The term "bespoke" was a foreign term to me

RRP

I had to look it up. Then I went back to @DWFII's posts and talk about being impressed! Any eggers wanting to buy custom made "cowboy boots" or shoes ought to take a look! 
https://www.instagram.com/dwfrommer/

JohnInCarolina

British origin, so that makes sense.  Some very cool stuff being hand made by @DWFII no doubt.

Woodchunk

I see he was in the 82 airborne, must have been at ft brag in the 60's

dmourati

Bespoke has become recently overused in my opinion like craft and artisanal. We could stand to use these words less often.

DWFII

dmourati said:

Bespoke has become recently overused in my opinion like craft and artisanal. We could stand to use these words less often.

To the contrary, we could stand to use them more rigourously and in a context where they actually mean something. People in contemporary society tend to dislike excellence in any form. So we dumb down the meanings of words and reduce all good things to the lowest common denominator.

FWIW, "bespoke" has been associated with the Trade (shoemaking) since time out of mind--the 18th century, at least.

dmourati

DWFII said:

dmourati said:

Bespoke has become recently overused in my opinion like craft and artisanal. We could stand to use these words less often.

To the contrary, we could stand to use them more rigourously and in a context where they actually mean something. People in contemporary society tend to dislike excellence in any form. So we dumb down the meanings of words and reduce all good things to the lowest common denominator.

FWIW, "bespoke" has been associated with the Trade (my Trade) since time out of mind--the 18th century, at least.

We're in agreement.

DWFII

RRP said:

I had to look it up. Then I went back to @DWFII's posts and talk about being impressed! Any eggers wanting to buy custom made "cowboy boots" or shoes ought to take a look! 
https://www.instagram.com/dwfrommer/

JohnInCarolina said:

British origin, so that makes sense.  Some very cool stuff being hand made by @DWFII no doubt.

Thank you for the kind words.

U_tarded

Dangit @RRP get out of my wallet.  Not much of a boot guy but those dress shoes got me thinking.  I read up on his site I don’t know if I am patient enough to wait.  Plus I don’t even want to know what they would set me back.  I’ll keep dreaming. 

NPHuskerFL

Quality boots that I'd wear with confidence. Nice work and feed @DWFII

nolaegghead

Beautiful work.  I'm impressed.

fishlessman

some nice work there. do you have a source for the polarbear hair, my stock is getting increasingly low

texaswig

Very nice work. Too bad I only wear sneakers, Sanuk's, and sandals. 

DWFII

fishlessman said:

some nice work there. do you have a source for the polarbear hair, my stock is getting increasingly low

Thank you!

I suspect every fisherman would like a source. I think it's illegal in the US...or was last time I heard.

I haven't tied seriously for some 25 years. Before that I tied well enough to trade flies (of the sort you see on my IG feed) for custom built McNeese fly rods.  McNeese sold or gave me most of that bear...and it was prime--no "broomed" tips...and a fair portion of is was dyed--red, orange purple.

Then I quit fly fishing entirely about twenty years ago until about six years ago when I took up the spey rod. McNeese was again an influence there--he had worked with Jim Green and Les Eichorn and others to develop a 14'  rod for the Dean, and they were the first Am. made spey rods built here in the US...that I know of.

About two years ago my balance started going and I ended up in the water almost as often as an ouzel. Esp. in these big brawling rivers of Oregon--the Deschutes, the Rogue, the Umpqua--and wading deep for steelhead. And i had some medical issues.

So, reluctantly, I hung it all up again...probably for good.

But all that's still a big part of my identity and I still own a single-handed trout graphite rod that I built and a trout spey--11'9"--and a steelhead spey--13'2". And some pretty nice English reels.

Like Egging, however, I couldn't afford to get into it from scratch...if I wanted or had to...now that I'm retired.

thetrim

Very cool.  True craftsmanship.  A little nicer than my elephant skinned Tony Lamas! 

fishlessman

DWFII said:

fishlessman said:

some nice work there. do you have a source for the polarbear hair, my stock is getting increasingly low

Thank you!

I suspect every fisherman would like a source. I think it's illegal in the US...or was last time I heard.

I haven't tied seriously for some 25 years. Before that I tied well enough to trade flies (of the sort you see on my IG feed) for custom built McNeese fly rods.  McNeese sold or gave me most of that bear...and it was prime--no "broomed" tips...and a fair portion of is was dyed--red, orange purple.

Then I quit fly fishing entirely about twenty years ago until about six years ago when I took up the spey rod. McNeese was again an influence there--he had worked with Jim Green and Les Eichorn and others to develop a 14'  rod for the Dean, and they were the first Am. made spey rods built here in the US...that I know of.

About two years ago my balance started going and I ended up in the water almost as often as an ouzel. Esp. in these big brawling rivers of Oregon--the Deschutes, the Rogue, the Umpqua--and wading deep for steelhead. And i had some medical issues.

So, reluctantly, I hung it all up again...probably for good.

But all that's still a big part of my identity and I still own a single-handed trout graphite rod that I built and a trout spey--11'9"--and a steelhead spey--13'2". And some pretty nice English reels.

Like Egging, however, I couldn't afford to get into it from scratch...if I wanted or had to...now that I'm retired.

sorry to hear about the medical problems, i dread the day i cannot cast any more. my source used pre 1972 hides and had some great colors, i try not to tie more than a half dozen flies with it a year now which gets me thru a few weeks when the smelt arejust entering the lake, very small and transluscent young of years. mostly fish for native landocked atlantic salmon now.  i do need to learn the double hand spey, my right arm elbow and shoulder isnt what it used to be for single handed casting

DWFII

fishlessman said:

sorry to hear about the medical problems, i dread the day i cannot cast any more. my source used pre 1972 hides and had some great colors, i try not to tie more than a half dozen flies with it a year now which gets me thru a few weeks when the smelt arejust entering the lake, very small and transluscent young of years. mostly fish for native landocked atlantic salmon now.  i do need to learn the double hand spey, my right arm elbow and shoulder isnt what it used to be for single handed casting

Arm and shoulder problems were the reason I quit the first time. I am only 5'7"+/- and I was casting a 10' for a 9 most of the day.

Medical problems were mostly age related and an allergy to some meds the VA prescribed. Not inconsequential but nothing life threatening beyond what any invasive surgery poses, for the most pat.

Go to spey and you'll never go back--longer casts, less effort, more river (some good casters can hit 80'-90' with trees not ten feet behind them)...although forget about dry fly.

Austin Egghead

beautiful  boots.  thank for the link.....I do wear boots

DWFII

Thanks for the compliments and conversation, lads.