Edward vom Hofe No. 510 w/Thumb Wheel Drag - Huh ?

[RonG]

This is a new one on me. I had heard of the reel coming with the thumb wheel drag, but had not seen one. Ted Bingham mentions it in his book, but doesn't show a photo. The other interesting thing is it's stamped 510. This Model number isn't in Ted's book either. The reel looks identical to that depicted in EVH's July 14, 1896 patent. Isn't it fun discovering new things? I'm having fun.

[Jay White]

Wow! Cool reel. Let me know if you decide to part with it.

[john elder]

Ron, I have a little #1 EVH in that configuration...mine is stamped "496", although it's obviously not a Griswold! ...and it's not discussed in Ted's book, either. Somewhere in early VH history, he must have toyed with another numbering system for these reels. One wonders if the numbers changed as a function of the size of the reel in the series, although it's not clear why one would need that on top of the normal foot numbering system. Sure wish mine was in as good shape as yours, but mine is better appreciated compared to what it once was.

[RonG]

Hey John, thanks for the photos. I was wondering if there were any more thumb wheel drags out there. Now I know there's at least one more. I hope other ORCA members post photos of their thumb wheel reels.

[john elder]

Bump!

I recently revisited the reel i detailed in this 2015 post. First of all, it’s a number 2, not 1. Interestingly, the spool flanges and foot are aluminum…. Sideplate bands and pillars are nickel silver, as are bearing covers. What do we know about when and where and how early EVH used aluminum parts?