A Little Everol History

[Midway Tommy]

I thought some of you Everol guys might get a kick out of this three part Everol yesterday and today article on the ANTIPES site by ANTIPES President Renzo Di Paolo. ANTIPES is a group of Italian collectors researching and documenting Italian reel, and various other makers such as ABU, and their history. The Everol article a very interesting read and ANTIPES is a great site to visit. There is a lot of reel, especially spinning reel, information and history there.

You'll need to use your translator. If you use Chrome it will be in the address bar in the top right hand corner. Not sure where it's located on other browsers.   

[bhale1]

Thanks Tommy,
I'm sure this will be a must read for Daron(Shark Hunter) and many more!! It was for me, and I don't even own any 😀
Brett

[Crow]

Thanks for posting that link, very interesting read !

[Shark Hunter]

I would Love to meet Gianni.
I have dealt with Paolo on a personal level and the pleasure was all mine.
Old School craftsmanship that has stood the test of time.
Thanks for posting this Tommy.
I now know what the two girls mean. I often wondered.
Also interesting that Penn Internationals copied the drag system when the patent expired.

[Midway Tommy]

Also interesting that Penn Internationals copied the drag system when the patent expired.

As with most historical events, wouldn't it be nice to know the fate of both companies if Everol hadn't forgotten about their drag patent expiration?  Interesting how things evolve. 

[Tightlines667]

Also interesting that Penn Internationals copied the drag system when the patent expired.

As with most historical events, wouldn't it be nice to know the fate of both companies if Everol hadn't forgotten about their drag patent expiration?  Interesting how things evolve. 

I don't believe the International reels copied that drag design.. maybe the torque or versa drag system? 

Interesting article. 

This company has a rich history.  I would have liked to heasr more of the early days, and the connection between their competitor Duel, and the Gladiator line.

I wonder if Everol will update the design on their smaller 'waterproof', 2-speed series to shed some weight, and compete with many of the other brands in this catagory?

John

John

[Shark Hunter]

I think they copied it in part John.
To the Best of my knowledge, No other reels have this lever drag and disk design.
I'm probably wrong, but just my two cents.
I now have a 4/0, 9/0, 9/0 wide, 12/0, 14/0, 18/0 and 20/0 Everol's.
I'm not done yet, I want a 12/0 Cairns model in good shape.
Newest addition 9/0. I'm guessing 80's production without the full machined frame.
Not a Scratch on it.

[Penn Chronology]

I do not think Penn International copied the Everol lever drag design. The Everol has its drag in the head plate, the International drag is in the tail plate. I actually feel the International is a more balanced design. I have only owned one Everol, a 14/0 Cairns. I sold it a few years ago. It was absolutely mint, so I never opened it but I do have some paperwork that I kept. I am a paper junkie. Anyways, here is a cutaway of a mid 1980 Everol 14/0. This does not look any thing like a Penn.

I also do not know when the Everol patent expired; but the original Penn International designs go back to the early 1960's, maybe even the late 1950's.

The second photo is of the first working Penn International prototype. I do not see Everol in that design.

[Penn Chronology]

There is another very interesting reel with a lever drag patented by Fred Grieten. He worked in the Fin-Nor company in the 1930's. What I have read about him was he was a excellent machinist and a horrible business man. He was involved in big game reel design with Fin-Nor. They ran into patent infringement problem in the 1930's with Kovalovsky. Fred Grieten was directly involved with the process of bringing the drag system inside the reel, which cleared Fin-Nor of the patent problems. Then came the war and Fred got out of the business only to return a few years after the war. He patented a lever drag big game reel and actually sold some. I would think they are very hard to find today but they do enter the world of """Similar Lever Drag""" to Everol and Penn Internationals.

It is really hard to know who copied from who

[Tightlines667]

Wow Mike!

Both of those reels are pretty darn cool. 

Is that International prototype a 50 class reel?

I assummed there must be an International prototype somewhere, and have wondered what it might look like.  I assume Tue internal drag and cam mechanisms are pretty similar to the first gen?  Do you have any shots of the internals?   

