Modern Arms Co. Ltd. - The "Harding" Reel

[reeltackle]

`
I just picked up the reel featured below the old fashion way, my favorite way, in an even-up trade with a fellow collector. The other collector lives in the UK so the logistics of the deal were a bit hard to hammer out, however, when all was said and done we both had our new reels and big smiles on our respective faces......just like in days of old.

The reel I acquired was made around 1933 by the Modern Arms Co. Ltd. with facilities in London, Bromley, and Cambridge England and was named - "The Harding Reel" - after its inventor. The reel was issued patent #409468 in 1933 and was reviewed in an issue of the British Angling Journal in 1935 where the reel was reported to carry a whopping price tag of 50 GBP. The reel measures 8 1/4 inches in diameter and, as far as anyone I have talked to knows, it is the only example to have been found to date. The reel is insanely well made with tolerances that you would not expect to find on a fishing reel.





The reel was made to be fished under the rod and has some very unique features. Perhaps the most unique feature is it's small brass, dual purpose click button and free-spool mechanism which is mounted on the handle-side's rim near the foot and can be operated with just the slightest touch of a finger. A light touch of the brass button back towards the angler puts the reel into free-spool. A slight touch forward, away from the angler, and it increases a light click/drag so when you drop the bait back to troll the line will not bird nest (see below).




The reel also sports an auxiliary brake mounted on the back-side-plate's rim and back-plate. When you pull the lever up towards the rod it applies an extra drag to the spool.




The main drag is adjusted with the knurled nut, which appears to be the handle retaining nut but isn't, and works backwards from your conventional star or nut style drag. On a conventional reel you turn the nut/star in to tighten the drag and then turn the nut/star out to loosen the drag reel . On The "Harding" Reel you turn the nut out to tighten the drag and when you screw the nut down towards the handle it loosens the drag ... go figure.



I have put up a short bio of the Modern Arms Co. and this reel on my web site - https://antiquefishingreels.com/uncateg ... n-england/

Its only June and my year has been made!

[Midway Tommy D]

Beautiful and unique reel, Ed!

[Mike N]

Well, after reading Ed’s post, I have a new favorite British reel. Carry on, Mr. Pritchard.

[Steve]

Hmmm, I sense a woman's touch.

[Retropeche]

A beautiful reel and quite a rarity. The design is ingenious and probably built for the tunny fishing that was based around the North Yorkshire ports prior to WW2.



I would be surprised if the reel was made by Modern Arms rather than for the company. They, under the trade name of Marco, sold Flick 'Em type centrepin reels that were made by an established reel maker in the Midlands who also produced other reels marked up as Marco. I would not be surprised if the reel was built by a small specialist engineering company that was commissioned by Modern Arms. They had contacts in the gun making industry and companies like Westley Richards spanned both shooting and fishing equipment and could be trusted with precision engineering.

I have Marco built cane rod. They made many models with strange names. Mine is the Silver Monarch and is 10 foot of double-built, steel-line built cane. Its test curve of 4lbs 8oz matches its weight. The name hints at tarpon or salmon yet its primary use was hauling conger eels out of holes in rocky breakwaters.

This is the Modern Arms / Marco logo found on their rods

[Steve]

I would be surprised if the reel was made by Modern Arms rather than for the company.

If not then, Modern made reels later.

Also:

[Retropeche]

A lot of companies retailed reels and rods that were stamped with their names as manufacturers when in fact they were made by other companies and identical products could be obtained with other retailers brands also as manufacturers. I am sceptical that Modern Arms could have engineered such an exquisite reel as this Harding model whilst not manufacturing even conventional simple reels themselves. The bakelite Harding reel seems to have been made by a Cambridge engineering company according to the info above. I think the Harding reel would have a similar provenance.

[Retropeche]

Seems like the "Lady's Reel" may have been subject of a false trail. The patent for both reels was taken out by William Ethelbert Harding who was born in 1885 and served with the Royal Flying Corps from 1916 before becoming a 1st class motor engineer. He married Nellie in 1906 and produced a child Hermine.

