Blanks: Characteristics, Properties and Terms

Selecting a blank from all of the options and with the limited information available to the
custom rod builder can be a daunting process. However, the better we educate ourselves
about the characteristics and properties of blanks and the terms used to describe them the
better rods we will be capable of making. This article will hopefully help the custom rod
builder better understand some of the characteristics of blanks, properties of the materials
and the terms used to describe them.

Dr. Hanneman’s Common Sense approach has made it much easier to characterize the
power and action of blanks and to compare the different blanks in terms of their power
and action. However, after the basic design which determines the power and action, there
are also a number of characteristics of blanks and properties of the materials from which
blanks are made that will have a large affect on a rods performance. The most important
of these are Modulus of Elasticity, Tensile Strength, Hoop Strength, Toughness,
Efficiency, Resonant Frequency, Damping and Weight. This article will not only try to
explain what these are but will also explain how the blank manufacturers use a couple of
these terms and how what they publish for some of these terms has limits.

Modulus of Elasticity
Modulus of Elasticity is arguably the most important property of a material in
determining the performance of a fishing rod. As we will see later in this article,
modulus of elasticity will affect most of the characteristics of a rod.

Elasticity is defined as the property of a material that causes it to return to the original
dimensions after being distorted by an external force.
Modulus of Elasticity or Young’s Modulus, sometimes also called the modulus of
rigidity, is the relationship between Stress and Strain.
Let us define Stress and Strain so that we can better understand what Modulus of
Elasticity means when we see it as part of the specifications for a blank.

Stress
Stress is the applied force in pounds divided by the area in square inches over which the
force acts. Or in other words the force applied to a rod divided by the size of the rod.
For a given size rod, the higher the applied force the higher the stress.
Force (pounds)
Stress =
Area (square inches)
There are seven kinds of stress to which a fishing rod may be subjected:
Tension
Compression
Bending
Torsion
Shear
Thermal
Bonding

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The first two, tension and compression, are the two primary stresses from which the
others can theoretically be derived. Tensile stress is the stress on the outside of the curve
when a rod is flexed. Compression stress is the stress on the inside or underside of the
curve when the rod is flexed. Bending, torsion and shearing stresses are just what the
words imply. Bending stress is a combination of tensile and compression stresses,
torsion stress is the stress that a blank is subjected to when it is twisted and shear stress is
the stress that a blank is subjected to when shear force is applied. Thermal stress is the
stress that is the result of a temperature gradient, a difference in temperature, over a
section or length of a rod. Bonding stress can occur during the construction of a blank. If
one of the materials, typically the epoxy, shrinks or expands more than the other
materials or if there is a mismatch in the coefficient of expansion or contraction between
any of the materials bonding stress will result.

Strain
Stress causes strain. In fact, strain is the natural consequence of stress. For each of the
stresses, listed above there is a corresponding strain. Strain is the yielding or deformation
of a material when stress is applied divided by the original dimensions. Or in other
words strain is the resulting change in the shape or dimensions of a blank when force is
applied divided by the original shape or dimension.
It may not be obvious but when a blank bends the top of the blank, under tension, gets a
little longer and the bottom of the blank, under compression, gets a little shorter. If this
did not happen the blank would not bend.

Deformation (inches)
Strain =
Original dimension (inches)

Elongation
Tension Strain =
Original length

Shortening
Compression Strain =
Original length

Earlier we said that Modulus of Elasticity was the relationship between stress and strain.
It is actually stress divided by strain. For those of you that still remember some of your
algebra, if we divide the formula for stress by the formula for strain we end up with the
following formula.

F (pounds)
E (Modulus of Elasticity) = A (square inches)
e (inches)
L (inches)

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Where “E” is Young’s Modulus, or modulus of elasticity, “F” is the applied force, “A” is
the area over which the force is applied, “L” is the original length in inches and “e” is the
resulting length in inches. This reduces to:
FL
E=
For anyAe
elastic material, like graphite or fib

For any elastic material, like graphite or fiberglass, within the elastic limit, (elastic limit
will be explained later), stress divided by strain is a very linear relationship. This very
linear relationship between stress and strain is called Hooke’s law.
Notice in Figure #1 that as stress increases strain increases proportionately creating a
straight line up to the elastic limit. At any point on this linear portion of the graph, as
force is increased, the stress over strain or modulus of elasticity remains constant. Or in
other words, as the applied force on a rod increases the modulus of elasticity remains
constant until the elastic limit is reached.