Thanks for sharing!

John

[Robert Janssen]

Gentlemen, sorry for delay in response to this thread. I was away on a trip, not altogether too far away from Everol I suppose, without internet connection.

Listen, save your efforts on the drag patent thing. There is certainly no truth to it; it is an old boast that has been flying around since idunnowhen and can be immediately dismissed as erroneous at best. Trust me.

It is true though, that Everol predates the International and may have in some way contributed to inspire Penn to build a lever drag reel, but that is where it ends.

This was a nice article and all, but on sort of the light reading level. Some nice pictures though, and cool reels. I too have one of the first Everols ever made, a 7 1/2 /O with dual gears and dual levers.



Really, the more interesting things here are Mikes amazing prototype International and Reel-King pictures! And that Grieten patent happens to be a personal favorite, since it quite obviously shows a twin drag reel, which gives Accurate fanatics something to think about.

I would Love to meet Gianni. Nice guy; I am sure you would like him. Speaks very little or no English though.
I now know what the two girls mean. I often wondered. Yes, it is an interesting little anecdote. Thought I had mentioned it before, but I guess not.
Also interesting that Penn Internationals copied the drag system when the patent expired. In a word, no.

Daron, those reels with the post frames were continued into the 2000s. I have a prototype one-piece frame here, it says I made it in 2003 I think. Better clues are the chunky-style gear housing and type of handle knob.

.

[IMG]

[Alto Mare]

Cool reel Doc, if you have one in your possession, they must be very rare 

Sal

[Penn Chronology]

Is that International prototype a 50 class reel?

I assummed there must be an International prototype somewhere, and have wondered what it might look like.  I assume Tue internal drag and cam mechanisms are pretty similar to the first gen?  Do you have any shots of the internals?   

Hello John,
              I believe the prototype International is a size 30. Great story goes with the reel, it was fished by the CEO of the day and with it he caught the first billfish on any International, a large Atlantic Sailfish. That billfish was mounted and hung on the wall in the Penn CEO office until 2005. Don't ask me where the billfish and International prototype are today; but, I will say they are in good hands and not with Pure Fishing.

Really, the more interesting things here are Mikes amazing prototype International and Reel-King pictures! And that Grieten patent happens to be a personal favorite, since it quite obviously shows a twin drag reel, which gives Accurate fanatics something to think about.

Hello Robert,
              Thank you for the Kudos and the more positive reasoning about the evolution of the International. I never considered the twin drag aspect of the Grieten idea in conjunction with Accurate. Interesting association

[54bullseye]

Hi John Taylor here
This is a follow up on Mikes "Reel King post". From reading they came in three sizes a "20-30" a "50" and an "80" size. I bought a 20-30 size off Ebay a couple years ago for a $100 buy now and was very happy about it !! I knew nothing about them and while looking for info found out Brian "Oceanreels" had an 80 size. He told me of a page in the Fin-Nor Book by Bruce Matthews and Ed Pritchard that gave a brief history of the Reel King reels ! On page 32 in that book it tells how Grieten applied for several pattens in early to mid 60s for drag mechanisms that were for the Reel King reels. The reels were only made from the late 1970 to late 1972 when the owner of SOMACO "Southern Machine Company" died and production stopped. I was lucky enough to buy Brian's 80 reel King so now I need the 50 to complete the set.

I had John Elder do a clean and lube job on the 80 and John said that the drag wasn't like any he had seen before. Here is his ORCA tutorial.
http://reeltalk.orcaonline.org/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=19133&p=86284&hilit=Reel+King+80+reel#p86284

Below I have included a few pics of the two Reel King's !!!  Hope you enjoy.   John Taylor

[Shark Hunter]

Thanks Doc,
The serial number on this reel is 11883.
Not sure if it was made Nov. 1988 or 1983.
The Catalog that came with it has no 18/0 yet.
It also shows a Best Series with wood handles. But the side plates don't show "The Best" as I've seen before.
Daron