Dear All
After WW ! along with spinning reels comming in form Europe and England and Switzerland. There were reels comming in form Japan. By the 70's it seems like almost every manufacture of reels was having reels made in Japan and there seems to be an endless amount of them. With the exception of Ocean Star reels which were marked on the foot " A Division of Daiwa Corp. " most all of these Japanese reels I have seen are simply marked JAPAN on the inside of the foot. Out of curiosity I was trying to find out who was making these reels in Japan. However it has proved to be very difficult. The only one I have been able to find is Omori Manufacturing which made reels for Shakespeare. The rest seems to be shrouded in mystery. Almost like the big names didn't want people to know the reels were being made in Japan Maybe due to the stigma that was attatched to Japanese products after the war.
It is not that I collect these reels but the information seems to be all but impossible to find with the resources I have at my disposal. My concern is that if this information isn't available and is lost it will be a shame for future collectors. As some of these reels were very well made. So far I have made a very small list of what reels were being made for some of the various companies. However finding out who made them in Japan is proving impossible for me at this time. Any help as to where to look or any information would be appreciated. Thank you
Bill Turnbull
Japanese spinning reels
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airex guy
Spinning reels made in Japan
Bill, I can add one more manufacture to the list. In the early 1960 Airex had an ultra-lite spinning reel in their reel group. It was a #365. I have 3 plus one in the box. I also have an identicle reel in a box with a label showing the word, Three Eyes. In between the word Three and Eyes are what appear to be three oval shaped objects that apear to be eyes. Thats it, nothing that is mentioned on the paperwork or anything, except in the parts blow-up the metal name tag for the side of the reel body shows Airex, not Three Eyes. I call it my "Proto-type" for the Airex reel. Seriously, I think they made the Airex reel because the foot of my Airex models are stamped JAPAN and 99 % of the parts match on both styles of parts lists. I have yet to find ANY literature from Airex listing this reel or their 5 models of bait casting reels, (which also were made in Japan). Just another avenue to research, but that's the fun of this hobby, for me anyway, collecting and the research. Good hunting, Bob Halver-----> The Airex Guy
Japanese Reels
Hi Bob
I must agree with you that the research is half the fun. It is a real rush when you find something based your knowledge. I have to say though that I am at a dead end on these Japanese reels. I have tried almost every possible combination I can think of in the Google search box but so far it all comes up nill. I have managed to find out a few companies that were bringing in certain makes. For example St Croix was the importer for Compac reels. But I can find nothing as to who made them in Japan. I feel that once I can ask Google for the correct information I will start getting results. However the problem may be that some of these companies may not be in business anymore. Also the fact that there is almost no collector interest in these reels, there is little or no material published. The PhantomFisher has a great site for Daiwa reels. There is also websites for the newer reels and there are sites for the older collector reels but so far I have found nothing for the older Japanese reels. I still feel it is important to get this information before it is totally lost as it is still a big part of our fishing history.
Bill
I must agree with you that the research is half the fun. It is a real rush when you find something based your knowledge. I have to say though that I am at a dead end on these Japanese reels. I have tried almost every possible combination I can think of in the Google search box but so far it all comes up nill. I have managed to find out a few companies that were bringing in certain makes. For example St Croix was the importer for Compac reels. But I can find nothing as to who made them in Japan. I feel that once I can ask Google for the correct information I will start getting results. However the problem may be that some of these companies may not be in business anymore. Also the fact that there is almost no collector interest in these reels, there is little or no material published. The PhantomFisher has a great site for Daiwa reels. There is also websites for the newer reels and there are sites for the older collector reels but so far I have found nothing for the older Japanese reels. I still feel it is important to get this information before it is totally lost as it is still a big part of our fishing history.
