Shimano LP-7 reel

[nowildwood]

Here is flea market find that I paid $10 for. It appears to be well made and is still fishable. Is it a keeper or should I give it to friend that is just starting out in surf fishing? Thanks for the help. [img]

[BryanC]

Not sure of the value, but you might want to at least try fishing it yourself before giving it away.

I had a similar reel (possibly the same model, but I don't think so) that my dad purchased for me in ~1984 for a fishing trip to Canada.  The black knob that extends up from the reel stem is the bail trip mechanism.  When the bail is open and you crank the handle, the backside of the bail arm smacks into that knob causing the bail to flip over.  Simple, but effective & reliable.

[foakes]

Appears to be late 70's -- early 80's.

Many of the manufacturers during this time period made some good reels -- Shimano, Daiwa, Ryobi, Penn, and many others.

Solid aluminum bodies -- generally some bearings -- simple bail mechanical trip mechanisms -- skirted metal spools for better casting.

Yours is a very nice example -- while not worth a lot of money now -- if kept for a decade or so -- one could see some collecter interest in these reels -- there is a certain amount now for the old Shimanos.

While worth more than you paid for it -- it should go up in value, if serviced, line stripped, stored away.

If wanted, I could go through my shop manuals from that era -- to get you a little more tech info.

If it were me, I might just consider doing a complete cleaning restore & Lube -- then put it away or on a shelf.

The problem with using this reel in the surf -- for a newbie like your friend -- is that it will likely get salt burn -- and when a part breaks -- there are no replacements except an old parts reel.

Your call -- nice example of early Shimano History.

Best,

Fred

[nowildwood]

Gentlemen. I'm going to move the reel along to my friend. I'm a Penn guy at heart anyhow. I can't pass on a 704 or 706 or anything green. Thanks for the info.

[philaroman]

KEEPER:

I'd guess mid-late 70's; well above the "budget" models, judging by the rosewood knob; minimally pitted & the spool lip looks clean... maybe not quite pretty enough cosmetically to collect

definitely open it up -- the innards might be pristine & worth much more than $10 in rare parts...  might be old enough to have those big brass bushings on the main gear

[cbar45]

I owned an LP-7 back in the day.

Metal body, plastic side-plate, aluminum alloy main, brass pinion.

Its low gearing and large line capacity were good for soaking bait.

The drag washers were sticky Teflon.

I wasn't too impressed with the parts machining compared to similar Daiwa's of the time.

However the LP-7 never gave me a problem.

[nowildwood]

Cbar, Your memory is spot on. When I opened it up the guts are just as you described. I gave it the Alan Tani maintenance work and passed it on. Thanks for the info.