Why Don’t Manufacturer’s Make Reels Like These Anymore??

[rcmsangab]

New Range Rovers are lease only vehicles. Older ones are cool looking but a way more expensive hobby than old fishing gear!

[Gfish]

I got away from the Spincaster Push button with a 1950's Shakespeare 1756. Heavy and well-made. Called a "Spin-Wondereel", I call it an underspin. 9.5 oz, the heaviest of 6 spincasters I have.Those Shakespeare's I've seen from the same era, do have metal push buttons. The only plastic is the handle-knob.
Oudda the 6, the Johnson Century 100B is my all-around favorite.

The latest I got is the precursor to the Zebco 33 from 1949. R.D. Hull's Zebco Standard. Push a button on the middle of the body and you get a different kind of direct-drive; the rotor spins backwards on the cast, but the main gear/handle pops out and is disengaged. Re-engagement of the gears is by pushing the handle back in. So there is some casting friction from the rotor spinning backwards.
 No typical anti-reverse. There's a dome shaped plastic ball inside the body attached to the rotor shaft, accessible from the outside via a thumb hole for a drag effect or anti-reverse. Simple workable design with lots of room/areas for improvement, which were only a few years away.
Interestingly there is another button on the thin body; a clicker.
3-improvements were coming; a push button system to retract the rotor pick-up pin,  and at the same time raise the rotor to squeeze the line and hold it while casting, until the button is released. Next was a dial controlled friction drag and a more traditional anti-reverse cog and gear system.

[boon]

They kinda do. They just cost a lot of money.

Inflation adjusted, a reel like this would probably cost in the ballpark of $200 today.

If someone produced these reels today for $200, do you think they would sell enough to have a viable business? I suspect the market has shown they will happily sacrifice a whole lot of robustness and longevity in exchange for performance and features. Consumers vote with their wallets and the suppliers march to that beat. Fundamentally, I suspect the vast majority of buyers have different priorities in a fishing reel to the average AT member.

[Flat Top]

A buddy of mine only uses those old cheap Zebco spincast fishing reels. When they break he just goes out and buys another one. He says they are disposable reels, and says the newer reels that cost much more are prone to breaking just as much as the old Zebco's are. I dont know if that is true but thats what he says. He has never tied into a large fish or a real fighter, but someday he might. I told him when the chips are down is it worth the fish of a lifetime to save a few bucks on a reel that might or not land that fish. He has no answer.

Another friend of mine who is a catfish tournament angler just landed a blue catfish that was 82 lbs from the bank where we fish a lot. He has all the modern high buck equipment to do the job...leaves nothing to chance. He landed the fish, weighed it, took a few photos, and released the fish...piece of cake. His equipment performed and the cost of that equipment....to him.....was worth every penny that he paid.

I guess it depends on how serious a fisherman you are and what you are willing to invest in the sport...or not. I have found for my pursuits that the old Penn conventionals have always got the job done and thats what I have always used. Some of those reels are older than I am (I am 78 years old) and I still use those reels to this day.

I see a lot of newer high buck reels that are using plastic parts and sintered metal gears, etc. Will they stand the test of time like my old Penn reels have....only time will tell.

 

[boon]

I see a lot of newer high buck reels that are using plastic parts and sintered metal gears, etc. Will they stand the test of time like my old Penn reels have....only time will tell.

I'd be intrigued to know which higher-end reels are using sintered gears?

If your sole metric of a reel being "good" is durability then a lot of modern reels don't stack up. But for many anglers they care about a lot of other aspects above "is it tough?".

[Flat Top]

I see a lot of newer high buck reels that are using plastic parts and sintered metal gears, etc. Will they stand the test of time like my old Penn reels have....only time will tell.

I'd be intrigued to know which higher-end reels are using sintered gears?

If your sole metric of a reel being "good" is durability then a lot of modern reels don't stack up. But for many anglers they care about a lot of other aspects above "is it tough?".

I should have mentioned die-cast and nylon, etc, as well.