Bill
Japanese Spin Reels
Bill, Compac was one of the first Japanese Manufacturers. Reels were sold through Commerce-Pacific Inc., Los Angelel and Canada Ltd, Toronto, Ontario. Info found in Ben Wright's book "The Wright Price Guide for the Reel Man" 3rd addition. Ryobi, Olympic, Shimano, & Mizuho are a few other Japanese reel manufacturers besides Daiwa. Tracing every Japanese spin reel made from the 1950s through 1980 to the specific manufacturer in Japan would be a monumental task. The Japanese copied just about every popular spin reel ever made during that period. Many of these reels did not have a manufacturer's name on them, just a model name & number. A lot of their reels were pretty cheap but there were also several very good reels, I would consider high quality. The Japanese also made tons of reels for other well known reel manufacturers. One of the more unusual Japanese made spin reels is the Feurer Brother's Flip Reel FB202. The reel can be cranked forward or in reverse simultaneously and the rotor will only turn clockwise. The reel has a switch on the back end of the frame which allows the entire body to rotate 180 degrees changing the reel from left-hand retrieve to right-hand retrieve. I also have a prototype spin reel which is very similar to the Holliday 40 but it has a knurled adjusting ring on the back of the rotor which actually moves the rotor in or out several thousandths of an inch. It has a worm drive gear system and ball bearing on the pinion gear. The reel is not stamped "Made In Japan" or has any other markings on it but the body and gears are exactly the same as on another Japanese made spin reel I own called a UNICO FR-95. The UNICO FR-95 reel has a bail similar to the Luxor Model A. Both reels crank as smooth as any reel I have owned. One last note to Bob. There is a spin reel named the Columbian Model 61 which looks like the Airex 365. Randy
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Guest
You could try contacting my good friend P.Lowe in the U.K. , he's got a great website on Daiwa : http://www.phantomfisher.com/
He's currently working on a website about other Japanese manufact. of spinning reels. He has had a bunch of casting reels as well, you perhaps he can tell you more about those. There will be some of my spinning reels on his new website, so it's gonna be a superb one to visit
)
There's a lot of collectors having a few Japanese reels "on the side", usually copies of the brand-reels they collect. I have some very nice Mitchell copies, even the very early Mitchell half-bails were copied in the smallest details, even the spool container is identical !
I don't think there were many different companies in Japan at the time.
A lot of identical reels (spinning/casting) were sold under different names.
As still happens today...
There certainly is a growing interest in them, they are still cheap (even MIB) and most are nice to look at. But finding information on them is very very hard... probably keeping the prices down. Sometimes it only takes a book on the subject the start a collecting mania worldwide.
Happy collecting !
Jean-Paul a.k.a. Snoekjaeger/Snoekietje1
(Mitchell/ABU/Luxor/Sportex/Nettuno)
He's currently working on a website about other Japanese manufact. of spinning reels. He has had a bunch of casting reels as well, you perhaps he can tell you more about those. There will be some of my spinning reels on his new website, so it's gonna be a superb one to visit
) There's a lot of collectors having a few Japanese reels "on the side", usually copies of the brand-reels they collect. I have some very nice Mitchell copies, even the very early Mitchell half-bails were copied in the smallest details, even the spool container is identical !
I don't think there were many different companies in Japan at the time.
A lot of identical reels (spinning/casting) were sold under different names.
As still happens today...
There certainly is a growing interest in them, they are still cheap (even MIB) and most are nice to look at. But finding information on them is very very hard... probably keeping the prices down. Sometimes it only takes a book on the subject the start a collecting mania worldwide.
Happy collecting !
Jean-Paul a.k.a. Snoekjaeger/Snoekietje1
(Mitchell/ABU/Luxor/Sportex/Nettuno)
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Reel Geezer
- Ultra Board Poster
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Bill: Your inquiry and interest into early Japanese spinning reels just illustrates the point I tried to make in my article that was published in the November Reel News. We have wonderful reels being manufactured today in China (Pflueger, etc) and even better ones being made in Japan. As historians we must accumulate this information for the future while it is currently available; not wait 40 years until members begin to collect the reels we are fishing with today.
