Julius vom Hofe with Unusual Brake

[Deepfins791]

I picked this reel up last winter. It has an unusual thumb brake. Also worth noting is it appears JVH's name and patent dates have been purposely scratched off the faceplate. Reel is 4.25" in diameter with a spool width of 2". Has anyone seen a JVH with this style brake, or this brake on another reel?

Thanks for any info!
John

[RonG]

Steve knows this brake. It's in his book.

[Steve]

Steve knows this brake. It's in his book.

Well, sort of.
John, the very first patent for a fishing reel brake in the US was issued in 1864. It worked just as yours does.

I would guess that someone, possibly a JVH employee, was copying the brake. What I don't understand, though, is how he got hold of JVH plates with the extra ears that hold the drag pillar. But that's another question entirely.

[Deepfins791]

I saw that photo in your book, Steve. The conversion on this JVH seemed too clean to be done as an "aftermarket", and as you point out, where did the plates with the extra ears come from? The addition of the brake drum on the spool flange is also very nicely done. Is it possible this is a factory JVH using a design very similar to Dougherty's? Maybe a prototype or one-off? But why then would you scratch your name off the headplate?

[oc1]

It looks like it was installed backward. Shouldn't the smooth rounded side press n the line?

[Steve]

Shouldn't the smooth rounded side press n the line?

That thumb lever doesn't press the line; it operates an internal drum brake, as shown in lower photos.

Is it possible this is a factory JVH using a design very similar to Dougherty's? Maybe a prototype or one-off? But why then would you scratch your name off the headplate?

We'll probably never be able to answer these questions.

[john elder]

I can’t quite figure why the maker chopped off the clicker pawl. That is not just worn down by over-use… it is truncated right at the spring.

[Paul Roberts]

Strikes me as either a prototype or an after hours project by a JVH reelsmith. The truncated clicker suggests the maker intended to use the reel but couldn’t stand the noise? I could understand that as my 1960’s Hardy Princess's clicker can drill a hole in my skull. Sacrilegious I know, for Hardy aficionados.

The name was scraped bc Vom Hof did not want the “project” associated with a production reel? Or, as suggested above, a prototype... that went fishing? Perhaps built for a tuna -or other strong runner- adventure?

[kyreels]

The name was scraped bc Vom Hofe did not want the “project” associated with a production reel?

This is a possibility, but I can't help but think it was a machinist that was saying "this is not a Vom Hofe modification". It may have been an employee, certainly not Vom Hofe himself. It takes a certain indifference to scratch out a manufacturer on a reel.

[john elder]

I’ve been trying to figure out how the hole pattern for the raised pillars might relate to any other VH reel pattern. The one match I find is the hole pattern of a 523 Restigouche. One of the two pillars that are paired on either side is free-wheeling, to turn as line is pulled out. If one made a frame using this pattern but left off the rotating pillar on one side, that would be the pattern of John’s reel:




Of course, those are Edward’s reels and not metal or RP (minor problems with my investigation). I was trying to figure out where one might find a part that might be modified to yield that configuration. As Steve pointed out, the real mystery is how that extra raised pillar might have come to be without a dedicated machining.

[reeltackle]

Cool design regardless. It is reminiscent of George Garey's auxiliary brake.

[Steve]

The truncated clicker suggests the maker intended to use the reel but couldn’t stand the noise?

“Hark! ‘tis the music of the reel…” – Thomas Tod Stoddart, 1835
“…’whirr,—rr—rr,’ went the reel!…what music is more welcome?” – William Cartwright, 1874
“…the whirring music of the reel, so dear to the angler’s ear.” – Anna McCoy, 1895

What is the audience hearing during these highly acclaimed reel recitals? Is it the deep-throated bass of worn gears? The mellifluous tenor of a hyperactive level wind? The coloratura soprano of spool journals spinning in worn bearings? The prestissimo percussion of a strong click? The allegretto percussion of spool endplay? Some reels probably can sound like an entire orchestra when a fish is hauling out line. - Reel News, Sept., 2019, pg. 4