Kil Song and Black Hole are parting ways

[Leprechaun]

I dunno what happened, and I just heard about it. This makes me kind of sad, as I cannot say enough good things about the lengths that Kil went to, designing, proto-type testing and bringing to the American market what is a truly fine line of fishing rods. Who in the country would ever have even heard of NS Black Hole fishing rods, if not for Kil? He put that company on his back, and made it a solid choice for most any type of fishing, here in the US.

I understand that Kil has some other potential irons in the fire, but at 75 now, he himself wonders if he's got the time to do it all again. From what I know of him, I doubt he'll take even a week to get back to what he does best.

So, whatever happens going forward, KUDOS! to Kil for all his hard work and good cheer whenever we would meet up at the various fishing shows. He is a true class guy!

Who else but Kil would take an ultra-light spinner Halibut fishing?



Here's a video demonstrating just how tough these Kil-designed BH rods are:

 

[george]

I saw his post the other day. It sounds like he's not getting out of the business. He is one stand-up guy, and he's probably caught more fish than anyone I know!

 

[Snapprhead27]

That's got to be some fun catching halibut on those rods! I did hear he may be venturing elsewhere.

 

[BennyV]

Well that stinks. Met him at the Edison show. Great guy.

I’m not sure what happened, but I can tell you this is a lean year for some guys in the business. There is a supply glut in the market which is definitely impacting some folks. I actually saw a Bubba Blade brand fishing rod on the boat this past weekend. Makes you scratch your head.

 

[OVERBORED]

Never knew how crazy Koreans were for fishing until I met kilsong and his merry band of followers years ago!

The gear these guys had made me blush with envy as everything they used from reels to foul weather gear was top of the line.

First class guy. Wish him well!

 

[BoatGuy]

Black Hole is a great rod. I love mine. Will they still be available in the USA?

 

[Snapprhead27]

He said the ladies will still be running the business and he will be working with another company.

 

[Crabman]

Just checked the photos. September 11, 2010, tuna fishing south of the Coimbra. Every fish was a cookie cutter at 200 pounds. Non-stop action on a flat calm day. We used my stand-up rods which were heavy duty rods (broomsticks) at that time. On board was a rod Kilsong sold me when we first met at Trophy Tackle. It was a 5' Black Hole Cape Cod Special. I looked at it and did not believe what he was telling me. I paired it with an overkill Saltiga 50 and 80# braid. My crew called it the "Noodle Rod" and we kept joking about what was going to happen when I hooked up a large tuna. Kilsong told me to fish it hard and if it breaks he would replace it or give me my money back. After my crew had exhausted themselves on non-stop brutes, I decided to see how this rod would perform. I knew it could handle 50-75# tuna fish but we were catching 200# fish. Out went a sardine and it was crushed immediately. My star drag was set high at about 25# and the first run was incredible. The rod was bent in half. We were concerned the rod would break but I kept the pressure on. The fish was boated in fifteen minutes without a harness or belt. I caught a few more with the same results. When I got home, I called Kilsong in NJ and ordered three more rods. There were some growing pains with this rod but Kilsong kept developing and replacing as needed. He was and always has been a true gentleman to deal with. Kilsong, I wish you the best in your next adventure. I know you won't slow down and I look forward to your next line of tackle. Black Hole should be worried about their future sales without you.

 

[Leprechaun]

So that didn't take long

Looks like Kil has hooked up with the "other" premium Korean rod manufacturer. Here's his words, borrowed with respect from another forum:

"my relationship with JS Company
When I heard about JS Company first, it was about 10 years ago. One famous Japanese angler told me he thinks the best quality rod maker in Korea is JS Company. i found JS and NS Black Hole are two major rod makers in Korea.
A few years ago, President Ko of JS Company contacted me at ICAST Show. I told him I couldn't do any business with JS as I was involved with NS Black Hole then. However I really wanted to introduce JS to American anglers.
As my relationship with NS Black Hole ended, I contacted President Ko of JS. He wholehearted welcome me.
I asked whether he wants to do business with me directly and he said yes. But first day discussion was not smooth. I think he worries too many things in advance. After meeting, I sent a message to him, I don't want to get involved with JS as he is reluctant to do any business with me. He called immediately and asked me to visit JS one more time.
Apparently he considered many variables as a businessman. I am not a businessman. I am a type of guy believing gentleman's agreement by just shaking hands.
after understanding each other's stand, The atmosphere became very amicable. He wanted me to open an office/shop as I did for Black Hole USA, I said no as I know my limit. I told I help to introduce and develop rods for the US, but not involved in sales of rods directly.
I don't think I can make money, but I have an opportunity for developing rods for US market which I love.
I am bringing a few JS rods and I am eager to test them as I never used JS rods before.
New chapter begun."

 

[captmike28]

Thanks for the update and especially the video documenting the production process. I thought it was fascinating.

One question for you, Lep. I always thought that one-piece rods were comprised of a single blank that ran from the butt to the tip. Watching the final assembly process here it seems that there are actually 2 sections that are cemented together inside of the reel seat. Do you know if this is common among other rod manufacturers?

 

[Leprechaun]

What you saw in that video were slow pitch rods being assembled. While we here in the USA are used to one piece rods, in Asia its very common for their rods to have a ferrule right in front of the handle section. Because there is little action in the blank's handle section, with all the bendo happening in front of the handle, plus the ferrule area being pure CF to CF, there is very little (if any) loss of overall sensitivity in such a rod.

A rod built on this type of blank will travel far more easily than a straight one-piece 6'6" rod - which is what the completed rods looked to be. Its my understanding that in Asia there is a great deal of plane travel to destinations that offer superior fishing (like Japan or Korea to SE Asia/Indonesia), and so being able to carry rods aboard a plane is important.

As far as longer rods go, I really can't say what the blank construction process might be. I do know that many surf casters prefer a one piece blank. I guess that would take an investment in machinery that can handle that kind of length. Looks real expensive to me.

What I took from that video is that JS is using the "Scrimless" blank construction method, which is a very high-end way of blank manufacturing, used by CTS, Hydra, and a handful of other top-flight blank companies.

Scrimless means that no vibration-deadening fiberglass "veil" is used as the first layer of the blank against the metal mandrel. Thus the blank is entirely made of CF, and is therefore much more sensitive, albeit being a bit more prone to possible breakage.

Everything in rod manufacturing is a trade-off. The question is, how critical is ultra sensitivity to the end-user? And how many returns due to breakage is the manufacturer (and client base) willing to tolerate? Its a good question, answered in a few different ways, depending on builder quality and the end-user's acceptance of what it means to use a cutting-edge rod, that might be prone to breakage if the rod is pushed past its limits.

A good example of this would be in an admittedly unrelated field - America's Cup ocean sail racing. It seem nearly all of those racers are built of carbon fiber, or maybe even Kevlar fiber. Very light, therefore very fast, (and very, very expensive). But we've all seen the catastrophic result of a few of those boats breaking apart in very rough water. Exceed the design limits of any truly high-end composite material at one's own risk.

I guess the guys that can afford multi-million mega Dollar racers aren't real concerned about "a few bucks" going South, here or there. The point is to win the damn race!

Anyone reminded of a certain baseball team owner that thinks like that? Hey, he’s MY guy!