Right guys, I have a tremendously dumb question.

If I buy an "Unground" blank, I understand that it comes with a spiral, where the tape has been removed, and the resin extruded.

Now I am OK with the "look" of that - a spiral pattern up the rod is fine. But can you "feel" the spiral as a marked ridge? If I run my finger along the length of the rod (oo-err, matron!), do I feel all those little ridges? If so, how noticeable is it, and are there any feelings on how that might affect performance - the rod is presumably less "aerodynamic", and might affect line-wear if the line's in contact with the rod? (It happens in the wet, with small standoff guides eg small recoils).

Hi CB,

My "main" rod is an Orvis Clearwater, built on - an unground blank. I've had the rod for around 15 years - it looks ok, and fishes well. Yes, you can notice the spirals by touch. No, you don't notice them while fishing.

The only reasons I can think of why a blank is ground are:
1. Save a bit of weight.
2. Cosmetics.

I'm no expert on blanks, but thought you might like a "user" point of view. Hope this is useful.

The real plus factor with an unground blank is that they are about 5% more powerful than the ground versions .

I have occasional customers who are very specific in requiring an unground blank ( which can be colour varnished perfectly satisfactorily . If that's what they want ! )

A pal who rudders Rultand hard uses an unground Imperator of mine which I see every 5 years for rewhipping and interestingly the ring side is now as smooth as a baby's traditional - shooting line wear !

Nothing wromg with the unground versions

Best wishes

Steve P