HELP With This One??? Anything Like It?

[BAP-62]

Anyone seen a reel from a major reel maker that looks like this one? 2 3/8" Dia. & 2 1/2" outside to outside of the plates. Has free spool, star drag, anti reverse, take a part ( both plates unscrew from the frame ). Made of alloy, brass and stainless. Everything works. Looks like good work. Any idea?

[Brian F.]

Looks like a machinist's home-made special where the maker might have been inspired by an Ocean City Phantom and a Meisselbach Tripart.

[scottorock]

Never seen that one before.....but that reel is AWESOME! Love that kind of stuff!

[m3040c]

Two things,

First Thing and this is important : for Brian F.,

Looks like a machinist's home-made special where the maker might have been inspired by an Ocean City Phantom and a Meisselbach Tripart.

What is an Ocean City Phantom?

Second Thing and this is pure speculation: for Brian P. --- That is a very interesting reel. I feel the origins are Ocean City. In the 1920's, Ocean City was selling a small freshwater reel named the E Z 2 Part:


This was a tubular frame reel, like the Meisselbach Tri Part; but, different. On the left is the Tri-Part and on the right is the E Z 2 Part:

As you can see, the Tri-Part has a threaded ring that secures the side plates to the frame by screwing onto the thread on the outside of the tube. Your reel has knurled side plates that screws into the tube like the Ocean City.

The Ocean City design also rivets the stand to the tube like yours is done:


I feel your reel may be a Ocean City prototype. It is very similar to Ocean City design.

The dimensions of you reel are bigger than an E Z 2 Part model. The E Z 2 Part is a small bait casting reel. I feel the design similarities are there. Another interesting point is the handle knob on your reel. It is a exact duplicate of the early Penn 109 handle knobs in terms of shape, which could date your prototype to around 1940.

I think your reel is a great find! There are also a couple of other tells. The free spool lever and star wheel look like they were stolen from Pflueger salt water styles. The bridge in your reel is a pivoting Kopf type bridge which Ocean City used on many of their early reels.



Obviously, your reel is a prototype or a home built. Because of they level of quality, I feel it is a prototype that should have never the factory. IMHO.....

[Brian F.]

Don't have any catalogs but, for some reason, this reel and name stuck in my head.

[m3040c]

Don't have any catalogs but, for some reason, this reel and name stuck in my head.

Yes, now I know the reel you are talking about. What threw me was how you spelled it. Ocean City calls that model the Fantum. It was an aluminum reel made in the late 1930. It does not relate to Brian's reel. The Fantum was a standard build style with Quick Take Apart design.

Brian, by the way, you spelled it correctly. It is Ocean City that was always trying to reinvent the language with their crazy way of presenting materials and models. The Fantum was made of Zephaloy. Zephaloy is not a material, it is a fake word for an aluminum alloy.

[BAP-62]

Looks like a machinist's home-made special where the maker might have been inspired by an Ocean City Phantom and a Meisselbach Tripart.

I think Brian F. means "Fantum"
Mike;
I also noticed the likeness to The Ocean City E Z 2 Part in some areas.
Who ever made it, he made 2. There are several small differences between the 2 reels.
The information I got was that, they came from the estate of a Philadelphia man who had worked for Penn in the machine shop as a tool and die maker. This is the second reel.

[m3040c]

Very cool reels. My father was a Tool and Die Maker. The abilities of a Tool and Die maker to created items like this is only limited by their imagination, skill level and the tooling that is available to them. The fact that the story of the reel goes back to the Penn plant and a Penn Employee with the skills to create something like this is very telling. I have been told that Otto Henze encouraged his employees to experiment. Some very strange reels came out of the plant from time to time.

I thought it was a great find in the first place, now I see you have two of them and a story to go with them.

The Reel Gods are shinning down on you.

[Dr. Rob]

I don't really have anything of greater value to add, but from an artisan's point of view, I gotta say wow... that is really neat.

.

[Brian F.]

...Ocean City calls that model the Fantum. It was an aluminum reel made in the late 1930.....

Thanks for the reminder as it was not a reel I ever really paid any attention to.

[KeysReels]

Hi, With all due respect to the original author of this posting...Brian .P, who has since passed since posting questions regarding these two unknown reels....does anyone know the whereabouts of the 2 reels.?
I am looking for more information and welcome hearing from anyone who knows more about them.....or may have the two reels.


Thank you.
Bill Graves
Keysreels.
ORCA member

[m3040c]

by KeysReels » Sat May 06, 2023 5:47 am

Hi, With all due respect to the original author of this posting...Brian .P, who has since passed since posting questions regarding these two unknown reels....does anyone know the whereabouts of the 2 reels.?
I am looking for more information and welcome hearing from anyone who knows more about them.....or may have the two reels.

Now this is a great question. I watched the sales of many of Brian P.'s reels and never saw these two come up for sale. I also have pictures of his collection before he passed away. These two reels were never on his shelving. He did have some closed cabinets, so I assume they were kept there or sold off before he passed. Have to keep an ey out for these. Brian found them and now they are lost again. Too bad!