Here is a neat reel I bought a couple weeks ago and got it by pure luck ! My buddy Doug was at the ORCA convention in Harpers Ferry WV. and had already bought a 9/0 Kovalovsky reel and a 4/0 L.A. Coxe reel both great finds and then he came across this one and gave me the chance to buy it ! One like it is pictured in the book "A conversation with Oscar Kovalovsky" and it seems to be pretty rare with around 6 made. It is unlike most Kovalovsky reels in that the drag is on the tail plate side and it has a cross bar that connects with the adjustment knob on the head plate side !! There was no throw off lever you just loosen drag to let line out then tighten it back up to fish it ! Cool little reel ! I took pics Sunday morning so here it is. Thanks for looking !!! John Taylor PS Check out John Bechtold's Kovalovsky website if you haven't already he did a great job and it is growing all the time !!
http://www.kovalovskyreels.com
Beautiful reel John!
Couple more pics last one is picture in Kovalovsky book ! Thanks for looking !! John Taylor
Wow, it looks like new,beautiful reel.
Awesome reel John!
VERY nice reel!
STUNNING!!
..........Lou
Wow, not familiar with the brand but that is gorgeous.
Great find John! :o
Thanks for all the attention on the reel I really like it !! John Taylor
Sensational!
Well done John
John,
I love it and your passion for finding these relics. Always love when you post up cause you seem to hit lots of jackpots. I'd love to pass by to see your "hanger" full of fishy artifacts some day.
Someone said it already, but haven't heard. Is it NOS cause it sure looks it?
Thanks for showing a gorgeous example from one of the most prestigious big game brands,
Dom
PS- Doug is one heck of a guy for doing that!
Do me a favor and ask him if he used to hang out with Al Munger (I heard he and Bruce D. used to by a close friend of his where I got the Model F from) and if so, please ask him about Al's Model F that has a letter claiming it's the first one ever sold by Penn. I have no way of contacting these seasoned collectors.
Quote from: broadway on July 04, 2018, 02:24:18 AM
John,
I love it and your passion for finding these relics. Always love when you post up cause you seem to hit lots of jackpots. I'd love to pass by to see your "hanger" full of fishy artifacts some day.
Someone said it already, but haven't heard. Is it NOS cause it sure looks it?
Thanks for showing a gorgeous example from one of the most prestigious big game brands,
Dom
PS- Doug is one heck of a guy for doing that!
Do me a favor and ask him if he used to hang out with Al Munger (I heard he and Bruce D. used to by a close friend of his where I got the Model F from) and if so, please ask him about Al's Model F that has a letter claiming it's the first one ever sold by Penn. I have no way of contacting these seasoned collectors.
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Thanks Dom !! I think the reel could have been fished but well taken care of. The materials used to build it Micarta side plates, Stainless Steel tail plate and I believe spool could be brass that is very well Chrome plated "not sure of that" all make for a pretty seaworthy reel with minimal care. If you look at picture from the Kovalovsky book you see they were made 1946 - 1948 and I have heard from a few very knowledgeable collectors that it was most likely made by Arthur's son Oscar Kovalovsky as he was actively making reels at that time and that many of his reels wore the Arthur Kovalovsky stamp !! Anyway a lucky find for sure !!! I will ask Doug about your buddy and let you know back. John Taylor
Here is a close up of the "Arthur Kovalovsky" stamp used on this reel. John Taylor
That's a spectacular example of a rare Kovalovsky reel John. I don't know much about antique reels but this one really caught my attention, first the perfect condition of it then the practical design of the stand and then the drag housed in the tail plate and adjusted from a knob on the head plate. I noticed the text below the pictures you posted from the Kovalovsky book states it was experimental with fewer than 6 made which probably explains why I couldn't find any photos or description of how the drag works. If you have a look inside, or have photos of the drag system, it would be great to see how it's set up.