Thanks to the internet, with some luck you might find a Japanese collector with similar interests who is accumulating the information you seek. I find I am able to have many questions about current to 30 year old Japanese reels answered by dealers and collectors who live in Japan. In fact I just learned a few days ago that Shimano will be marketing a new low profile digital controlled reel in Japan later in 2006. It will be built on the Antares (Calais in the US) reel. Maybe it will be out in time to have a demonstrator at Lake George.
You have to endure the stones and arrows from your friends that believe you're a kook rather than a visionary. Just ask Ben Wright.
Thanks to the internet, with some luck you might find a Japanese collector with similar interests who is accumulating the information you seek. I find I am able to have many questions about current to 30 year old Japanese reels answered by dealers and collectors who live in Japan. In fact I just learned a few days ago that Shimano will be marketing a new low profile digital controlled reel in Japan later in 2006. It will be built on the Antares (Calais in the US) reel. Maybe it will be out in time to have a demonstrator at Lake George.
You have to endure the stones and arrows from your friends that believe you're a kook rather than a visionary. Just ask Ben Wright.
Japanese Reels
Dear All
Thank you for your thoughts on this. It is great to see that there is definately some interest in this indevor. As Jean-Paul said there may not be that many different companies. Compac for example had several different lines of spinning reels. It would have also been quite possible for some ot the bigger companies in Japan to sup-contract out different reels to smaller outlets. Also as Jean-Paul said there are many of the lower end reels that simply just have different names on the same reels. Possible being sold to different out lets.
I have spent some time searching Japanese collector sites but so far they are all in Japanese. I have also found Compac Pacific Co Ryobi,Olympic, Shilmano, Mizuho and a few others. However I can't seem to get into their history. Some of them I have emailed and asked about their early history and types of reels but so far no response. I am also finding that all the names I am looking for on Goggle just seem to keep bringing me back to the same sites. Which indicates that there is very little out there to be found. I need different search words but at the moment I have tried every possible thing I can think of. In the searching I have done and articles I have read I do have a couple of pages of names I have jotted down and still hav to search these. However time is also at a premium these days.
I have been in contact with P. Lowe and I have sent him some information on early Daiwa reels that he didn't have. Also all the information I can find I will give to him to put on his excellent website.. Also Jean-Paul I am still looking for any infomration I can find on early Daiwa fly reels for you at Paul's request. The AL&W catalogues have some great infomration but I only have pieces of a few.
I thank you all again. Every little bit of information is a help as each peace can lead to another. So far that is all I have is a lot of little bits of information. Hopefully eventually they can start to come together. In the mean time any and all help will be appreciated.
Bill
Thank you for your thoughts on this. It is great to see that there is definately some interest in this indevor. As Jean-Paul said there may not be that many different companies. Compac for example had several different lines of spinning reels. It would have also been quite possible for some ot the bigger companies in Japan to sup-contract out different reels to smaller outlets. Also as Jean-Paul said there are many of the lower end reels that simply just have different names on the same reels. Possible being sold to different out lets.
I have spent some time searching Japanese collector sites but so far they are all in Japanese. I have also found Compac Pacific Co Ryobi,Olympic, Shilmano, Mizuho and a few others. However I can't seem to get into their history. Some of them I have emailed and asked about their early history and types of reels but so far no response. I am also finding that all the names I am looking for on Goggle just seem to keep bringing me back to the same sites. Which indicates that there is very little out there to be found. I need different search words but at the moment I have tried every possible thing I can think of. In the searching I have done and articles I have read I do have a couple of pages of names I have jotted down and still hav to search these. However time is also at a premium these days.
I have been in contact with P. Lowe and I have sent him some information on early Daiwa reels that he didn't have. Also all the information I can find I will give to him to put on his excellent website.. Also Jean-Paul I am still looking for any infomration I can find on early Daiwa fly reels for you at Paul's request. The AL&W catalogues have some great infomration but I only have pieces of a few.