Figure #1 Graph of Modulus of Elasticity

MODULUS OF ELASTICITY
(Sometimes called Modulus of Rigidity)

Plasticity

Tensile
Strength
Elastic
Stress lbs/in2)

Limit

Strain

Elastic Limit
Elastic Limit is the point beyond which the relationship between stress and strain is no
longer linear. As shown in Figure #1, beyond the elastic limit many materials pass from
elasticity and enter an area of plasticity. Plasticity for an elastic material is where a small
amount of increase in stress results in a large increase in strain. This is the area where
many materials including most metals take a set or once they reach this point they are no
longer elastic and do not return to their original dimensions.

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Tensile Strength
Tensile strength is the strength of a material under tension. Tensile strength is probably
the next most important property of a composite after modulus of elasticity. Composites,
particularly graphite, do not enter into an area of plasticity. If enough force is applied to
push them beyond their tensile strength they break, often dramatically. For composites
like graphite and fiberglass the tensile strength and elastic limit occur at about the same
point on the curve.
It is important to note that the tensile strength as shown on the modulus of elasticity curve
is static tensile strength. The dynamic tensile strength for most materials, the tensile
strength when force is being applied rapidly, for example when we are casting, is roughly
one half of the static tensile strength. Actually, the faster we apply the force the lower
the tensile strength will be but about one half is a reasonable number to use for
composites.
Most blank manufacturers do not publish static tensile strength numbers let alone
numbers for dynamic tensile strength.

Toughness
Toughness is defined as the area under the modulus of elasticity curve. Toughness is not
the same as tensile strength. Tensile strength is a point on the curve while toughness is
the area under the curve as shown in Figure #2.
Figure #3 shows three modulus of elasticity curves for high, intermediate and standard
modulus of elasticity graphites. All have been shown with the same tensile strength for
purposes of comparison.

Figure #2 Toughness

Tensile Strength
Stress (lbs./sq. in.)

Area under curve =

Toughness

Strain (in)

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Figure #3 Graphs of Toughness

Toughness = Area Under Stress/Strain Curve

B D F
Stress (lbs/in2)

Intermediate Standard
Modulus Modulus
High Modulus
A
C E G
Strain (in)

In Figure #3 the area under the curve (area in the triangle) increases as the modulus of
elasticity gets lower. Notice that the area in the triangle ABC, high modulus, is less than
the area in the triangle AFG, standard modulus. What this means is that the lower the
modulus the tougher the material is. All other things being equal, a blank constructed of
lower modulus graphite will be tougher because there is more area under the modulus of
elasticity curve. It will also be less fragile for the same power because more of the lower
modulus of elasticity material will be required to get the same power in the blank and
therefore the blank walls will be thicker. Conversely, as the modulus of elasticity of a
composite gets higher less material can be used to get a given amount of stiffness or
power. This results in thinner walls and therefore lower weight. However, the lower
toughness and thinner walls also means that the blank will be more fragile.

It should be noted that how fragile a blank is will be greatly influenced by the design of
the blank. For example, a high modulus of elasticity material could be used but the
diameter of the blank reduced resulting in more layers of material used to get the desired
power resulting in somewhat more weight but a blank that is just as durable as a blank
constructed of lower modulus of elasticity material that is larger in diameter but thinner
walled. (If two blanks have the same wall thickness the one with the larger diameter will
be stiffer or have the most power).
However, because the outer most layers of material are under the most stress and
resulting strain when a blank is flexed, this approach has limits. As the blank walls get
thicker and thicker the point is rapidly reached where the inner layers are doing very little
but adding weight.

