Penn Reels - just as you find them

[mo65]

Ted or Mo, or whoever, do you know what year the knob went from a football to a torpedo?  Also, did it happen all at once and in all models?  That would be handy thing to know.
-steve

   First off...holy buckets Jay! That reel looks great! Steve's question is one I've pondered myself. Like so many things Penn though...they never wasted anything. Older parts stocks were always used, so there was a lot of spillover. I'd have to guess early 50s as the transition time.

[sdlehr]

Ted or Mo, or whoever, do you know what year the knob went from a football to a torpedo?  Also, did it happen all at once and in all models?  That would be handy thing to know.
-steve

I spent just a few minutes with Mike C's latest yellow "Documentary History of Penn Reels", but the lines between football and torpedo blur a little. In 1948 all the grasps in the catalog are pretty much of two types - the football-shaped and the long, thin grasp typical of earlier times and first made of wood. Then in 1949 there were some differences; for instance, the Long Beaches 66 and up had torpedo type, and the 65 and down had a shorter, squatter football type of grasp (p 159). Looking at the 1949 catalog one can see a wide variety of handle shapes on the different reel models, some longer and thinner, some shorter and squatter, some clearly football-shaped, others not so much. I think this was the transition year and there were lots of different shapes to look at. Perhaps Mike will post some pics from his book; I do not wish to copy his stuff here.

Sid

[Penn Chronology]

I spent just a few minutes with Mike C's latest yellow "Documentary History of Penn Reels", but the lines between football and torpedo blur a little. In 1948 all the grasps in the catalog are pretty much of two types - the football-shaped and the long, thin grasp typical of earlier times and first made of wood. Then in 1949 there were some differences; for instance, the Long Beaches 66 and up had torpedo type, and the 65 and down had a shorter, squatter football type of grasp (p 159). Looking at the 1949 catalog one can see a wide variety of handle shapes on the different reel models, some longer and thinner, some shorter and squatter, some clearly football-shaped, others not so much. I think this was the transition year and there were lots of different shapes to look at. Perhaps Mike will post some pics from his book; I do not wish to copy his stuff here.

Sid you are welcome to copy anything you like from my books to here. No problem. Simply saying you material is copied from my book is good enough credit for me.

As for handle styles, I suspect nailing down a historical flow by using the shape of a handle knob is very vague. The handle knob styles do display different eras; but, I feel the super early 1930's and 40's styles were a continuous experimental flow rather than a set style for a particular year. I feel there is more historical exactness by judging the counterweight style than the handle style. But that is just my opinion.

When I first started collecting Penn reels there was an old timer (RIP) that used to tell me that at the early Penn plant, there was a lady that turns the handle knobs, she was affectionately known as the "Handle Lady". This is Penn folklore and may not be fact, depending on her mood or the day of the week or how the sun lined up with a particular star was what determined how she would shape the handles on the day. Hence, early Penn handle knobs may be round, pointy, stubby, fat or simply as expected. it all is dependent on the mood of the "Handle Lady".....<:O)

[oc1]

Beautiful Jay.

Thank you very much for the knob info.  Should have known it could not be that easy.  The handle lady must have become set in her ways because once they started to look like the modern torpedo with a groove near the tip they seemed to stay exactly the same for a couple of decades.
-steve

[mo65]

When I first started collecting Penn reels there was an old timer (RIP) that used to tell me that at the early Penn plant, there was a lady that turns the handle knobs, she was affectionately known as the "Handle Lady".

   Wait...whoa...hold on now! Do you mean the knobs were turned? Like on a lathe? That explains a lot! Like the nearly endless varieties of shape between "football" and "torpedo"...I've been enlightened!
I always figured they were cast like the plates.

[Decker]

Do you mean the knobs were turned? Like on a lathe? That explains a lot! Like the nearly endless varieties of shape between "football" and "torpedo"...I've been enlightened!
I always figured they were cast like the plates.

Me too!

[Maxed Out]

All of a sudden I'm in love with a woman I never met that was most likely born over a century ago.  

.......The handle lady

[sdlehr]

All of a sudden I'm in love with a woman I never met that was most likely born over a century ago.  

.......The handle lady

Don't tell Lou. He's a happily married man.

[49Freak]

Well, I tried being logical.  The family and I escaped the building boom and no-go traffic of Seattle and made our annual meca to Long Beach Washington where we visited an antique mall. I must have looked at these 4/0 Senators ten times and walked away telling myself I just don't need more fishing reels, even at $20.00 a piece. When I mentioned it to my wife who's wondered why I have so many already she told me if I liked them go ahead! So, they're not particularly old or stock, but I seem to have an unnatural attraction to Penn Power Handles and it just seemed a shame to leave them there.They'll get the vinegar bath eventually, but for now they're safe at home.

[Benni3]

Cool find 

[mo65]

   Great buy 49Freak...those convertible handles alone are worth what you paid.

[Penn Chronology]

Great buy 49Freak...those convertible handles alone are worth what you paid

Agreed. I pay $15 to $20 for those handles.

[49Freak]

I'm pretty happy with the deal and even tried to mentally justify the purchase thinking of the going price of the handles and the reels themselves. At the end of the day I know I'll probably never sell anything so that argument doesn't hold much water either.

[thorhammer]

nice. agreed on the handles

[Penn Chronology]

Wait...whoa...hold on now! Do you mean the knobs were turned? Like on a lathe? That explains a lot! Like the nearly endless varieties of shape between "football" and "torpedo"...I've been enlightened!
I always figured they were cast like the plates. Shocked

I have asked a former Penn CEO about the machined verse molded or cast handle knobs and I seemed to have opened a can of worms. He cannot remember exactly whether the handle knobs were machined or not. He believes some had machine marks on them. I feel they were turned. Anyways, here is his response. As more info comes in I will pass it on.


""""Mike, I've done some asking around and don't have a definitive answer. However when we closed down the spinning reel plant in Hegins pa there were a couple of 55 gallon drum's of handle knobs that we're very early and I grabbed a few handfuls of them. I'm gonna dig them out of the box when I get some time in a couple weeks and we should be able to see machine marks because these I remember had some machining marks
"""""