My 'The Mitchell' reel collection so far

[Paul9591]

I decided to unpack all the early Mitchells that I have collected over the past few years, and grab a few quick shots of them all together.
Every reel here is pre- 300 designation.

I blacked out all of the distracting non relevant stuff.

I also posted a video link to them in the videos section.

Not a huge amount of reels for the time I have had an interest in them, I must admit, but I have been spending out big on my knucklebuster obsession too, so that has obviously had a big effect on it all.

Thank you for looking

[thorhammer]

WOW!!!!

[cbar45]

Love those old machined aluminum handles on the half-bails.

Is the tan/orange handle at center left something custom?

[Reels_penn4life]

Very cool. Half bails are awesome. Luxor had a few in their earliest models too. The wood knobs are usually the older version. Looks like you have one with a wood knob mixed in.

[Paul9591]

Love those old machined aluminum handles on the half-bails.

Is the tan/orange handle at center left something custom?

Yes, me too.

No, the tan colored handle is an original wooden one from the first and very early 2nd version reels, and looks to be original to that reel.

[Paul9591]

Very cool. Half bails are awesome. Luxor had a few in their earliest models too. The wood knobs are usually the older version. Looks like you have one with a wood knob mixed in.

Sorry penn4life, I answered cbar45's post before reading yours, so my answer is there also.
But yes, as you say, it is an older reel than the others (close inspection reveals a lot of first version details, but the 'Made in France' casting puts it into the very early 2nd version catagory). 
I have waited a long time to find one.
The handle itself (not the wood grip) was from a much later reel, and I suspect the original was broken and replaced, but I was fortunate enough to have a very early period correct spare, which I replaced it with.
I didn't realise the early Luxor reels had wooden handles also? Interesting stuff.

Thank you to everyone who has commented so far.

[Crab Pot]

Quite the collection!

[cbar45]

Love those old machined aluminum handles on the half-bails.

Is the tan/orange handle at center left something custom?

Yes, me too.

No, the tan colored handle is an original wooden one from the first and very early 2nd version reels, and looks to be original to that reel.

Thanks for sharing, I think that two-tone wooden knob is now my new favorite.

It looks like that early reel—-and at least 5 others—-are sporting what looks like a knurled anti-reverse knob, instead of the usual boomerang lever? Very unique!

[Crow]

Nice!!

[Gfish]

Wow! I thought it was cool to own one full-bail and one half-bail, both no "300" Mitchell's. Gee, I think I need one with the twist anti-reverse knob. That is what that is right? Are those the oldest ones?

[Paul9591]

Wow! I thought it was cool to one full-bail and one half-bail, no "300" Mitchell's. Gee, I think I need one with the twist anti-reverse knob. That is what that is right? Are those the oldest ones?

Hi Gfish,

Yes they are, the twist knob Anti-Reverse (best design they had in my humble opinion) pre-dates the boomerang type, and is a lot more scarce.
You could scroll through a hundred or more of the boomerang switch reels on ebay before you encounter one of those earlier reels, and that obviously puts them in the more desirable category.
Recently, however, I have seen a few more than in previous years (no less expensive unfortunately).

The wooden handle reel in the photo, is a carry over from first production spec, and I think it reasonable to say that most reels with the twist A/R knob will have an aluminum one.

This is what has become known as the 2nd version, more so in the USA (it does roll off the tongue very nicely), but in Europe some use the term 2nd issue or the Mark system in the UK (Mk2).
The British Mark system allows a bit more definition; for example, as small changes were made through 2nd production, 2nd version reels can be split into Mk2.1, Mk2.2 etc; each to their own I guess, if it works for you?

The main change from the 1st reels to the first of the 2nd reels is the addition of the (now well known) Made in France casting on the main body.

I hesitate to put a date on those twist knob reels, as it can cause heated debate, so I will just say pre 1950.

[Reels_penn4life]

Very cool. Half bails are awesome. Luxor had a few in their earliest models too. The wood knobs are usually the older version. Looks like you have one with a wood knob mixed in.

Sorry penn4life, I answered cbar45's post before reading yours, so my answer is there also.
But yes, as you say, it is an older reel than the others (close inspection reveals a lot of first version details, but the 'Made in France' casting puts it into the very early 2nd version catagory). 
I have waited a long time to find one.
The handle itself (not the wood grip) was from a much later reel, and I suspect the original was broken and replaced, but I was fortunate enough to have a very early period correct spare, which I replaced it with.
I didn't realise the early Luxor reels had wooden handles also? Interesting stuff.

Thank you to everyone who has commented so far.

so good to see these reels being preserved. So much history. So many stories in each reel alone.