Strain Energy
There is another way of looking at the area under the modulus of elasticity curve is called
Strain Energy. Strain Energy is not exactly the same as Toughness but conceptually it is
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very close to the same. It is a measure of how much energy the material or blank can
absorb before reaching it’s tensile strength.
When we cast a rod we are storing energy in the rod on the back cast and the first portion
of the forward cast and then that energy is released on the latter portion of the forward
cast by the rod. How much energy can be stored in the rod on the back cast and then
released on the forward part of the cast is a function of the area in this stress over strain
triangle. A high modulus of elasticity rod, all other things being equal, will not be
capable of storing quite as much energy as a low modulus of elasticity rod. However, as
we will see later, a high modulus of elasticity rod can release this energy more quickly.

Hoop Strength
The way most blanks are constructed, in between each layer of the fiber that runs
longitudinally up the blank is a layer of material called scrim. The scrim in most graphite
blanks is fiberglass. In a few high modulus blanks the scrim may also be graphite. The
fibers in the scrim are not oriented in the same direction as the main fibers but are
typically a mesh and are aligned at an angle across the blank.
Scrim has several functions but the primary one is to give the blank more cross sectional
strength or what is called Hoop Strength. Higher Hoop Strength will allow a blank to
tolerate higher torsion and shear stresses or in other words will give the rod additional
strength to resist being broken when twisted or crushed.

Modulus of Elasticity Comparisons

Table#1 shows some common materials and their approximate modulus of elasticity to
give an indication of how different materials compare.

Table #1 Modulus of Elasticity of Materials

Material E (pounds per square inch)

Aluminum 10 million
Brass 9 million
Steel 25 million
Tungsten 35 million
Rubber 20

Graphite 30 to 60 million
Fiberglass 10 million

The modulus of elasticity will vary a great deal for metals depending on how they are
alloyed and annealed but this will give you an idea. If we look at this table it appears that
steel has a high modulus of elasticity and could be used for rod blanks and in fact it has
been used but the drawback is it’s weight. Graphite on the other hand has high modulus
of elasticity and low weight, which is primarily why it has become the most popular
material for use in constructing fishing rods.

Table #2 shows some of the more common graphites and fiberglasses that are used by
blank manufacturers with their modulus of elasticities and tensile strengths. There are at
least fifty different standard graphites and about twenty more standard fiberglass
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compositions from which blank manufacturers can select. Plus the larger blank
manufacturers can order Prepreg that is custom tailored for them.
Prepreg is what the composite material, including the graphite or glass, the scrim and
resin as the blank manufacturer orders it from their supplier, is called. It comes in very
large sheets that are rolled into large rolls that are about three feet wide and fifty
thousands of an inch thick from which the patterns used for a particular blank are cut.

Table #2 Modulus of Elasticity of Composites

Type Modulus of Elasticity(millions) Tensile Strength(thousands of psi)

T700S 33 711
IM6 40 760
IM7 40 780
T800H 43 796
IM8 44 790
56-700 55 700
G55-700 57 750

E Glass 9 350
S Glass 12 400

Normally graphite that has a modulus of elasticity of about 33 million will be called
Standard Modulus, graphite that has a modulus of elasticity of about 40 million will be
called Intermediate Modulus and graphite that has a modulus of elasticity of 50 million or
more will be called High Modulus. These are the terms that many blank manufacturers
will use rather than giving a specific number for the modulus of elasticity of the material
they use.

Blank Modulus of Elasticity Numbers

The published modulus of elasticity numbers can be misleading. The modulus of
elasticity numbers that are in the previous chart and those published by rod manufacturers
are for the graphite fibers only. They do not include the scrim which if fiberglass has a
significantly lower modulus and tensile strength, the resin which has a significantly lower
modulus and lower tensile strength, and for the finish on the blank which also has a
significantly lower modulus and lower tensile strength. Both the resin and the finish not
only have much lower modulus and tensile strength they are also denser which means
they add significantly to the weight.

The resin content in the typical blank will be on the order of 35% to 50% by weight. The
scrim will be on the order of 20% to 30% by weight and the finish will be on the order of
5% by weight. I say “on the order” because these numbers can vary a great deal. The
major reputable blank manufacturers try very hard to keep the resin content as low as
possible to keep the added weight down. They also try to keep the weight of the scrim
and finish low. Not all manufacturers do though. The graphite fibers are very expensive
while the resin and glass scrim are relatively less expensive, therefore the Prepreg is
cheaper if it has high resin and or high scrim content. Prepreg cost to the blank
manufacturers will run from about $40 per pound to more than double that so, because
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Prepreg is purchased by the pound, there is a pretty strong incentive for the less reputable
manufacturers to cut corners on the Prepreg, using Prepreg that has high resin and scrim
content. This will naturally have a significant affect on the performance of the blank.

