What qualifies as "vintage"???

[The Fishing Hobby]

Just curious what everyone considers a "vintage" reel to be. How old does a reel have to be to be called a vintage reel? I would think anything 20+ years old could be called vintage. Kind of an arbitrary number I guess.
An automobile in my state is considered to be an antique if it is 25+ years old. If that sort of machine is considered to be an antique then I feel safe in referring to a reel that is 20+ years old as vintage!
Any thoughts?

[Brian F.]

We've had many discussions about what would be considered "vintage". Heck, we've had discussions about the word "vintage" itself! If you do a search, you will find them.

[The Fishing Hobby]

We've had many discussions about what would be considered "vintage". Heck, we've had discussions about the word "vintage" itself! If you do a search, you will find them.

I guess I didn't go far enough down the list! The problem with searching the word "vintage" on this site is most of the hits are where people are discussing and linking to eBay listings! I finally got somewhere after going through the first 5 pages
Thanks!

[Jonathan P. Kring]

We have many members who I would qualify as being vintage! (Other than myself of course)

[RAM]

Think "vintage" is vague? Try "old".

Bad Bob (old, and don't argue Jonathan!)

[wrong99]

I think it's a relative term, depending on how and who uses it, often replacing the terms "old" or "antique". A 20 year-old person may consider a 20 year-old reel to be "vintage". If you're as old as I am, a 20 year-old reel seems almost new. I like to use the word "vintage" in my reel descriptions rather than "old", as the latter may suggest a reel that's more heavily used. "Antique", by definition, is supposed to be something that 100 years old. But it's always used to describe something that's simply old. Go in any antique shop and you'll find a good percentage of their items are less than a century old. It's all just words. They all seem to fit, pretty much.
Mark

[john elder]

Well, vintage is a word that has been misused so much and so long that it is now accepted. As you will probably find in the bowels of a search, the Geezer pointed out long ago that vintage really only has meaning when mentioned in the context of a particular date or time frame...as in "this reel is 1930 vintage". But as with a lot of terms, its usage has expanded to new realms.

[Reel Addictive]

In a past thread Scott made a good point about the usage of the word vintage. The "bay" uses this word as a category for older tackle. The terms "old" and "antique" are not available in that forum.

Therefore as hundreds of thousands of items are listed and sold the term vintage is continually misused and has gradually been redefined by popular culture.

I should have looked for the quote... He went on to say that these terms don't mean anything anymore, they are just keywords allowing buyers and sellers to find each other. Or something like that

William

[Reel Geezer]

When I started on eBay there was only "fishing tackle". As they expanded into various sub classifications I was contacted by eBay about using Vintage to describe older tackle. I objected strenuously. That just shows how much weight I carry.

[OCauto]

Look up the Dictionary definitions of Vintage

[The Fishing Hobby]

Look up the Dictionary definitions of Vintage

I have. And the one that seems to fit in terms of describing a reel is when using vintage as a adjective. People keep wanting to use it like a noun and I think that is where the problem is. If I see "vintage" reel I see the word vintage being used to describe a characteristic of the reel...an adjective. In that case it means something of high quality from a bygone era. So what qualifies as older in your book? For me (and I am 39 years old for reference) 20 years or more seems like a good number.

[The Fishing Hobby]

You know thinking a little more about it, what vintage could even mean (when used as an adjective to describe a reel) is a reel that features characteristics that are not commonly found in modern reels. That would seem to fit. Like a clicker spinning reel could be considered as vintage because clickers are not commonly found in modern reels. That is a feature that was very common in the past but not found anymore. So a high quality clicker could be considered a vintage reel.

[Don Champion]

As Phil has often pointed out in the past "vintage" should be followed by a date or even a time period (say 1950s). But then again, English is going to the dogs.

[wrong99]

As Phil has often pointed out in the past "vintage" should be followed by a date or even a time period (say 1950s). But then again, English is going to the dogs.

You mean, like "Circa"? I've never used it that way, but it makes sense. It seems it all makes sense. There's no correct or incorrect usage. In almost 20 years of selling on eBay, I've never had a single person question what I meant by the term "vintage reel". So, to me, it's all good and we're running the risk of beating this topic to death again.
Mark

[The Fishing Hobby]

As Phil has often pointed out in the past "vintage" should be followed by a date or even a time period (say 1950s). But then again, English is going to the dogs.

If you are using vintage with a year or time period then you are using vintage as a noun. When using vintage as an adjective then a year or time period should not be used with the word. I think of vintage (in the context of something like a reel) as an adjective. Just know that the word vintage is used to infer a time in the past when using it as an adjective. So that is where my original question came from...how far back should should a reel go before it is considered vintage
I guess it is a question that can't really be answered!

