Old, Weird, Historical, and Unusual Spinning Reels --

Started by foakes, August 26, 2017, 06:36:33 PM

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Riy2018

Good Day,
I looked inside and it is pressed into the body. Thank you

foakes

Here is an old Airex Larchmont that I pulled out of a bin.

I have many Airex reels —. It this is the first Larchmont I have examined.

It functions perfectly.

The lever at the rear of the body is a — Lever Drag!

Best, Fred

The Official, Un-Authorized Service and Restoration Center for quality vintage spinning reels.

D-A-M Quick, Penn, Mitchell, and ABU/Zebco Cardinals

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The first rule of fishing is to fish where the fish are. The second rule of fishing is to never forget the first rule.

"Enjoy the little things in Life — For someday, you may look back — and realize that they were the big things"
                                                     Fred O.

foakes

Here is another neat, tiny Microlite reel.

Branded Wright & McGill Co.  An Eagle Claw Blue Pacific No. 1225.

Eagle Claw did not make any of their own reels, to my knowledge — they contracted with other companies to manufacture — then put their badging on them.

To me, this is an all metal skirted spool reel made in Japan — likely by Ryobi or Daiwa in the late 70's.

6.3 ounces — and all metal!

Functions smoothly and as new.

Best, Fred
The Official, Un-Authorized Service and Restoration Center for quality vintage spinning reels.

D-A-M Quick, Penn, Mitchell, and ABU/Zebco Cardinals

--------

The first rule of fishing is to fish where the fish are. The second rule of fishing is to never forget the first rule.

"Enjoy the little things in Life — For someday, you may look back — and realize that they were the big things"
                                                     Fred O.

mo65

  The Eagle Claw reels range in quality from poor to excellent...all depending on who made them. The Italian made Eagle Claw reels bring a premium, but most others are a decent build at a bargain price. I'm a fan of their rods too. 8)
~YOU CAN TUNA GEETAR...BUT YOU CAN'T TUNA FEESH~


Gfish

Cooool, a lever drag on a spinner. Kinda handy, when you think about adjusting the drag during a fight. So, I'mina guess, it puts pressure on the spool shaft, inside the gearbox, which is anchored to the spool?
Fishing tackle is an art form and all fish caught on the right tackle are"Gfish"!

foakes

Quote from: Gfish on July 30, 2021, 08:58:36 PM
Cooool, a lever drag on a spinner. Kinda handy, when you think about adjusting the drag during a fight. So, I'mina guess, it puts pressure on the spool shaft, inside the gearbox, which is anchored to the spool?

Yeah, Greg —

It probably applies pressure to the rear inside of the spool shaft — similar to the fulcrum brake on the Cardinals, or the more typical rear brake on rear-drag spinners such as Shimano, Daiwa, and Penn.

It is surprising how quick and easy it is to use — and how effectively it works.  I guess I'm more surprised that it didn't catch on?

We are out of town at the moment to help Sue's sister recover from an operation yesterday.

I will be back home Sunday — Sue will be up here in Merced for 10 to 14 more days.

I'll pull off the sideplate to give us a more complete picture when I return home.

Tommy would know about these old soldiers by Airex.

Best, Fred

The Official, Un-Authorized Service and Restoration Center for quality vintage spinning reels.

D-A-M Quick, Penn, Mitchell, and ABU/Zebco Cardinals

--------

The first rule of fishing is to fish where the fish are. The second rule of fishing is to never forget the first rule.

"Enjoy the little things in Life — For someday, you may look back — and realize that they were the big things"
                                                     Fred O.

Midway Tommy

Wright McGill switched their reel manufacturing to the Japanese in the mid '70s to save money, like a lot of the other companies that didn't manufacture their own reels. The 1225 was late '70s circa. The switch from the Shakespeare & Offmer made reels was a huge down grade.

Greg, that's not a lever drag on the top of the body, it's the anti-reverse switch. The drag knob is on the front of the spool. Never been inside a Blue Pacific but it's the same design as a lot Japanese made reels from that time frame. When Fred opens it up we'll see that the button moves a metal lever arm that locks into a ratchet gear on the pinion similar to the ABU Garcia rear drags.

Love those open face spinning reels! (Especially ABU & ABU/Zebco Cardinals)

Tommy D (ORCA), NE



Favorite Activity? ............... In our boat fishing
RELAXING w/ MY BEST FRIEND (My wife Bonnie)

Gfish

#337
Ok. I see how the AR works on yours Tommy, and how the one on  Fred's Larchmont(kinda a dorky name for a reel) is placed. So the big lever on the bottom of Larchmont—does that somehow produce drag on the shaft, or is it by turning the knurled edge on top of the spool, or is it both? In other words is it like a baitrunner with 2-types of drag?

