So I'm getting up in age. I have a son and daughter, the son has nothing to do with fishing, daughter goes any chance she has. Three grandkids 2 boys 1 girl, that have nothing to do with fishing. Well as of 11/11/22 my daughter had my 4th grandchild, a boy. Mine banking on him to be the fishermen. To pass all my fishing related hobbies too. I have this Mitchell half bail that was in good condition. A friend of mine does a great job of restoring Mitchell's. So I had him restore this reel for Zain.
Pretty cool, Pop Pop Don! 8)
Nice! What's the year of the earliest Mitchell 300?
Wow. That's very cool!
Great job, Don!
I have likely bought a dozen or more of these old half-bail pre-300's & pre-304 round bodies at yard sales for a couple of bucks each (since part of the bail wire was missing).
Still have some of them in a box. Time to move them on to someone.
Best, Fred
Cool stuff, Don.
I believe earliest Mitchell 300 came just before WW II, altho' they weren't called 300s then.
Frank
Not just a nice reel, that is a beautiful presentation box as well, there was some craftsmanship that went into that. -john
Great Don it looks nice, just hope the little one respects it as he starts to handle it, cheers Don.
So, DON3099, right before you posted this, I bid on one that looks exactly like Zain's, hence the question about the age. I might be able to rehab. most of it, but the paint thing is probably beyond me. Of course, first I still gotta get it. You or anyone else, have suggestions about getting it painted; i.e. references, materials, techniques..., in case it works out?
Quote from: Gfish on November 14, 2022, 03:34:37 AMNice! What's the year of the earliest Mitchell 300?
The earliest with "300" etched on the body (under Mitchell, BTW) was 1954. "300" after Mitchell was 1955. Those with "300" etched were full bails.
The Mitchell half bail prototype came out in 1938 with distribution to various vendors and then took a break for WWII. The next variation came out after the war in 1946. The full bail came out in 1952. I think Don's example, unless some parts like the A/R lever and handle knob have been swapped out, is a transitional reel offered between 1948 and 1952. In 1953 they came out with the plastic knob. They also had a silver and black Garcia sticker above the handle, which in 1955 was changed to yellow and black.