The patents were attributed to the Modern Arms Company that made small bore rifles, air rifles and shotguns prior to going into the fishing tackle trade. As well as their London base and one nearby in Bromley in Kent that prouced cane and glass rods they were associated with an address in Cambridge.

The reel associated incorrectly (IMO) to Mrs Harding is called the Trinity (a college in Cambridge) and linked to Cambridge Engineering. This could indicate a connection with the Engineering Department at Cambridge University.

The bakelite reel described by John at Thomas Turner is nowhere near as refined as the big game reel and I would think was a failed prototype. I have not seen another and all the reels marked as being made by Modern Arms that I have seen were actually made by other companies. Youngs made the Flick 'Em reels and possibly Slaters or Heatons the earlier wood and brass reels.

For my money the big game reel is a one off made probably as a project by engineers at Cambridge University to a design incorporating Harding's patent. The bakelite reel is a prototype that didn't catch on, possibly the manufacturing outsourced the company John mentions.

[Stef Duma]

I am very sorry to disappoint those with the fanciful romantic notion of this reel being made as a project by Cambridge University students. You just need to add in as a sideline that it was Rutherford’s students in their leisure time in between splitting the atom.

This is the “fourth” known example of this reel that has surfaced but I suspect that it is from a UK collection that I have seen before. It is a production reel and the last time I handle one, not this one, was at Mullocks auction some years ago. The third example was not in as good condition as this one. I do recall a collector who said he had a pair of Harding reels but never had the pleasure of seeing them.

Modern Arms Company DID manufacture reels but started according to my research after WWI selling mainly French-made guns to the agricultural market In 1926 their warehouses in Marshalsea Road in Southwark were burnt down. In January 1932 they opened their factory for manufacturing arms, ammunition, and fishing tackle at 56 Southwark Bridge Road London.

It is my opinion that the reels were made by Harding in his Engineering workshop in Cambridge for Modern Arms Company, a wholesaler, and when WWII came they reduced the reel offering and by the 1950’

The Bakelite reels turn up occasionally at auction as well as a quirky pike reel with a unique spool retaining system, a cone where the spool is inserted onto a spindle and when located a locking device is pushed left or right to hold the spool.

Harding did move around during his lifetime, born in Daglingworth Gloucester, and his first employment was as an apprentice at a cycle and engineering works. In 1911 Doncaster was a mechanic, and in 1921 as a motor mechanic with his own company. In 1939 he had moved to Portsmouth as a construction engineer ready for WWII.

Interesting to note that they would chrome plate a reel for £3, I suspect if Ed was to cut his reel in half he might find that it is Tufnol underneath!

[Steve]

I am very sorry to disappoint those with the fanciful romantic notion of this reel being made as a project by Cambridge University students.

The Cambridge students were busy turning lithium into helium. They overdid it, but they eventually all got jobs as countertenors.

[Stef Duma]

I am very sorry to disappoint those with the fanciful romantic notion of this reel being made as a project by Cambridge University students.

The Cambridge students were busy turning lithium into helium. They overdid it, but they eventually all got jobs as countertenors.

Or joining the Cambridge Five.

[Retropeche]

I really don't see how I could have been disappointed given that Stefan's opinion is just that - an opinion. We still are no further down the line as regards confirmation of the manufacturer. The engineering section of the University would include engineering degrees and in order to obtain a degree students would produce examples to demonstrate their skills. Given the reference to Trinity on the second reel, this theory should not be discounted out of hand.

Given the OP's own opinion that the reel is made to much higher tolerances than would be expected; I would be surprised if the reel was made from chrome plated bakelite or tufnol. It may well be brass or cast alloy underneath. But the early bakelite and tufnol reels tended to be lower quality.

[john elder]

Got a postal scale, Ed??

[reeltackle]

First of all I would like to thank everyone who has helped by contributing something to this thread and, in the process, has helped me to fill in some of the blanks on this amazing reel - Steph, Steve , Retropeche - THANK YOU!

In response to your question John, the reel weighs in at a whopping 12.79 pounds and is made of brass that has been either chromed or nickle plated and polished to a mirror-like finish on the surface.