[The Fishing Hobby]

From http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/vintage

vintage

noun

1.
the wine from a particular harvest or crop.
2.
the annual produce of the grape harvest, especially with reference to the wine obtained.
3.
an exceptionally fine wine from the crop of a good year.
4.
the time of gathering grapes, or of winemaking.
5.
the act or process of producing wine; winemaking.
6.
the class of a dated object with reference to era of production or use:
a hat of last year's vintage.

adjective

7.
of or relating to wines or winemaking.
8.
being of a specified vintage:
Vintage wines are usually more expensive than nonvintage wines.
9.
representing the high quality of a past time:
vintage cars; vintage movies.
10.
old-fashioned or obsolete:
vintage jokes.
11.
being the best of its kind:
They praised the play as vintage O'Neill.
verb (used with object), vintaged, vintaging.
12.
to gather or harvest (grapes) for wine-making:
The muscats were vintaged too early.
13.
to make (wine) from grapes:
a region that vintages a truly great champagne.
verb (used without object), vintaged, vintaging.
14.
to harvest grapes for wine-making.



To me #9 is what I would think of when referring to a reel as vintage.

[Midway Tommy D]

I like to use "rare" or "collectible" rather than "vintage". In my mind "vintage" insinuates "old wine". I'm 65. I ain't old or vintage yet, but I am quite rare, and possibly, but probably not a whole lot, collectible.

Tom

[Jonathan P. Kring]

You said a mouth Ful There!

[Steve]

Some vintage threads:
http://reeltalk.orcaonline.org/viewtopic.php?t=1644
http://reeltalk.orcaonline.org/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=3291
http://reeltalk.orcaonline.org/viewtopi ... =4&t=16126
http://reeltalk.orcaonline.org/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=9110
http://reeltalk.orcaonline.org/viewtopi ... =4&t=14727
We're getting closer!

[The Fishing Hobby]

Looking at a thread from 2005 talking about beanie babies selling like hotcakes and Boones Farm references
That is great stuff right there!

[Dick Braun,that-zebco-guy]

As long as your happy with what you collect in reels, that is the most important thing. I've collected closed face Zebco reels for the past 14yrs. Most of the collection is pre-1970, I have 3 of the 1st 25 reels make on the 13th of May, 1949 which make's them over 65 years of age. I also have the 33 reel that was done in 1999 as a 50th anniv. reel of which they only made 1000, it's not vintage by any stretch of the mind but is very collectible. Bottom line collect what brings joy to your heart just like the rest of us do and don't worry about how old something is or isn't.

[Brian F.]

I believe the term used these days is "old school". C'mon, boys, you really need to get hip!

Dick, your 1999 Zebco is indeed "vintage" - Just like reels that Carl Newell made in California around that same time. In fact, I've seen many people refer to anything that's out of production as "vintage". Anyone that disagrees and might have Newell reels can sell me those new plastic things for a few bucks

[The Fishing Hobby]

Didn't know about Mr. Newell and his reels. Interesting to read about, thanks!

[Mike N]

This is my personal opinion on this issue.

1. "VINTAGE" (see also, "Curio or Relic")

When the "old" reel club started around 1990, I considered "vintage" to be pre-WW II-- so about 45 years old. The second World War changed American life and manufacturing techniques in so many ways, and brought us things like fiberglass rods and mass-manufactured reels for returning servicemen who now had "leisure" time for sport fishing.

Using that same 45-year standard as of today (2015), I would consider a "vintage" reel to have been made prior to 1970, I suppose.

The federal government (ATF) considers a firearm to be a "curio or relic" when it reaches the age of 50, very near my 45-year definition.

https://www.atf.gov/firearms/curios-relics


2. "ANTIQUE"

I think generally of something as "antique" to be at least 100 years old, so pre-1915. Since automobiles generally don't have the same life expectancy as a fine handcrafted colonial-era Philadelphia highboy dresser, I suppose the item being collected can change the applicability of the word "antique," however.

My favorite show on PBS, The Antiques Roadshow, notes that the U.S. Customs Service uses that same 100-year definition of antique.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/roadshow/glossary/antique.html

The ATF uses in or before the year 1898 as its static date for an "antique" firearm.

https://www.atf.gov/firearms/firearms-g ... initions-0

Mike N.

[OCauto]

I don't have any objection to the use of Vintage as long as a time period accompanies the term. I am 68 and the definition of Vintage has not changed in that period of time. When no time period or date accompany the word Vintage, I just chuckle and usually ignore the Item being sold.

Just my point of view

Al
Vintage 1947