Akron Presentation Reel

[wrong99]

Found by Daryl Rodenberger at last weeks Santa Rosa Show, this fabulous engraved Akron. Surely a presentation reel by a quality engraver.
Mark

[RonG]

The owner definitely loved fishing. Beautiful reel.

[Robin Sayler]

That's awesome! Wish it was mine!

[joe klaus]

Such a beauty

[RAM]

Nice! But why would a piece like that ever leave the family?

Bad Bob

[john elder]

I suspect that this reel, along with the most recent etched reel on eBay, were done by CNC. Len Codella has a pretty little reel listed and indicates similar etching was done by CNC, on the Asian Rim. Beautiful work, regardless...and we are now going to see a lot more of them, I predict!

[sdlehr]

I'm puzzled, this latest one looks like it has been around awhile based on the before pictures..... I'd have easily believed the Winchester of a few weeks ago was recent....

[john elder]

Reel has probably been around a long time, Sid and may be well-used...etching is probably not that old, MHO.

[wrong99]

Just curious what you base that on, John. What are the tell-tale signs?
Mark

[wrong99]

Again, John, what are the things you see that leads you to believe this was done on a CNC machine? It would be nice to know what to look for going forward
Mark

[sdlehr]

Reel has probably been around a long time, Sid and may be well-used...etching is probably not that old, MHO.

Of course the reel has been around for a long time, but at first, I was thinking the etching was aged as well, but now I think it's the brass showing where it is etched that made me think it was aged more. But the before pictures show a dirty reel, and it took some time to get that way, I think, and if the etching had been done recently I would have assumed they would've cleaned the reel prior to etching..... but not necessarily. Two reels does not a trend make....

[wrong99]

Done for Charles Murray. Maybe that is a clue.
Mark

[john elder]

Sorry, Mark.....had a tee time

No proof, but it's an incredible amount of detail and incredibly consistent, which makes me question it was done with a free hand....if so, it would certainly have taken a lot of time and energy and at least I would not be doing it on a used Akron if I was going through that much pain and suffering!

Then I saw this reel on Len Codella's site this AM along with this description (Hope Len considers this some free advertising rather than a violation!):

57017. CNC MACHINED - LASER ENGRAVED - MIDGE FLY REEL. 2-1/2" ASIAN MADE - DROP DEAD GORGEOUS. Beautifully made and appointed is this delightful small rod fly reel just perfect for a 2/3 or 4 fly line. Takes up to a DT4 and 15 yds. Reversible. Click check drag works either way. Virtually new in its presentation box with a faux bone latch and soft suede drawstring reel bag. Made in Asia N/M. $285.00.



We can watch and see how prevalent this type of item becomes in the future.

[darylrose61]

I think this reel was engraved when was new and then used for years looking at it under a loop you can see the wear scratches go threw the engraving , my personal oppion is it was done freehand and a long time ago by someone very good. I am going to have a professional look at it and give a some insight. Daryl.

[Jim Schottenham]

I've not much to offer on the authenticity of the reels(s) in question, except that I do believe the work done on that Akron was by hand. I've held in my hand some of the amazing work by skilled artists in this field, and had the good fortune to meet Frank L. Conroy while I was promoting tackle collecting at a Sportsman show in Hartford, CT two years ago. Mr. Conroy shared with me some of the reel work he'd done recently, and I must admit I was blown away with the detail he achieved by hand. You can see some of his work from his website. Looking at the laser etched reel from Len's site, I just don't think it comes close to the quality of Mr. Conroy's work. That certainly doesn't mean it won't in the future (or maybe it can now, I just haven't seen it), but it absolutely shows that in the hands of a talented engraver, any reel can become a work of art.

[john elder]

Based on the arguments and a couple more looks, I agree...it’s a wonderful piece of work and likely did by hand by a very talented crafts person.

[reelsmith.]

Just my 2-cents ...and worth half what you paid ...

The CNC engraved reel looks dreadful.

The engraving looks amateurish and for me, devalues the reel.

Dean.

[kyreels]

Just my opinion, for the beautiful Akron reel, I see stuttering in the curves and wear marks and other imperfections that indicate to me hand-engraving. In any case, I don't think anyone has pointed out anything that definitively shows CNC.