If we add up the weight of the resin, scrim and finish we can see that the actual modulus
of elasticity of a blank will be less than half of that published by the blank manufacturers.
However, 50% is probably a reasonable number to use for comparative purposes. It is
difficult for the custom rod builder to know what the actual modulus of elasticity of the
blank that he or she buys really is because the modulus of elasticity, the scrim content,
the resin content and finish weight will vary from one blank to another, and one
manufacturer to another. It is therefore difficult to directly compare the blanks made by
two different manufacturers based upon the published modulus of elasticity. The present
situation could be corrected if blank manufacturers would publish the actual modulus of
elasticity of the blank, including the effects of scrim, resin and finish rather than just the
modulus of elasticity for the graphite fibers by themselves.
It would also be very helpful if they would publish the tensile strength numbers for the
blanks.

Stiffness
Stiffness is the load or the weight deflecting a blank divided by the distance that the blank
is deflected by the weight. Stiffness is usually expressed in pounds or grams per inch and
increases as the blank or rod deflection increases.
Power and stiffness are different but very closely related, the higher the power of a blank
or rod the higher the stiffness will be. While power is generally thought of as a single
number, stiffness is not a single number but rather a curve of weight verses deflection.
Two rods or two blanks with equal power could have entirely different stiffness curves.

Figure #4 is a curve of the stiffness of a typical blank. Notice how the deflection
increases as the weight increases but not linearly. The slope of this curve is a function of
the blanks action. The stiffness increases more rapidly with a blank with a high action
angle than for one with a lower action angle.
Stiffness also increases in direct proportion to an increase in modulus of elasticity.

Figure #4 Stiffness
Weight (pounds)

Deflection (inches)

Efficiency
Efficiency has been defined as the stiffness of a blank or rod divided by its weight. It is
an indicator of the performance of a blank or rod and is also a very useful concept in

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indicating how a rod will feel and how sensitive it is. Feel and sensitivity are very
subjective but efficiency is the best static indicator we have for them.

Efficiency is also not a single number but a curve of stiffness verses weight. Efficiency
drops rapidly with increased weight. A given amount of added weight will also have
proportionally more affect as we move the point that the weight is added closer and
closer to the tip of the rod.

Efficiency is a particularly important consideration for custom rod builders because of the
control that rod builders have over weight with guide selection, wraps, amount of epoxy
etc. It is one area where the custom rod builder can make the significant performance
improvements over factory rods.

Resonant Frequency
Every blank and rod, like most mechanical structures, has a resonant frequency, a
frequency at which it will vibrate or oscillate if excited. The resonant frequency will
have a large affect on how the rod will feel and also how it will perform.
Resonant Frequency is, if not the first, is at least the second most important property of a
rod. All of the other properties will affect resonant frequency including the design and
the materials.
Figure #5 shows the resonant oscillations or vibrations of a blank or how it will react if
deflected and released. This waveform is called a damped sine wave and the frequency
of the oscillations is at the resonant frequency, or the first harmonic, of the blank or rod.
If we rapidly shake a rod we can force it to resonate at multiples of this resonance, or at
higher harmonics, but any blank or rod will try to vibrate or oscillate at its resonant
frequency or first harmonic. The most important properties of the material in terms
determining the resonant frequency are the modulus of elasticity and the weight. As
shown in figure #5, a higher modulus of elasticity rod will have a higher resonant
frequency than a lower modulus rod and a lighter rod will have a higher resonant
frequency than a heavier one.

In terms of design, a longer rod will have a lower resonant frequency than a shorter rod,
a faster action rod will have a higher resonant frequency than a slower action rod, a more
powerful rod will have a higher resonant frequency than a less powerful one.

