Marhoff Reel Company

dwcoronado1 · Post by **dwcoronado1** » Wed Dec 06, 2023 12:17 am

I am seeking information on a reel I have had in my collection for 30 years. Judging from information gleaned from your sources it is a Marhoff (pre Shakespeare) reel. There is no branding, number, or identification of any type. It is obviously a presentation reel and is engraved F.(?)A. Campbell on the rear plate. The entire reel appears to have been plated gold but someone in its life had scrubbed much of the gold off thinking it was of no value. Where the gold is rubbed off tarnished brass is showing. Otherwise the rest of the reel including spool and inside of frame, reel foot, and most of the reel remain gold. THE 1907-08 Marhoff reel seems to be a scarce item and I don't recall ever seeing another. Can anybody provide additional information on this reel? Thank you in advance.

Eric J · Post by **Eric J** » Wed Dec 06, 2023 9:08 am

Photos would help. Is it marked “MARHOFF REEL COMPANY”? Is there a serial number on the foot?

dwcoronado1 · Post by **dwcoronado1** » Wed Dec 06, 2023 11:00 am

I will try to post photos but I am new to this site. Picture this: Marhoff, single knob. NO identification, number, words of any type other than F.A.Campbell on rear plate. Entire reel (metal surfaces ) plated gold with finish rubbed off in some areas.

Midway Tommy D · Post by **Midway Tommy D** » Wed Dec 06, 2023 11:10 am

Posting pics is fairly easy if you follow the directions in Announcements, just don't forget to insert them into your post once you've uploaded them.

dwcoronado1 · Post by **dwcoronado1** » Wed Dec 06, 2023 10:35 pm

Here are the Marhoff Reels

dwcoronado1 · Post by **dwcoronado1** » Wed Dec 06, 2023 10:40 pm

This is the reel i was discussing in an earlier thread. Unfortunately, that thread disappeared when the photos uploaded.

Midway Tommy D · Post by **Midway Tommy D** » Thu Dec 07, 2023 12:21 pm

I think there might have been a slight touch of pilot error involved, but maybe one of the tech gurus on the site could possibly combine the two discussions into one thread.

[Editor: done]

dwcoronado1 · Post by **dwcoronado1** » Thu Dec 07, 2023 2:15 pm

I can blame that on my co-pilot. She spent hours trying to upload, resize, convert to jpeg for me. Maybe blame is not the right word. Maybe this reel should have gone on show 'n tell, but Im new to this. Still interested in observations on this Marhoff.

Eric J · Post by **Eric J** » Thu Dec 07, 2023 6:26 pm

Aside from the obvious (cracked hard rubber, missing LW cover, and missing oil cap) it has two replacement screws that hold the reel foot on.
On the plus side, it has the original LW carriage, making it one of three known with the original carriage intact), looks to be serial number 1, and is a presentation reel. I’d say the plus’ outweigh the negatives. Now to find out who Campbell was and why he got #1 in gold.

dwcoronado1 · Post by **dwcoronado1** » Thu Dec 07, 2023 9:22 pm

Thats very interesting to hear. Does it have any intrinsic value as a collectible??

kyreels · Post by **kyreels** » Fri Dec 08, 2023 3:04 pm

Definitely has value. Are you sure of the gold wash? Looks more like normal patina from the photos. Clearly has some brass parts. Probably some german silver parts. There were lots of F.A. Cambells out there at the turn of the century. Here is a ad done by the artist named F.A. Campbell in 1900. Probably not him, but interesting.

Steve · Post by **Steve** » Fri Dec 08, 2023 6:11 pm

Probably not him, but interesting.

And another candidate, though it makes you wonder if the "artist" above was just the ad copyright owner:

Eric J · Post by **Eric J** » Sat Dec 09, 2023 7:27 pm

From looking at the pictures again, it looks like the pawl and screw might be missing from the carriage.
Those, and the other missing/broken pieces are going to be hard to replace. Even the hard rubber will have to come from another Marhoff Reel Company reel because the subsequent Shakespeare Marhoff’s were cut and inletted differently. End caps, frame screws are different thread pitch too. Gold plating them won’t be cheap either.

dwcoronado1 · Post by **dwcoronado1** » Tue Dec 12, 2023 2:37 am

I appreciate the input on this reel. I have not tested the patina for gold content but when the brass underneath tarnishes, the gold becomes more pronounced and takes on an orangey tone. As I may have stated elsewhere, I began to sell off my 30 year collection of tackle approximately 3 weeks ago on that well known internet commerce site. I simply do not have the time , energy or physical storage capability as I am just retired and faced with downsizing. There are a few items I might have of a more esoteric nature that would probably languish unsold on that forum. The Marhoff reel comes to mind. I guess I am in the position of needing to understand the value of this reel and thus entertain relinguishing it to someone interested in acquiring it. I am not an opportunist and I don't view this group as opportunisitic. Just interested in a fair offer of fair value. Thank you for your interest.

