We are proud to say that every part and component of a Burkheimer Fly Rod is manufactured in the United States.  It's the only way we consider it should be done!  Starting with Kerry's innate mind for the dynamics of fly casting and his knowledge of carbon fiber, each model is specifically design to fit a certain criteria.

After leaving his indelible mark with pencil and paper, the design taper is cut to spec from the highest quality prepreg/graphite materials.

A specific mandrel taper is selected and carbon fiber prepreg cloth are laid up and ready to roll.

All Burkheimer fly rods start this way and are meticulously rolled right in our shop.  No blanks are outsourced!  Next comes rolling the cloth onto the mandrel, this is crucial work and requires specialized equipment to make it happen perfectly.  No bumps, folds or creases allowed.

Once the material is rolled, the mandrel is placed in a cellophane wrapping machine.  This wraps cellophane tape at a smooth and constant pressure to lock the graphite material in place and makes the outer mold to form the blank.

The mandrel is placed in a hanging rack and moved into an industrial oven that cooks the parts at 275 degrees for 120 minutes.

This causes the resins in the cloth to liquefy and evenly distribute throughout the shaft during the curing process.  

The cured blank is then hydraulically removed from the mandrel and the cellophane tape removed.  We then sand the surface resin from the blank; this provides a smooth finish and removes excess weight that can dampen rod performance.  We then hand dip each section in our proprietary color coating and extremely durable rod finish. 

The next step in the process is cutting and hand fitting each ferrule to precise tolerances; this gives each rod great balance and symmetry. Once ferruled the butt section is sent to our handle department to get its spa treatment. The top sections are meticulously wrapped with the best guides available.

Over in the handle department we start with legally procured blocks of the highest quality wood, selected for its unique grain patterns and durability.  We cut, stabilize, and mill all our own woods thus assuring the supreme quality and one-of-a-kind looks.

Our hardware is custom made to exacting specifications and is second to none in function and reel security.

The cork grips are hand drilled and tapered from solid extra select flor grade cork discs, none of our grips are pre-formed in any way. No loose or squeaking grips on a Burkheimer! Yes it costs more and is time consuming, but well worth it in on our opinion!

Each individual ring is glued to the blank and the ring next to it making a solid and firm handle.  We built a special clamp system to compress the rings just so, thus assuring a seamless and durable grip.

We're sure you will agree, our grips are the best! Now it's on to the grinding room, every Burkheimer grip is hand turned on a lathe to a fine and smooth finish.  This is fun to watch in person.

Once this is complete the rod moves to the thread coating room.  This is a controlled environment that allows us to put a glass clear and smooth coating on all the guide and thread wraps.  We coat each wrap twice for supreme depth and durability.

The final step is Kerry personally hand signs and numbers every rod produced.  This also gives him a chance to inspect each and every rod before it heads out the door.