The resonant frequency of a rod will be on the order of 2 to 10 cycles per second or the
period of each oscillation, period being 1 divided by frequency, will be on the order of
1/10 of a second to ½ second depending upon the rod. It can be measured for longer,
lighter, slower action rods like many fly rods by deflecting the tip and then releasing it
and counting the cycles over a period of time, and dividing the number of cycles by the
elapsed time determined with a stop watch. With shorter, faster action, more powerful
rods this measurement becomes impractical to measure directly because the oscillations
become too fast to count. It can still be measured but requires test equipment to make the
measurement.

The resonant frequency is also an indication of what the casting time constant should be
to take advantage of the rods potential. Tip velocity and resonant frequency are directly
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related. The rod will tend to flex and unflex at a velocity that is determined by the
resonant frequency. A higher resonance will require a faster casting motion to effectively
realize a rods potential. A rod with a lower resonance will require a slower casting
motion. The amount of energy that will be stored in a rod on the last part of the back cast
and initial part of the forward cast is a function of how much force is applied and how
rapidly the force is applied. However, the rod will tend to release this energy on the
forward part of the cast at a rate determined by the rod’s resonant frequency. In other
words for two rods of the same power, action, and length and all other things being equal
the one with the higher resonant frequency will have the higher tip velocity and will cast
farther.
Figure #5 Resonant Frequency

Period of Damping
Period of Resonant Frequency

Frequency (High
Modulus)

Period of Damping
Period of Resonant Frequency

Frequency (Standard Modulus or

High Modulus with added weight)

Damping Period
Damping Period or how rapidly a rod will damp out vibrations is very closely related to
the rods resonance and is determined by the same factors. When a rod is deflected and
released the time it takes to return to the original static position, or the time it takes for

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the amplitude of the oscillations to reduce to zero, is the damping period. This is also
shown in Figure #5.
Every blank, depending upon the design and the materials from which it is constructed,
will have a damping period. The properties of the material that primarily determine
damping period are once again, the modulus of elasticity of the material and weight.
If weight is increased or modulus of elasticity is decreased the period of time it takes the
rod to damp out the oscillations will increase.
It should be noted that a rod in use would have a much shorter damping period. The
resistance of the air will reduce the damping period as will the line through the guides,
the users hand on the rod and several other factors resulting it being a very small fraction
of the damping period of an unloaded rod.

The term Damping Rate is sometimes used but damping rate is actually the rate that the
amplitude of the vibrations decrease which is different than Damping Period which is the
total period of time that it takes for the vibrations to reduce to zero.

Spine
Locating the spine in a blank can be controversial but it should probably be noted that the
method mentioned above for finding the resonance and damping, that of deflecting the tip
of the blank and then releasing it, can also be used to find the spine. In fact, it may well
be a superior method because it is a dynamic rather than static method. If after being
deflected and released the blank oscillates directly up and down it is oscillating on the
axis of the spine. If the tip of the oscillating blank tends to move in an ellipse, not
directly up and down but tending toward a circle, it is not moving on the axis of the spine.
Rotating the blank while repeatedly deflecting and releasing it until it oscillates directly
up and down will show where the axis of the spine is.

Action versis Taper

Action and taper are often used interchangeably and they are admittedly closely related.
However, they are different characteristics of a blank. Action is how the blank reacts
when flexed. It can be looked at as the flex profile of the blank or even the stiffness
profile. Taper is the physical dimensions of the blank or how the diameter of the blank
changes along it’s length.
It is unfortunate that we have historically used words like fast, medium and slow to
describe the action and taper of a blank because this creates confusion with the actual
speed of a blank that is determined by it’s resonant frequency. Action Angle is a much
better method of describing action then terms like slow, medium and fast.

Conclusions/Recommendations

High Modulus of Elasticity not Always the Best Choice

Blank manufacturers select the composite that they make blanks out of based upon a
variety of composites properties. They select the highest tensile strength material that
they can get consistent with the modulus of elasticity and other properties that they want
and also naturally the cost. Most blank manufacturers make different blanks from
graphite with different modulus of elasticity and tensile strength depending upon how
they anticipate the blank will be used. Normally the blanks that are intended for rugged
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applications like boat rods or blanks that the manufacturer want to be very durable are
constructed of standard modulus, high tensile strength material because the blank will be
tougher. Blanks that are intended for higher performance applications will be constructed
of intermediate modulus of elasticity at the expense of somewhat higher cost and a little
lower toughness. The blanks that are intended for the highest performance applications
may be constructed of high modulus of elasticity graphite at the expense of higher cost
and lower toughness. Most low cost blanks will also be constructed of standard modulus
material.