Eric J · Post by **Eric J** » Tue Dec 12, 2023 9:00 am

I would be honored to have it in my collection. I sent a private message to you asking if you were keeping or selling but you might not have gotten it. Can you PM me?

Post by **john elder** » Tue Dec 12, 2023 2:29 pm

Hey, DW! If you just retired, then you just started your life! You shouldn’t be selling, you should be buying!!

John

dwcoronado1 · Post by **dwcoronado1** » Wed Dec 13, 2023 10:42 pm

Photos of reel foot and LW carriage screw from underside.

Eric J · Post by **Eric J** » Sat Jan 06, 2024 10:22 am

Dwcoranado1 and I worked out a deal for this old Marhoff that made us both happy. BTW he’s a good guy to deal with and has been collecting for a long time.
I got the reel the other day, took it all apart, cleaned the brown gunk out of it, and was hoping to find some markings on the inside but there were none. I was surprised to see that most of the parts on the inside were gold plated too! The spool spun nicely but the level wind did not move, and I expected to find a gear missing. The drive gear on the Marhoffs are stacked with the larger gear driving the spool and the smaller driving the level wind.

These gears were not machined as one piece, but it appears that the larger gear had a thin tube machined where the recess is that the smaller gear was swedged onto. There is no sign of soldering. When the level wind seized-up from corrosion (see earlier photos) the torque exerted caused that thin tube to twist off allowing the small gear to spin freely inside the large gear.

I could have replaced the gear unit with another, but this one was gold plated and I thought a small amount of epoxy would salvage it. It worked great.
I replaced the broken hard rubber with a part taken from another old Marhoff Reel Co. reel that was badly corroded but the hard rubber was good.

I also bought a gold plating kit to plate the missing tailplate screws, end cap, and level wind shroud.
That was a fun project.

Those early Marhoffs had the level wind worm gear made from tool steel and were prone to rusting. Later Shakespeare Marhoffs were nickel plated, then chrome plated and made from phosphor bronze. An overnight bath in naval jelly removed the rust and some vigorous toothbrush work with mineral spirits cleared the grooves. Now it spins like a top!
Who F. A. Campbell was is still a mystery. One possibility is a Fredrick A. Campbell who was a 24 year old man in 1908 who was a champion shooter from Indiana and moved to California just an hour from where Dwcoronado found this reel 30 years ago.
Another possibility is Francis A. Campbell in Kansas City who owned The Wholesalers Adjustment Company at that time. Maybe Mr. Shakespeare worked out a deal with Campbell to sell the remaining Marhoff Reel Company reels since Shakespeare couldn’t sell them under his name and likely didn’t want to service them later (the parts are very different from the Shakespeare Marhoff parts). This is now the third Marhoff Reel Company reel that I’m aware of that has its original level wind guide intact.
I love Marhoffs and I love a good mystery, so I’m pretty happy with my new toy!

Paul Roberts · Post by **Paul Roberts** » Mon Jan 08, 2024 11:58 am

What a beauty! What a great job you did refurbishing. That old Marhoff fell into the right hands. Love seeing it and hearing, at least the tail end of, the story.

kyreels · Post by **kyreels** » Mon Jan 08, 2024 6:02 pm

Nice restoration. Kept true to the reel. Good job.

Eric J · Post by **Eric J** » Mon Jan 08, 2024 8:59 pm

Thanks Paul & Matt! I wasn’t happy with the plating on the shroud (I unwittingly contaminated my electrolyte on the first attempt) but the second plating turned out spot on. It’s so much fun that I’ve plated my wife’s cheap earrings with 24 carat gold!

kyreels · Post by **kyreels** » Tue Jan 09, 2024 1:23 pm

Eric,

Did you make your own gold plating solution or did you buy the solution with the kit?

Eric J · Post by **Eric J** » Tue Jan 09, 2024 5:35 pm

It came as a kit from Becker for $59. The first kit I bought arrived before the reel did, which was ok since I had the parts to plate. Plugged in the DC power supply, put the solution in a glass dish, put the stainless steel positive anode into the solution, clipped my part to the other negative end, dipped it in, and nothing happened! The video shows bubbling and results almost immediately. Turns out it was a bad power supply, and Becker sent out a new one right away, but it went from Florida to 3 days in north central Kansas first, and then to Michigan thanks to USPS.
I hooked up the new power supply, and bingo!
My mistake was that I left the parts in the solution while waiting, and being a weak acid it leached copper from the brass into the solution, so what I ended up with was a copper/gold deposit onto the nickel. Luckily Becker sent me a free container of 24 carat solution and that laid down a nice clean 24 carat gold layer.

Dr. Rob · Post by **Dr. Rob** » Tue Jan 09, 2024 7:18 pm

What a great story, and a great job!

.

Paul Roberts · Post by **Paul Roberts** » Wed Jan 10, 2024 1:18 pm

Nifty. Hmmmm... plating...