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Frequently Asked Questions
#1 What is the
recent history of the Payne Company?
After the re-opening of the Payne Shop due to the WW II shutdown, Jim Payne
sold his ownership in the company to Wendell Collins in 1947. By the early
1960's Collins sold Payne to the Gladding Corporation. After Jim Payne's
untimely death in 1968, the company went through numerous short-term shut
downs during the 1970's until its sale to a Texas partnership in 1977. The company was
then sold to Harold Bacon in 1980 and was moved to New Hampshire. In 1986, William Alley
purchased Payne and moved it to Stowe,
Vermont. In 1993 Mr. Alley sold
the Payne company to Dave Holloman who has re-tooled and restored the
equipment and company to its best shape since the untimely passing of
"Gentleman" Jim Payne. Following several years of operation in
Sisters, Oregon, we have recently relocated
the company to new facilities in Bend,
Oregon.
#2 Who are the
craftsmen at the Payne Company today?
David Holloman is the
principal rod maker and shop foreman. His rodmaking experience goes back to
his teenage years in the late 1960's. He began hand planing bamboo rods in
the 1970's making all parts of his rods by hand in his shop in the McKenzie
Hills of Oregon.
His splendid and refined craftsmanship has won the esteem and delight of both
new and old customers. The late Cleve Speer, master metalworker and tool and
die maker, with his intimate knowledge of the Payne rodmaking equipment,
processes and operation, has advised us in the restoration and retooling of
the original equipment used in our work. He began his rod making career as an
11-year-old apprentice at Payne in 1925. His finely detailed, free-hand metal
work is unsurpassed in quality and beauty
#3 Why did the
Payne Company move to Oregon?
After unsuccessfully
trying to relocate the company back to Highland Mills, NY, it was decided
with the advice of many long-time Payne customers and associates to move the
company to central Oregon where the fly-fishing is exceptional and the high
desert climate is ideal for fine bamboo rod making. Surrounded by the famous Deschutes,
McKenzie, Metolius, Crooked and Williamson
Rivers (many of which are just
minutes away), our Bend
location is inspirational for our flyrod and reel manufacturing business.
#4 What are the
goals of the Payne Company today?
To continue the
hand-made rod traditions of the Payne legacy. Making individual products of
enduring quality is the ultimate gratification of all our craftspeople here
at Payne. Our desire to uphold the originality of Payne products is
unabridged. It was common knowledge among Jim's countless friends and
customers that he desired to expand the Payne Company to a greater national
prominence and enhanced exposure. This long-awaited goal is now being
realized.
#5 What is the
difference between a Payne Rod and other major brands?
Our rods are
hand-made with the time-honored methods of a by-gone era. Our customers
relish the fact that their rod was faithfully made to order, not
mass-produced. The Payne rod is without argument the most copied rod of this
century. Finely tailored, classically distinctive, enduring quality that
never goes out of style. "PAYNE", an old-time company adhering to
old-time ways for people with high standards.
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