LA Coxe and wood rod rescue

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john elder
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LA Coxe and wood rod rescue

Post by john elder »

I picked up this great combo at the San Diego Tackle meet (thanks to Dave Gaustad!) a couple weeks ago...quite a project! Reel got soap and water, followed by vinegar treatment and polish with SimiChrome; Rod got lots of cleaning with rubbing alcohol and a bit of 409, followed by re-varnishing. A couple of the wraps had to be re-done, but I was able to use the original, faded thread...pretty amazing how this absolutely black wrapping started showing color once a couple layers came off! Just goes to show, there are no "Lost Causes". Have to find a replacement grasp for the Penn knob that was previously on the reel, but it works fantastic..innards were identical to the 'no-screw' reel I reported in detail last Fall in Reel News..

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After cleaning:

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Teal
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Post by Teal »

Awesome! Interesting rod. Do you think Coxe could have made that rod himself? We know that several of his West Coast reel making contemporaries made rods, and Kovalovsky even had a patent for one. Was Coxe also a rodmaker?

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Brian F.
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Post by Brian F. »

Not likely that the rod is really that old with that type of reel seat (and gimbal butt?).
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john elder
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Post by john elder »

Dunno, Brian...I would have thought that reel seat would have been around in the '20s, which would have been the right vintage for the set-up--will have to spend some time looking at old pics, but would think that gimball could be dated...I'll ask Mike F. this weekend and report in.

Todd...rods by Coxe would be a great add to the story, eh? I know he sold lots of assorted fishing-related stuff, including fighting chairs...or at least he marketed them through his tackle business...do not recall any stories re rods, but that would be a natural add...I'm guessing that he would have only been involved in marketing, not manufacture...do not recall anything re that in the Bandini book, which would have been a natural place for it to pop up.

We need that catalogue!
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john elder
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Post by john elder »

Here's an old photos gallery with some neat shots. I'd say that at least based on style, with padded foregrip and gimbal, the rod would date to the early to mid-'30s, at least:

http://www.antiquefishingreels.com/galleryFishing.html

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Teal
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Post by Teal »

So definitely could be pre-Bronson...interesting!

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Brian F.
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Post by Brian F. »

Ah, I see. A left hand reel in the photo?
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john elder
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Post by john elder »

LOL...yes, I saw that and figured someone was not paying attention when they re-rigged for the photo-op...it occurred that the negative might have been flipped, but on re-visiting, I don't see how that could work.
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reeltackle
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Post by reeltackle »

The rod in the photo from my web site is a Vom Hofe rod, the date is 1935 or earlier as the photo was taken in 1935. The fore grip on the rod is felt not rubber. John, your rod looks to be from the late 1930s but more likely post WWII. Coxe either made or sold rods under his name as Grey talks about Coxe rods in his books. Later, Bronson sold rods for their cradle reels but they were Montague rods and Tycoon rods.
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john elder
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Post by john elder »

Thanks, Ed...I just hit Google and didn't pay attention to who posted that list of pics...some classics photos on that site! From the feel of my foregrip, it's leather over felt batting. Dave indicated it came from Ibby's collection...one of the many he never got around to restoring.

So, did lerner fish left handed or was that film flipped?
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reeltackle
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Post by reeltackle »

Lerner fished right handed. The picture is flopped. What makes me believe the rod is a newer rod is the reel seat. The seat appears to be newer than the rest of the rod. Perhaps it was replaced at some point in the rod's life?
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Post by john elder »

Well, I suppose it could have been...a relatively easy trade, since the rod comes out of the front after loosening the lock nut. I believe the back is pinned to the butt, but not a big deal to trade that out, either. The metal piece on the rod that fits into the reel seat was not pinned and was put on with hide glue, which had broken down and had to be re-glued. The seat is very well made, but unlabelled. I'll have to do some nosing thru catalogues and see if I can ID it...likely montague, eh?
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reeltackle
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Post by reeltackle »

I don't think it's aMontague unless the fore grip has been replaced too. I have never seen a fore grip on a Montague that looked like that and the fore grip looks original (but I'm sure I haven't seen them all). The tip is round solid hickory like a Montague rod but the similarities seem to stop there. The butt looks like a Kovalovsky butt with a gimble added to it. The shape down near the gimble is the give-away. Kovalovsky made his rods of round hickory too and the fore grip looks like the type he used on some of his rods. The reel seat for one of his reels would have been flat to accommodate his special style reel foot. If someone wanted to mount any other reel on this rod he would have to have changed out the reel seat. The guides and the wraps are not Kovalovsky but I'm sure that baby was re wrapped sometime during its lifetime. I have seen that multi-colored wrap used to re wrap many rods. My guess would be a well used but badly *bass with mustard*ized Kovalovsky rod.
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john elder
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Post by john elder »

yes, I meant just the reel seat was a Montague product, not the rod. The whole rig obviously saw lots of duty in it's day and might have gone thru many make-overs. the intermediate wraps look to be much older than the guide wraps and may be original...I'm guessing the guide wraps are definite redos, but not in recent history. ...makes a great display piece, regardless. It makes me want to display all my big reels on rods, but alas, I don't have that kind of space and the wife would get a bit testy if I lined the living room :D
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