

 then bent slightly out away from 

 the nail (to avoid any chance of 

 the line getting caught while in 

 use), and the wire is here cut off. 



The upper edges of the flat- 

 tened base should be ground with 

 a stone or file to avoid the silk 

 winding being cut, and the round 

 cut end of wire should be finished 

 off a little, too, with a stone. 

 Each part of the guide is made 

 in the same way and is wound on 

 the rod with space enough be- 

 tween to let the line through. 

 (See diagram, Fig. D.) 



One-piece guides could be made 

 very simply with machinery, the 

 guides being stamped out of thin 

 sheet metal (Fig. F, 1) and fin- 



