home made salmon reel drag system

[Penobscot Bill]

Henry P. Wells, noted fisherman and author, discussed tackle requirements in his 1886 "The American Salmon Fisherman"-he states: "Some salmon reels are now to be had with a drag adjustable from the outside, which can readily be made to supplement the click with any desired amount of resistance. They are excellent, but expensive. Others are constructed with a piece of flat spring-metal bent into the shape of one half of a bow wagon-spring. This is placed in the cavity formed between the spool and the outer plate on the handle-side of the reel, and acts in the following manor: The axle of the reel is inserted through a hole of the middle of this spring, and the whole is so arranged that when the outer plate of the reel and the spool are in position, the middle of the spring bears against the spool and it's extremities bear against the outer plate. It acts as a drag, and it's vigor may be adjusted by taking the reel apart, and increasing or diminishing the bend in the spring as more or less resistance is desired. But in using a drag of this kind, the bearing of a spring upon the spool, which is the place of motion, must be well lubricated with a lubricant having considerable body."
Did this home made type of drag system ever get patented and used commercially? Sounds messy and not very effective to me. Not likely this reel would be able to beach any of the 25lb+ salmon I've watched up on the Grand Cascapedia. Just curious.

[Steve]

The adjustable drag Wells refers to is probably Edw. Vom Hofe's 1879 drag. The "others" may be those elongated-diamond-shaped springs that were used in a lot of British salmon reels. It wasn't too difficult to unscrew the front plate to adjust the bend in the spring.