Bakelite Nottingham Winch?

[Eric J]

A friend sent me pictures of his recent acquisition, and ask if I could tell him anything about it and a valuation. I’ve never seen a Bakelite version, and it looks unused. No makers mark. Has anyone seen these and know the age?
British or Canadian?

[Stef Duma]

Not Bakelite but ebonite. Looks to have all the attributes of either Smith & Wall or Reuben Heaton, both Birmingham England.

[Mike N]

Not Bakelite but ebonite. Looks to have all the attributes of either Smith & Wall or Reuben Heaton, both Birmingham England.

Great call, Stef.

From Nikkoebonite.com:

“What is Ebonite?

Ebonite is a type of resin that has a very long history. It is considered the first “synthetic resin” to become widely used.

In 1839, ebonite was invented by Mr. Charles Goodyear in the United States.

Ebonite is blackish brown and firm, but its main raw material is rubber. By mixing and heating rubber and sulfur, they combine and become low-elastic and very firm vulcanized rubber with an elongation percentage of approximately 3%.

This is what ebonite is.

The name “ebonite” comes from the meaning “ebony.”
Ebonite is black-colored, elastic horn-like material, and a crack in ebonite is glossy. It is clear brownish-red in thin-film form and brownish-red in powdered form.
Ebonite is sometimes called “hard rubber.” But we distinguish with hard rubber that is hardened with fillers.

Ebonite is durable, scientifically stable and provides excellent electrical insulation and machinability. Before the rise of petroleum-derived plastic, ebonite was widely used in every aspect of life.“

Although Ebonite is normally associated with bowling balls, here are some other products:

[Stef Duma]

Great information Mike and of course in my humble opinion the greatest exponent of ebonite was Edward vom Hofe in the US and David Slater in England, closely followed by Reuben Heaton.

[Eric J]

Great information! I knew someone would know.
Eric

[Mike N]

Great information! I knew someone would know.
Eric

In the case of Stef, we were lucky to get the opinion of one of Europe’s top vintage tackle experts.

See,
https://www.antiquetackleobserver.com/

[Steve]

The best history of plastics used for tackle was a two-part article written by Jim Hardman. Both parts begin on page 2 of these American Fly Fisher issues:
http://www.amff.org/wp-content/uploads/ ... No1web.pdf
http://www.amff.org/wp-content/uploads/ ... No2web.pdf

[john elder]

His articles are also reproduced with permission in our Reel Restoration book!

[Mike N]

The best history of plastics used for tackle was a two-part article written by Jim Hardman. Both parts begin on page 2 of these American Fly Fisher issues:
http://www.amff.org/wp-content/uploads/ ... No1web.pdf
http://www.amff.org/wp-content/uploads/ ... No2web.pdf

Thanks for posting those links, Steve.

A noted reel collector, Jim Hardman is not only a scholar but also an incredible machinist who repaired several reels for me in the 1990s, a la Dr. Elder. Jim is a gentleman’s gentleman. I did not know the Hardman family was in the rubber business. [Figure 31]

PS. The quote [Figure 13] from Jim’s article about the iconic marbelized Philbrook & Paine reel surprised me at page 6 of the first article, stating that the colorful side plates were made from “mud.” That term, mud, is described by Jim as “a mix of various natural resins akin to shellac or rosin with some fillers and coloring agents added.” When I owned mine, I was repeatedly told the orange and back side plates were an insect resin product. Very interesting, indeed.