I wanted to post a few more photos that demonstrate the workmanship that went into making this reel. There are a set of five screws that secure the reel seat onto the reel seat brace on the body of the reel. One is quite visible as it is counter-sunk into the center and below the level of the foot's surface. The other four screws are blended into the curved foot in extraordinary fashion. See the first two photos below. I have lettered the screws A,B,C,and D. Looking down on the screws you can make them out (first picture) with the help of a bright light, however, when you turn the reel on an angle (2nd picture) they pretty much disappear even with the aid of the light. When you rub your finger over the screws you feel NOTHING.




There are also a series of screws that are evenly spaced out that go around the top rim of the back side-plate that also just vanish. The screws are all set totaly flush and the slots in their heads are ALL perfectly parallel to the edge of the reel all the way around the reel. I have used a good light to make the screws visible but unless you are looking for them you could easily miss them altogether. Picture below.



There are also a set of screws in the bells of the spool that are nearly impossible to see. Whoever made this reel truly put their heart into it and wanted to make it as perfect as possible. If I had to make a guess I would wager heavily that Harding, the inventor, made the reel as he was a skilled engineer and the reel appears to be someone's labor of love. This would be my best guess from 38 years of experience playing with reels, but, who knows, it may have been engineering students whose future's depended on their performance in school.

Again, I can't even begin to explain how amazing the small, sensitive free-spool mechanism on this reel functions. Every time I play with it I am in awe.

Stef, it is interesting to hear that other reels like this exist but just to clarify, were the reels you encountered the same model, build and size as this reel? This reel came from a prominent collection in the UK and is most likely the one you mention below, but again, do you know of others reels just like this?

Thank you again to all that have helped with information. I believe that sharing information with your fellow collectors is the finest thing you can do and is what we all should aspire to.

[reeltackle]

Just wanted to add a thank you for sharing the great tuna fishing photo Retropeche! I love to see photos like that, any idea who the angler was? By the way, the reel in the photo is a Hardy 9 inch Fortuna.

[Stef Duma]

Hi Ed, I know the collection you are on about having seen the reel previously. One turned up in Mullocks auction within a year or two of the Seven Seas Reel, the third was in a collection I saw on the south coast many years ago and was not in as good condition as yours. He also had Mitchel Henry examples, Hardy and some Allcock, I have no idea what happened to it as I have not seen the guy for some years.
Harding is listed in the 1921 census as, "Engineer Employer".

[Retropeche]

Just wanted to add a thank you for sharing the great tuna fishing photo Retropeche! I love to see photos like that, any idea who the angler was? By the way, the reel in the photo is a Hardy 9 inch Fortuna.

Yes, that was Jack Tansey. This is a rare photograph as you might imagine. It is most unusual to see a gentleman without a tie!

Have a look through this article; https://sarahandherphd.wordpress.com/20 ... e-fishing/

There is a story regards the 852lb fish in the web pages above. It beat Mitchell-Henry's fish by 1lb. M-H appealed againt the new record and had it overturned. M-H designed and had built several reels that appear similar in some ways to yours, i.e. big and heavy. At least one of them was made by S Allcock. I can't imagine many companies having the machinery to handle reels of that size.

More photos here; https://www.google.com/search?q=tunny+f ... gAXB7eTAeM

There is also a book on the Yorkshire tunny fishing in the 1930's published I think by Medlar Press.

[Retropeche]

I forgot to add this link; https://antiquefishingreels.com/uncateg ... n-england/

Go back a page and Mitchell-Henry's reels are shown.

Modern Arms and the reel in question do not match. Modern Arms made reasonable quality rods at reasonable prices and sold reasonable reels made by other companies at reasonable prices. This reel does not fit their profile. There must be a story somewhere and I would suggest trying to get a copy of the Fishing Gazette article from 1935. Stef Duma may have a copy. That would be the first place I would look for clues.

[Retropeche]

Sorry hit the wrong button multiple times while trying to post this link;

https://www.yfanefa.com/record/2503