In reply to Post #90
Mine's the same as yours, London, England, still keeping an eye out for an Ealing one if one ever crops up at a sensible price! £300 is the top end of the cost for the work needed on mine, probably a bit less, I think it's worth getting done, I'll never sell it anyway so the finished value is a bit irrelevant (obviously don't want to pay more than I would for a tip top one though!).

In reply to Post #50
You git Bill! I think I've got to get my MK IV refurbed now I've seen the finish on yours, did Paul do your MK IV? He's getting some prices for me for a new tip section from Chapmans (spoke to him today). I think I'm going to go the whole hog, new tip section and full refurb with new rings throughout. Only downsides will be not having the rod for 2 months while Paul works his magic and my wallet being about £300 lighter at the end of it That's got to put me in favour with the fishing gods, they'll owe me a 30 on it first trip out (please!)

In reply to Post #39
The reality is that if you replace the tip section nobody would know! No different to replacing the tip section on a modern rod, the rod would look and perform the same as when new. Like Bill has already mentioned, it's the butt section that really matters on the old rods. PS, keep looking for a pin, one will crop up at the right price eventually, I had the same dilema with the MK IV, was looking for ages before this one came up (at £50). I know once I've paid for the refurb I could have bought one already in great condition, part of the fun of it for me is giving a tatty old rod a new lease of life!

In reply to Post #36
Have a look at the Okuma range of pins, their Sheffield is a lovely looking smooth running reel, costs about £100 new. I'd say you'd have to pay around £300 for a new English reel of equivalent quality. I don't worry about using old gear, you can get it repaired if the unthinkable happens! Like I mentioned in my previous post, my MKIV Richard Walker could well be going in for a refurb (including a new tip section), only other option is to hang it on a wall and look at it, doesn't seem right to me, should be bending into fish!

In reply to Post #2
Top stuff! I rarely use anything else these days. Picked up a Richard Walker MKIV off Ebay recently and have been using it with a pin, took 2 out of the margins yesterday evening, 14.2 and 17.4, under a float with a lump of luncheon meat. Bill put me onto a chap Paul Cook who specialises in refurbishing cane rods (thanks Bill), looking at getting mine done to get it back to original (needs a new tip section and some eyes replacing, etc.) wont be cheap (somewhere in the region of £250-£300) but if looked after should outlive me, like it did the last owner!