How high the modulus of elasticity of the blank that we as custom rod builders select is a
function of a variety of factors but the application for which the rod is intended should be
the main factor. Where the highest modulus rods are most appropriate is in applications
like high performance fly rods or possibly steelhead drift rods or any other application
where sensitivity or feel is very important. However, because the higher modulus blanks
will necessarily be less tough and also because they are typically more expensive they are
not appropriate for many applications. The standard modulus graphite blanks, even those
composites of a combination of graphite and fiberglass, despite their higher weight are
appropriate for some applications.
Custom rod builder should also probably try to fit the modulus of elasticity, and those
parameters of a rod that it affects like efficiency, resonance, damping, toughness and
weight to the customer as well as the application. For example, if you judge that a
customer is the type that is rough on his or her equipment, you may not be doing them or
yourself any favors by putting an expensive, high modulus of elasticity rod in their hands.
On the other hand, if you judge that a customer is the type that is careful and takes good
care of his or her equipment then in many applications a high modulus of elasticity rod is
very appropriate.

Weight
It is probably worth repeating that custom rod builders cannot affect most of the
parameters of the blanks that they use like the modulus of elasticity or tensile strength
other than by the blank selection but they can affect weight. In fact, rod makers have a
great deal of affect over weight and it is one area where the custom rod builder can
improve their rods over the big rod manufacturers. Weight does not affect modulus of
elasticity but increased weight has almost the same effect as lowering the modulus of
elasticity except that adding weight does not have the benefit of increasing the toughness
of the rod that lowering the modulus of elasticity would have. In fact, added weight
degrades most of the characteristics of a blank including efficiency, resonant frequency
and damping.

When constructing rods we should keep the weight that we are adding foremost in our
minds. Virtually everything that we do adds weight including:

• Weight of Guides
• Amount of Epoxy on guides
• Amount and size of thread
• Cork or other handle material
• Reel seat
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 • Decorative wraps
• Finish on blank

Under wraps and extensive decorative wraps can really make a rod attractive but can add
significant weight and should probably only be used on heavy-duty rods where the
additional weight is small relative to the weight of the rod.

Butt versus Tip Weigh

The butt end of a blank is obviously much heaver than the tip. Therefore additional
weight added to the butt of the rod will have proportionally less affect on the rod than
weight added to the tip.
The affect of added weight is also a function of inertia which is mass times velocity.
Added weight at the tip of the rod where the velocity will be high will create more inertia
and will have many times as much affect as the same weight added to the butt of the rod
where the velocity will be lower.

To prove this to yourself take a raw blank by the butt end and flex it with a motion
similar to what you would use for a short cast to sense how it feels. Now tape on two or
three guides near where the handle would normally be and again flex it to sense how it
feels. There should be very little difference in feel. Now tape the guides on close to the
tip and again flex it to see how it feels. There will be a dramatic difference in the feel.

The custom rod builder, particularly on lightweight, high modulus blanks and especially
toward the tip of the rod should:
• Use as lightweight guides as practical for the application
• Use as small of guides as practical
• Use no more guides than necessary
• Use as small a thread as practical
• Use as little epoxy on the guides as practical

Blank Manufacturers
Blank manufacturers for the most part are trying to build the blanks that they think are the
best blanks for their customers and the blanks that their customers want. However, they
are not giving the custom rod builder all of the information that he or she needs to build
the best possible custom rods and optimally match them to the customer and the
application or to compare one blank to another. The most practical and effective way of
encouraging our blank suppliers to give us this information is to simply continually ask
for it. We should ask for the modulus of elasticity numbers that are the overall or
effective modulus of elasticity including the effects of resin, scrim and finish. We should
also ask for tensile strength. We should also be encouraging the blank suppliers to give
us Action Angle and Power but these we can measure ourselves. We can also measure or
make estimates for the other characteristics or at least compare one blank to another if
given the actual modulus of elasticity and tensile strength.

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