Penn Reels - just as you find them

[54bullseye]

Well I know this is going to get trampled by the "Model F controversy" but it's a pre part number 12/0 I bought of ebay a couple months ago and I just cleaned it up yesterday. I am not great a dating Penn reels like most of the rest of you but I am thinking 1940 or so ?

Happy Thanksgivings John. My humble opinion on this reel is that it is a late 1940's post-war reel because of the obvious fact that it is a second generation reel and that the spool is pinned and not drilled. I would think pre-war reels had drilled spools and the info is still controversial on whether the second gen build style for the Model 116 exists in a pre-war time zone for production reels. Maybe someone can document that. The catalogs say it ain't so...........

Again I am far from a Penn expert !!  I was thinking because of the way "Penn Senator 12/0" was written on head plate and that it had the "coin edge" type counter balance it was an earlier 2nd gen. I hadn't even thought about pinned spool ?   I guess I will spend some time in your books today !!    Thanks Mike !         John Taylor

[broadway]

John, while I know where Mike sits on the "first gen and second gen topic" others believe there are pre war
12/0's in the second gen style. There have been several debates on this topic. No matter what that's a First Class 40's 12/0 ya got there.
Enjoy her and yes, read mike's books for sure. Tons of info in them.
Dom

[Swami805]

That 12/0 does look very nice, great job on cleaning it up. early 40's,late 40's still a beauty of an old penn.

[Penn Chronology]

Again I am far from a Penn expert !!  I was thinking because of the way "Penn Senator 12/0" was written on head plate and that it had the "coin edge" type counter balance it was an earlier 2nd gen. I hadn't even thought about pinned spool ?   I guess I will spend some time in your books today !!    Thanks Mike !         John Taylor

The pinned spool is what makes me think your 12/0 is post war. We are really splitting hairs here. Even though the catalog ads for the 12/0 say the first gen did not exist until after the war, I can prove that wrong. There are early 1940's pre-war photos of second gen 12/0's. The last page of the 1941 catalog has a photo of a second gen 12/0 (see it in my Yellow Book, page 100, lower right photo). I do not dispute that, just that spool makes me think yours is a post war reel. I could be wrong, no real way of knowing without a box and catalog match for the reel. The coin edge handle and free spool lever could be pre or post war.

[54bullseye]

Mike
How about the logo doesn't that look early or did they use the same logo after the war ?   John

[Penn Chronology]

Mike
How about the logo doesn't that look early or did they use the same logo after the war ?   John

No doubt that your reel is wearing a first generation logo. Here is a picture of a first generation reel wearing a second generation logo. That sort of shoots the logo theories down. The logos are the results of interchangeable mold plugs that were reused for many years.

[54bullseye]

Oh well I do like the reel !!   Thanks for all the info.   John Taylor

[Penn Chronology]

Oh well I do like the reel !!   Thanks for all the info.   John Taylor

The reel is fabulous. Now you need to find a Lighthouse box and a appropriate catalog and remove all doubt of this reels origins for future generations.

[Shark Hunter]

Very Nice 12/0 John.

[54bullseye]

Very Nice 12/0 John.

Thanks Daron !  I think I like that little Everol 7 1/2 I just got better though !    John Taylor

[broadway]

Thanks for posting that photo, Mike.  I have never seen a first gen 12/0 with the "Second Gen" logo. Cool reel and one more "tell-tale" down the tubes.
Dom

[Tightlines667]

Thanks for posting that photo, Mike.  I have never seen a first gen 12/0 with the "Second Gen" logo. Cool reel and one more "tell-tale" down the tubes.
Dom

Good point.

Prewar handle counterweight, 2nd gen gearbox, 2nd gen logo, likely an early post-war with a prewar handle.  However, I am in the camp that believes there were 2nd gen gearbox senators manufactured prewar.  Mike's point on catalogs is well taken though. 

John

[Penn Chronology]

Interesting photo of a second generation build style Penn Senator 12/0 taken probably around 1939 or 40  and published on the back cover page of the Penn Catalog #9 (1941). Reel should not exist according to the catalogs.

[Penn Chronology]

Thanks for posting that photo, Mike.  I have never seen a first gen 12/0 with the "Second Gen" logo. Cool reel and one more "tell-tale" down the tubes. Undecided
Dom

I believe this reel now lives in Australia at Ray's house. I dated this reel as a 1942 reel because it had a heavy stand with 1/4 clamp screws and the more modern logo. I placed it as pre-war reel because even though the logo was more modern, it was a first gen configuration and it also had a drilled spool. That drilled spool I feel is a key factor in approximating a Senator pre or post war status when the reel's other dating factors become questionable. It is just my opinion, but, I feel it works.

[Swami805]

This came in the mail today, pretty rough but it was in my financial wheelhouse so I took a swing ( sorry watching too much baseball). I'm thinking late thirties 9/0?  I'll see if I can get it torn down over the weekend and cleaned up. Everything works but the outer rings are cracked and a little dented. Handle knob is nice and tight. I'll add it to my fledgling collection. Too bad it can't talk   Did it take a beating fishing or just getting knocked around in storage?  I'll stick to the former, much better story!
Sheridan

We'll finally had some time and tore it down. What a mess. Simple green vinegar  simachrome and a set of rings and it came out ok  works fine and would fish ok I bet. No shelf queen but I'll add it to the self