Reel Help Identifying tiny 40 yard reel

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Greatsouthbayman
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Reel Help Identifying tiny 40 yard reel

Post by Greatsouthbayman »

I picked this up at a local tackle show, it is all German silver and hard rubber with a wedding cake face plate. Wonderful knurling and engravings, a well made reel. Also has adjustable pivot screws under each grease cap. Missing 4 screws and the handle knob. The only mark is the 40 yard stamp in the reel seat. So who might have made this nice little reel? Can it be saved? Dr Elder.








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Steve
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Re: Reel Help Identifying tiny 40 yard reel

Post by Steve »

Probably Slote

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Re: Reel Help Identifying tiny 40 yard reel

Post by john elder »

what a high quality little reel! Nice find and yes, I believe everything that the reel suffers from can be fixed. Bill Hoerter has indicated that the normal Slote grasp is unique and I have made a few, so that is how I would model it. Let me know by pm or email if you wish to pursue!

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Re: Reel Help Identifying tiny 40 yard reel

Post by Greatsouthbayman »

John,
Sent you a PM
Thanks Anthony
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Re: Reel Help Identifying tiny 40 yard reel

Post by Steve »

the normal Slote grasp
???

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RonG
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Re: Reel Help Identifying tiny 40 yard reel

Post by RonG »

The reel doesn't have the typical Slote hole in the foot. The foot looks like a Malleson one.
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Re: Reel Help Identifying tiny 40 yard reel

Post by Steve »

typical Slote hole

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Re: Reel Help Identifying tiny 40 yard reel

Post by john elder »

Yeah, I know, grasps vary a lot but Bill feels a grasp like on this little fly reel is a Tell for Slote:

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Re: Reel Help Identifying tiny 40 yard reel

Post by john elder »

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Re: Reel Help Identifying tiny 40 yard reel

Post by RonG »

Hey Steve,

Your reel foot doesn't look like a one piece casting as seen in the questionable reel.
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Re: Reel Help Identifying tiny 40 yard reel

Post by Steve »

It's not, but it's the only pic I have showing a hole-free Slote foot. While we're at it, how does Malleson fit in?

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Re: Reel Help Identifying tiny 40 yard reel

Post by RonG »

I'm just thinking the one piece cast foot is seen on Malleson and later Montague reels. I don't know for sure who made the reel. We weren't there when it was made. Therefore, you can do your best guess. On this reel however, I am guessing, but not declaring fact.
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Re: Reel Help Identifying tiny 40 yard reel

Post by Steve »

On this reel however, I am guessing, but not declaring fact.
Likewise. I'm going by the pillars. HOWEVER, I have a wee fly reel with similar pillars...thought it was a Slote, based on pics, but am not sure after having it in hand. We need DNA testing.

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Re: Reel Help Identifying tiny 40 yard reel

Post by reeltackle »

Regardless of who made it, it is a very cool reel Tony. Congrats on another great find!
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Re: Reel Help Identifying tiny 40 yard reel

Post by Greatsouthbayman »

Here are some photo's of the internal works on the reel. Maybe they hold a clue?


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Re: Reel Help Identifying tiny 40 yard reel

Post by Steve »

Ah...reel guts. And thereby hangs a tale perhaps. Here are some pics of reels I suspect are Slotes:
GS/HR casting reel with enough foot holes to satisfy anyone.
NPB/HR casting reel.
GS/HR casting reel.
NPB trolling reel, marked "Slote."

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Re: Reel Help Identifying tiny 40 yard reel

Post by Greatsouthbayman »

From the photos Steve posted it doesn't seem like it resembles a Slote internally.
Am I correct?
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Re: Reel Help Identifying tiny 40 yard reel

Post by BILL HOERTER »

Julius made a reel just like this one. I am still in Florida & don't have my Julius books with me so hopefully someone has one of the Don Champion JVH catalog pages book that they can refer to. Scott Truex had one last year that he sold on EBay & he sent me some pictures of the reel insides & as I remember they looked like the parts in Tony's reel. Bill Hoerter
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Re: Reel Help Identifying tiny 40 yard reel

Post by john elder »

Well, the little fellow cleaned up nicely and with a new set of screws and handle grasp, it works great. I wasn’t appreciating how small the reel is until i had in hand; it’s just under 2” in diameter. A feature that is uncommon for these small reels, and as Tony pointed out, may be a Tell for the maker, is the inclusion of screws under the bearing caps that can serve to adjust play in the spool... very well made reel!







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Re: Reel Help Identifying tiny 40 yard reel

Post by Paul M »

Wow, John! Nice job.
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Re: Reel Help Identifying tiny 40 yard reel

Post by Greatsouthbayman »

Dr Elder,
That is beautiful,
You are the REEL restoration man !!!
Thank you Tony
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Re: Reel Help Identifying tiny 40 yard reel

Post by john elder »

Thanks, guys... fun reel! I think Bill Hoerter has nailed it... he had me check the JVH book and the “Imbrie” compensating reel shown in the Abbie&Imbrie catalogs is close, if not identical to Tony’s reel:


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Re: Reel Help Identifying tiny 40 yard reel

Post by Steve »

close, if not identical to Tony’s reel
I beg to differ. I see little resemblance: headplate molding, foot, pillars, spool, crank shape, et al. To me, the only similarity is that they both have "wedding cake" headplates, but even those are quite different.

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Re: Reel Help Identifying tiny 40 yard reel

Post by john elder »

Hard to say much from a catalog print when trying to call close details. That reel was sold for a number of years and in some pics, the foot is identical style to Tony's. The pillars are the same to my eye. Can't pick up any significant feature to discriminate the spool. The wedding cake is a bit more elaborate in some catalog photos, but I agree, none are quite as extended as Tony's reel. I'm more taken by the issue of the compensating pivots, which is a big selling feature of the Imbrie and much touted by A&I and JVH. Does your apparent Slote have similar, Steve?
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Re: Reel Help Identifying tiny 40 yard reel

Post by Don Champion »

Re: the screws under the oil caps.I surprised Steve didn't point out that JVH sold his patent for that feature to Abbey & Imbrie and they could have anyone make it. I have an example of someone else making a reel with that feature. Steve used the same type of reel as I have in a presentation at a National in NY.
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