Here is a great Ocean City surf reel. Stamped Ike Walton Club on the bottom of the Reel foot along with "300 YARDS". It has a quick take apart feature, free spool, click button and star drag. It's solid, heavy German silver. A truly high quality reel that I don't see too often.
Wow--a BEAUTY.
Frank
I've had a handful, but none this nice. I doubt you could get any more factory fresh than this beauty
Ted
That's a beauty!
Great one Mike
Nice ocean city ,,,,any info on the ike walton club
Here's what Mike C had to say:
"Great reel Mike.Very expensive for its day. Be careful when you take it apart. The trim rings are welded to the stand. The only way to complely break it down is to break it. The cross bars are held in place like hollow rivets. It was not built to take down the frame."
If he sees this post he could add more. It's the best made OC Reel I've seen.
Built to last indeed . This one seems flawless !
From what little I know they made these in the 300 yard version which is pictured and a 250. There were also minor variations over the course of its production.
That's a beauty, Mike! I'm looking for one of those for my collection!
These are great reels!
I have a Dover Club, and 3 Ike Walton's...
-Dover Club, No?, ca.1922-32, 250ydIn bottom photo
-Ike Walton, No.1060?, ca. 1932-40, Brown plates/small star wheel, earliest version?, 250ydIn bottom photo
-Ike Walton, No.1070? ca. 1932-40, black plates/small star wheel, next version?, 300yd
-Mike's transition reel with the mid-sized star is pictured below,
Third photo
-Ike Walton, No.1060?, ca.1932-40, black plates/large star wheel, later version?, 250ydMike's in third photo, mine in bottom photo
I lost some of my OC reel pics to the photobucket monster, but the post is here....
http://alantani.com/index.php?topic=13054.15
I believe both the Dover Club and the Ike Walton came in 250&300yd sizes.
The OC reel photos website...
http://www.oceancityreelphotos.com/saltwater-reels.html
Is a great source of info on these models, and it has quiet a few photos of these reels. One shows a page from a 1929 Belknap Hardware Catalog that lists the Dover Club as a model # OC100. Mike's catalog excerpt First photo belowlists the Ike Walton 1060 as a 250 yard reel, and the 1070 as a 300 yard reel.
I think there were at least 4 versions of the Ike Walton. I believe the earliest were brown plates with a small star wheel, then black plates with a small star wheel, then there was the difficult to find, brown plate mid-sized star wheel transition reel (actually I am not sure of this one's production period), then the full sized star in black plates (like yours).
I think Mike, and tue OC reel photos website state that pre-OC the reel was made by Moskowitz and Herbach.Mike's double handled/double levered/starless M&H reel is in the second photo below
Hopefully he can correct me if I am wrong here?
Quality reels that are fun to collect, since they were available in many variations, and have a rich history.
I hope Mike doesn't mind I posted up some of his pics?
John
Man, that's a nice looking reel. I wonder if the brown plates were originally brown or if they are oxidized black hard rubber that needs some elbow grease to bring them back.
-steve
If you look very closely, starting just to the right of the top post screw, on the tail plate you can make out three beautifully engraved initials. They read RLC and you can't see it in the photo but there is also a number 12 engraved by the same hand as well. This engraving is so fine and so delicate it's imperceptible to a casual eye. Usually, I don't buy reels that have been personalized but when it's done to this level of quality I think it adds to the character of the Reel.
No problem using my pictures. I posted them on Facebook, I do not think there could be any more public a place. Nice of you to have the consideration.
The Ikes are one of those models that keep evolving for a collector piece. Every time you think you have all the answers about them another variation comes out of the woodwork. I believe the side plates are Bakelite, not hard rubber. I am not much of a color classifying guy. Maybe that's because I am color blind. I usually look for build differences. If a color is radically changed I make note of it but different shades of black and brown go right by me in terms of generational decisions about a particular model.
The early Ike Walton reels cannot be considered without also considering the Dover Club. They were very different internally but did share the welded frame and side plates. The Dover Club came first. I believe. The earliest one I have seen was in a Moskowitz and Herbach Catalog. The two gentlemen go back into the late 1800's in the fishing tackle trade, so, much research could be done on them alone. I have done enough research about them to bring me into the Ocean City brand. Ocean City is nothing like Penn concerning its origins. Ocean City was created by Moskowitz and Herbach by merging with many companies. That is why their brand will drive you crazy to follow. They were very diversified in their products offerings. In my opinion, that is one of the reason they eventually sold, but, that is another story.
The first scan here is a scan from a 1922 catalog highlighting the Dover Club. The side plates on this reel are advertised as "Condensite" material. I do not believe that is hard rubber because they say the handle knobs are hard rubber in this same catalog showing. Condensite may be an old way of saying Composite or Bakelite.
