Leonard and “Tonkin” Cane

Leonard was, if possible, even more secretive about his third contribution to the modern fly rod-the use of Tonkin cane as a rod-making material. Tonkin (a misnomer), the bamboo used for fly rods today, is a thick walled and heavy-fibered cane found in China which, weight for weight, is unequaled for elasticity and resilience by any other material.
William Mitchell, a celebrated rod maker of the Civil War period, stated in the 1880s that he had made a rod of "Chinese cane" in 1869, but apparently it made no impression on him.

But Mrs. Hiram Hawes, H. L. Leonard’s daughter, recalls that in 1877 Loman Hawes got hold of an umbrella, down in Bangor, that had bamboo ribs and knew that it must be something other than Calcutta, the Indian cane which up until that time had been used for fly rods. Calcutta would not have stood such treatment. He and Leonard or maybe just Leonard found out that the stuff was Tonkin and located a source of supply (it has always been the monopoly of a few British dealers in Hong Kong).

With it Leonard’s nephew Rube increased the title-winning distance cast from 80 feet in 1882 to 102 feet in 1888. (Today’s record: 194 feet.)

 

Taken from "The Father of the Fly Rod" by Sparse Grey Hackle (published in Sports Illustrated, June 4, 1956)

October 3, 2007 | Filed Under News

 

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