Mike
Mike
I did take off the tail plate and found a transfer bar that goes into another plate with 4 screws. I will go further but when I have more time on my hands !! I own a small driveway paving co. and am swamped with work now !! I will report back when I break it down more I am looking forward to getting into it. Thanks !! John Taylor
Thanks John, I had a look at the John Bechtold website you mentioned at the start of your post (I've posted the link again - the earlier one didn't work when I tried it) http://www.kovalovskyreels.com/fishing-reels (http://www.kovalovskyreels.com/fishing-reels) and noticed a reel that I first thought was the same as your 6/0 until I saw that it was your 6/0. It's a great summary of these unique hand made reels - it doesn't take a genius to recognize Arthur was a genius that passed on his extraordinary skills to his sons Oscar and Lewis. I'm looking forward to see how Arthur, or maybe it was Oscar or Lewis, designed the left side plate drag on your 6/0.
Mike
PS: Given all the recent interest in Everol and Penn/Tiburon 20/0 reels - there's a couple of photos of a 20/0 made by Oscar on Page 12 of the 'Fishing Reels' section of the John Bechtold site that's worth a look.
Mike
I agree that 20/0 on pg 12 is a beauty !!! The guy who owns it "Phil Beguhl" who I had the pleasure of meeting a month or so ago also is the co author of another really good book on Kovalovsky reels called "Hand Made In Hollywood" it's out of print and not real easy to find but it's very informative with tons of pictures and descriptions of different Kovalovsky reels. It also gives approximate numbers built of each reel and dates he built them.
About a month ago John Bechtold had his annual BBQ out in California " Kovalovsky country" !!!! And I was invited so me and my girlfriend flew the 3000 miles to Ca. for a cook out !!!! It was well worth the time in the air we had a ball and if you like BIG REELS and RODS John's got them !!! I got to meet a ton of California collectors and a couple authors of Kovalovsky books as I said before Phil Beguhl was there then co author of the book
"A conversation with Oscar Kovalovsky" Larry Lauve was there he is a great guy that has probably forgotten more about big game tackle than I will ever know !!! Lol !! Then I met John Elder reel fixit gooroo from ORCA he is a great guy and very knowledgeable about any reel !!!! Then Randy Pauly who took all my money selling me all sort of goodies Lol !!!!!!! Dan Zirilli another big game collector who has some beautiful stuff includind a giant 20/0 Kovalovsky cradle reel pictured on pg. 10 in reel section of John's website.
The first pic below is a group shot in John's unbelievable tackle room !! Left to right is John Bechtold, Phil Beguhl, Mr.John Elder, Santa Claus I mean me John Taylor, Dan Zirrili and his son, Randy Pauly and last Larry Lauve !!! It was a really good BBQ !!!! The next two pictures are of another experimental tail plate drag reel with cross bar and adjustment knob on head plate reel by Kovalovsky pictured in "Hand made in Hollywood"
book. This reel has a different patent number than mine so there is something different going on inside the reel also made of different materials.
Hope you enjoy ! John Taylor
Good looking group of reel heads there John.
Thanks for the picture. I got to visit that room last year but it was after a fishing trip so it was too qiock.
John's BBQ is on my calendar next year for sure!
Steve
Well Mike here you go this is how it works ! I will have to make 4 or 5 post to get all pics in thread. Before I start pictures I will have to say I don't believe this is one of the Kovalovsky boys best designs !!!! That's probably why there weren't many made.
When you tighten the drag knob that bar on tail plate presses on that ball bearing in middle of tail plate which inturn presses the whole spool and it's axel against the drag housing on the head plate. So your actually sandwiching the cork like drag washer between two smooth surfaces. But the tighter you turn the adjustment knob the harder the handle turns ??? Not one of there better designs. You do actually get pretty decent drag before it starts reeling hard probably more than enough for #9 thread linen !! Certainly different! Some what similar to Fin-Nors !
Next
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These are the last pics. Thanks John Taylor
Thanks John,
That's an interesting, and surprisingly simple, clamp like design - for some reason I was expecting a complex array of gears and levers rather than a single lever pulling the spool against the disk on the head plate. Thanks for showing us the detailed photos and the photo of the reel collectors at John's BBQ. It would have been worth the trip just to see John's tackle room not to mention the conversation with a room full of like minded reel heads.
Back to John's website for a sec, I had noticed that cradle reel on page 10 of reel section but didn't realise it was another 20/0. The cradle design looks like it could be economically replicated for smaller reels by a modern machinist if there was a demand.
Mike