I found the Abu Garcia Suveran's "center drag" to be pretty interesting, with some great design features. Twisting the center-of-the-reel located "drag wheel" clockwise, moves a lower 1/2 of a 2-part hub up for more drag, compressing the drag washers located in upper 1/2 of the hub. The spool and upper hub spin separate from the shaft and lower hub, on a ball bearing. Then there's another big wheel further down on the reel, that only moves about 10 degrees for ARB on/off.

Maybe I can post on this "unusual" costly, and oddly constructed reel, when I get less afraid to take the reel apart.
Fishing tackle is an art form and all fish caught on the right tackle are"Gfish"!

Midway Tommy

Sorry, Greg, I didn't see the Larchmont post. I thought you were talking about the Blue  Pacific. 

Yes, the is lever kind of a fighting drag thing They called it a quadrant drag system. It's a cool idea. I don't know why it never really caught on in the spinning reel market. They came out in 1955 with Model 1. The Model 2, '56, had a minor change in the bail. The Model 3, '58, had a larger rotor cup & spool and a flat ribbed handle knob. They also came out with a gold version in '58.

In late 1962/early '63 Feurer Bros. bought Airex Division of Lionel Corp. and those later reels became known as FB & had a red sticker decal. Most Feurer Bros. reels were sort of a gloss olive green in color, although I've seen a couple of gray ones, too.

Here's an ad out of the Sears 1956 Christmas Book "[H] Save $7.30 on Airex Larchmont. Exclusive quadrant type drag brake can be pre-set for any test line. Stainless steel full bail, roller pickup. Finger-tip anti-reverse. Reversible handle. Extra metal spool. I00 yds. nylon line, carrying case incl.  6N 2868-Shpg.wt.1 lb. Was$23.50. . ......$16.20"
 
Love those open face spinning reels! (Especially ABU & ABU/Zebco Cardinals)

Tommy D (ORCA), NE



Favorite Activity? ............... In our boat fishing
RELAXING w/ MY BEST FRIEND (My wife Bonnie)

Wompus Cat

#339
Tommy ,for some reason your link does not work. It does not have code  in the Raised Letter CHRISTMAS



QuoteHere's an ad out of the Sears 1956 Christmas Book "[H] Save $7.30 on Airex Larchmont. Exclusive quadrant type drag brake can be pre-set for any test line. Stainless steel full bail, roller pickup. Finger-tip anti-reverse. Reversible handle. Extra metal spool. I00 yds. nylon line, carrying case incl.  6N 2868-Shpg.wt.1 lb. Was$23.50. . ......$16.20"



So here is a copy of the ad . From page 367 of the aforementioned Catalog.
By clicking on image then again on the new image  with your command button on Mouse (left Button) on most os's the image Should Enlarge to a more legible view . I Hope ;D
If a Grass Hopper Carried a Shotgun then the Birds wouldn't MESS with Him

Gfish

Cool! Thanks. I'll take a Larchmont, an Orvis, a Wonderspin, a 33, a Supreme and a Pelican, all NIB! 👌😃. Interesting the Zebco 44 has an AR, don't think the '55-'56—33's had one.
Fishing tackle is an art form and all fish caught on the right tackle are"Gfish"!

ClintB

It's marked MAR-VEL pat applied for Model FWA. Another one in a lot I just purchased.

philaroman

Quote from: Gfish on August 02, 2021, 05:10:48 PM
Cool! Thanks. I'll take a Larchmont, an Orvis, a Wonderspin, a 33, a Supreme and a Pelican, all NIB!

what, you don't want the $13.50 Wonderods?  ...then, I'll take 'em ALL  ;D
I mean, if you're gonna dream, why stop w/ the the reels

Midway Tommy

Quote from: ClintB on August 04, 2021, 12:03:14 AM
It's marked MAR-VEL pat applied for Model FWA. Another one in a lot I just purchased.

Mar-Vels are cool little flip reels and this one looks to be in very good condition. They were made in Hawthorn, CA by O'Brian Industries in the late 1940s. I guess they were somewhat innovative at the time but I've always wondered about the patience it took to use one of them day after day. They seem, to me at least, to be more of a pain than a blessing. I have a hard time visualizing me flipping it around every time I make a cast.  ::) :) They're still a neat piece of fishing tackle history to display.
Love those open face spinning reels! (Especially ABU & ABU/Zebco Cardinals)

Tommy D (ORCA), NE



Favorite Activity? ............... In our boat fishing
RELAXING w/ MY BEST FRIEND (My wife Bonnie)

Brewcrafter

Tommy - That is a really neat Sears ad!  Even at my age, I'm a little weak sometimes on Cost of Living rationalizations; for that Larchmont reel being $23.50/$16.20, what was comparable at the time?  What would one have expected to pay for say a Mitchell or other popular spinner of the day?  I have to think at the wages of the time that would have been a serious purchase? - john