vom Hofe reel questions

[kevinhaney1]

I have several questions about one of my Julius vom Hofe reels I was hoping someone could answer.

1. This is a little size 3 1/2 "Quadruple" reel. Was that sold as a trout reel, panfish reel, or some thing else?
2. There is some brass coloring around some of the metal plate edges (this is on some of my other vom Hofes as well). Did these come brass plated that has worn off over time?
3. The handle is still loose when the screw it tightened all it can be. Is this one missing a washer or are the handles supposed to be a little loose for some reason?

Kevin

[Don Champion]

They are nickle plated brass which means some of the nickel is worn away. The loose handle can be repaired by countersinking the handle shaft a little bit. The threads on the screw don't go all the way to the head.

[kevinhaney1]

Thanks Don, I appreciate the information? So were these sold as trout reels?

Kevin

[Steve]

They were sold by line capacity, not target prey.

[Mike N]

Kevin,

Below is how the “Quadruple” was listed in the 1916 JVH catalog. Thanks to the generosity of many reel collectors these catalogs are free to download for ORCA members from our on-line library.

I really like the fancy knurled end cap and the rosettes under the screw heads to spread out tension from over-tightening which might crack the rubber end plate and to act as lock washers. I think a reel that size would be a “black bass” reel, with a trout reel maybe a smaller size 4 or 5 (New York reel sizes run in reverse vis-a-vis Kentucky reels, the latter —see a Meek catalog— which list a No. 1 as the smallest [trout] and a No. 5 as for the largest of the fresh water species such a carp, and even Tarpon.)

The word “quadruple” is seen on reels from various makers and would typically denote that the return gear ratio was 4:1, that is, one rotation of the crank would result in 4 turns of the line spool and a quicker return of the line, than say a “single action” trout reel with a 1:1 ratio.

Can you post a photo of the bottom of your reel’s foot and the “3-1/2” size marking you noted and I will check some other retailer catalogs, such as Abercrombie & Fitch that also sold JVH reels?




Here is a “4” stamp on the foot of a similar JVH:

[Ray Hencken]

Some Julius vom Hofe reels, both bait casting and fly reels, had metal parts that were nickle plated brass and others had nickle silver (German Silver ) metal parts. Those parts being screws, pillars, foot, spool, crank, metal rims on the hard rubber plates of some models, bearing cap and its washer, and the metal disc on the face plate of the casting reels.