The second scan in taken from the Folsom Arms catalog of 1924. On this page you can see both the Dover Club model and under it, the very early Ike Walton Model. Notice the side plate release of the early Ike Walton Model is the same lever used on the Dover Club. Sorry for the quality of the scan, it is a copy of a copy of a copy.
When you get back into this early 1920's Ocean City history you have to bounce from one company to another to get some historical flow of how the models evolved. The biggest difference between the Dover Club and the Ike Walton reels was there drag system. The Ike Walton reel used an Edward vom Hofe drag while the Dover Club use a cranky Conical clutch for a drag, hence the small drag wheel, the adjustments were slight. It is very interesting, but its performance compared to the Ike Walton doomed the Dover Club model.
The last scan is the fully evolved Ike Walton reel similar to yours. That scan is taken from the 1931 Ocean City catalog.
The work on this reel is fantastic. That is a really nice reel. First I believe I've seen of them. Thanks for sharing this... Jeff
Here's a better pic of the tail plate engraving. I would guess that would cost upwards of a couple hundred bucks today.
QuoteHere's a better pic of the tail plate engraving. I would guess that would cost upwards of a couple hundred bucks today.
It was relatively common to see fine engravings on expensive reels of the 1920's and 30's. Ocean City reels like the early Ike Walton models were not high end, so it is sort of unusual to see an engraved Ike. I would think the owner of the reel did this. Seeing high quality engraved owners names on vom Hofe, Hardy, Kovalovsky, Coxe and others in that category reel is not unusual at all. Depending on the quality of the engraving and the name of the owner the value may be increased or it can actually detract from the value of an old reel. I would like to have the money back for parts I have had to replace because someone scratched their name into the stand or side plate.
Of course, yours is not a problem, yours is nice and would have attracted me too.
Yea the little vibrating engravers are the worse. I keep wondering what the two 12's are all about. Number of kids, 12 big fish, his 12th Ike Walton reel? If only it could talk.
QuoteI keep wondering what the two 12's are all about. Number of kids, 12 big fish, his 12th Ike Walton reel? If only it could talk.
Could be anything. Might be Club ID's. A placed where tackle was stored and everyone marked their gear. The meaning is only limited to your imagination. If you take the reel apart and find more #12's on the inside, then it is a factory assembly number for the reel. In the old days, reels were hand fitted, assembly numbers were assigned to each reel part to keep the parts together with the reel they were fitted to. You see this with vom Hofe reels all the time.
You may never have an answer for those numbers; but, you can always do some creative writing about the possibilities.................<:O)
I wonder if "Ike Walton" is a reference to Izaak Walton, writer of "The Compleat Angler"?
Frank
QuoteI wonder if "Ike Walton" is a reference to Izaak Walton, writer of "The Compleat Angler"?
Exactly, the one and only Izaak Walton is Ike. He was an Moskowitz & Herbach, Ocean City and vom Hofe hero. I believe the Complete Angler is still in print today, it is one of the most edited books of all time. Here is a quote from an Ocean City article I wrote a few years ago.
"" Izaak Walton was a 17th Century author. He penned many works but his most famous work was titled "The Complete Angler". The story of Izaak Walton could easily take over this piece, so, suffice to say, Mr Walton had an amazingly long life, especially when you consider the times he lived in England. He was born in 1594 (approximately) and died in 1683. His work, The Complete Angler, was a study of sport fishing from his own personal experiences and experiences of some of his friends. It was first published in 1653. For the next 25 years, Izaak Walton continued to add to his original work. Many updated editions were written by Mr. Walton before his death. The fifth edition of The Complete Angler was written in 1676 and had grown the work from its original length of 13 chapters to 21 chapters, but his death did not mark the end of his work in the marketplace. The Complete Angler has never been out of print. I do not know how many editions of this work exist but over 300 years after the passing of Mr. Walton, The Complete Angler is still being published, as a matter of fact, the last edition I know of was released in 2003 and is currently for sale online. Izaak Walton was a pioneer in terms of documenting his fishing techniques and satisfying feelings a fisherman may have about our sport.""
I too have wondered who Ike Walton. I had heard of Izaak Walton and his book but didn't put two and two together. Thank you Mike for sharing your knowledge here on this thread.
We have an "Izaak Walton League" chapter, close to us (Northwester Illinois). Those "clubs" were once quite widespread, and were among the first to promote the "adopt a stream" programs. The one in Illinois (near Geneseo, Il.) is located on the Hennepin Canal, and has a boat launch, and small camping area.
The "great maudu" stated that the engraving would cost upwards of a couple hundred bucks,(I think he meant the engraving) Actually, if anyone is interested in this type of engraving; a place called "things remembered" (in most big shopping malls) engraves all kinds of irregular stuff like zippo's and letter openers/picture frames for around $20.. A reel should be no problem
QuoteThank you Mike for sharing your knowledge here on this thread.
My pleasure.