My question is, even with modern technology in manufacturing are any of these materials that are pieced together under high heat and pressure or the "plastic" alternatives going to last as long as the machined metals used in the past?

The newer "modern" materials are smoother and lighter than the older machined metal gears. A lot of folks are looking for that smoothness and light weight. The cost of manufacturing is reduced as well and a nice reel can be had for less than with machined metal gears. Thats all fine and dandy and my only concern is can these newer reels be passed on and used for another lifetime like some my old Penns have been?

Case in point: I got a new model Daiwa BG 8000 when they first came out. It was so smooth...couldn't even feel the gears when I turned the crank...it was almost like no gears were inside the reel! When I took the reel apart to pre-service it before use the main gear looked to be a coated Die-cast gear and it was light...much lighter than a steel gear of the same size would be. Those reels have been used to catch all sorts of large fish so I have no doubt about the power of the reels. How long the main gear will last is anybody's guess.

You are correct...different strokes for different folks.

I can say this: I have never had any of my old Penn reels go south on me and they are still using the same gears that they were manufactured with. The only changes I have made over the years is upgraded carbon fiber drag washers and thats it.

[foakes]

Excellent points, FT —-

I have maybe 1000 off#brand reels, or reels by companies long gone —-

Once a week, I go out to the upstairs storage and pull out a few to work on and restore just for fun —- in between working on clients reels for service and also new builds.

Here are a few I pulled out this morning.

An old Supmatic from France —- look at the gearing, no plastics and no cheap alloys.

An old UCO Steelhead Spin/Fly reel.  All SS, all solid bronze gearing.  Broke it down, and was amazed at the quality.  When I put it back together later today —- using modern lubrication, and cleaning and burnishing of all moving parts —- it will operate better than when new.

Some baitcasters —- different brands (probably have over 400 of these), all metal inside and out.  Impressive little reels that will work perfectly when done.

I guess some of us are just dinosaurs in the reel world.

Most follow the herd for the latest and greatest new Tupperware reel that needs 13 bearings —- since the plastic frames won't hold up too long to the rigors of a lifetime of fishing.  So manufacturers need to add so many bearings to impress the buyers, and make the reels last a little longer.

I have tools that are well over 100 years old —- that still work better than the new stuff coming out of Asia —- sold online or in the big box stores to folks who just don't know any better —- and will continue to buy and replace, buy and replace, buy and replace.

I just stay in my little corner niche —- and don't say too much negative.  It is the way of the modern world.

Best, Fred

[Midway Tommy]

Fred,

You should do an indepth tutorial on that Sup-matic, especially detailing the two speed aspect while you're cleaning/servicing it up. That two speed setup is pretty tricky and a lot of people end up breaking the stem on the handle speed change button. The South Bend schematic has a special note on how to get that mechanism apart.

On a different note, the next generation (tan) Sup-matics have a nylon oscillation gear.

[Gfish]

The only good things about plastic to me, are corrosion/rust prevention, and electrical insulation. Old sun and weather damaged plastic is weak plastic.

[Flat Top]

"I guess some of us are just dinosaurs in the reel world".

I am definitely living in the past, but, the past has done so well I see no need to live in the furture.

[Flat Top]

The only good things about plastic to me, are corrosion/rust prevention, and electrical insulation. Old sun and weather damaged plastic is weak plastic.

Good point!!! I am amazed that the old Bakelite side plates on all my old Penns have stood the test of time. Bakelite has some properties that the newer plastics do not have. Bakelite will darken with UV exposure but the mechanical properties of Bakelite are unaffected. It has a high heat resistance to continual temperatures of 320 degrees, is an excellent electrical insulator, and is resistant to most chemicals.....for use in reels tough stuff!!!

I would say that modern carbon fiber is the go to material for modern reel bodies. Lighter and more flexible than Bakelite and can withstand about the same temperatures depending on the resin used in the bonding process. Carbon fiber itself not counting the resin equation can withstand temps in excess of 5400 degrees without melting....again, tough stuff!!!