I thank you all again. Every little bit of information is a help as each peace can lead to another. So far that is all I have is a lot of little bits of information. Hopefully eventually they can start to come together. In the mean time any and all help will be appreciated.
Bill
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Outtie61
Compac in Canada
I might be taking a shot in the dark here, but I might imagine that Derek Emery might have some history, given that I understand his family has had a fairly long history with the company in Canada. As of 3 years ago, they had an office in Markham, Ont. but I am unsure if the name was under Compac or Emery International. I have no idea about how approachable this gentleman would be.
Regards
Outtie61
Regards
Outtie61
Japanese reels
Hi Ottie61
Thank you for the information. I will follow this up. Every little bit helps add to the pot.
Bill
Thank you for the information. I will follow this up. Every little bit helps add to the pot.
Bill
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clinton_beeler
- Advanced Board Poster
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- Joined: Sun Feb 08, 2004 2:32 pm
- Location: Tulsa , Oklahoma
Hi Guys,
Sorry I've been AWOL so long. I've been learning about ABU and piecing together their relationship with Zebco.
Exhibit E from the "Spinning Reel Plan of 1976/77" lists fishing tackle manufacturers in the far east area, locations of factories, and the names of their main customers.
I've only got a few minutes, so here are the companies from Japan.
Daiwa, Ryobi, Olympic, Sugita, Omari Seisakusho, Hiyoshi, Point, Shimano, Maki, Sankyo Fishing, Saotsune, Lida Machine works Ltd., NFT (subsidiary of Shimano), Tenryu, Taiyo Shoko.
Oops, NFT and Tenryu were rod manufacturers from Japan.
Regards,
Clinton
Sorry I've been AWOL so long. I've been learning about ABU and piecing together their relationship with Zebco.
Exhibit E from the "Spinning Reel Plan of 1976/77" lists fishing tackle manufacturers in the far east area, locations of factories, and the names of their main customers.
I've only got a few minutes, so here are the companies from Japan.
Daiwa, Ryobi, Olympic, Sugita, Omari Seisakusho, Hiyoshi, Point, Shimano, Maki, Sankyo Fishing, Saotsune, Lida Machine works Ltd., NFT (subsidiary of Shimano), Tenryu, Taiyo Shoko.
Oops, NFT and Tenryu were rod manufacturers from Japan.
Regards,
Clinton
Japanese Reels
Hi Clinton
Thank you for the information. I had some of the names but not all of them. This will be a great help. I have been pretty busy for the last couple of days but I should have time to start searching for information on these companies in a day or so. I always thought as I got older things would slow down a bit but it is turning out to be quite the opposite.
This is proving to be an interesting challange and I am bumping into lots of great people in my search requests which is kind of neat. The searching has been tough but I feel I am finally at the point where I know what I have to look for so this should help a lot. Once I start to accumulate the infomation it sould start falling into place quickly. The only down side it that it will take a while to get the required information. The other challange will be the same reel showing up in several different places under different names. There is one little reel that looks exactly like a Pflueger 1000, It also looks like a Heritage form Canada, and it also looks like a Fjord. Just different colours and differnt names. However the research has been fun and interesting and as I said I am meeting lots of great people so all is good.
One request I would have from the message board is if anyone knows which companies the reels were being made for would be a great help. For example Compac made reels for St Croix, Omari made reels for Shakespeare, Olympic made reels for Ocean City. This information would be a great help.
Bill Tunbull
Thank you for the information. I had some of the names but not all of them. This will be a great help. I have been pretty busy for the last couple of days but I should have time to start searching for information on these companies in a day or so. I always thought as I got older things would slow down a bit but it is turning out to be quite the opposite.
This is proving to be an interesting challange and I am bumping into lots of great people in my search requests which is kind of neat. The searching has been tough but I feel I am finally at the point where I know what I have to look for so this should help a lot. Once I start to accumulate the infomation it sould start falling into place quickly. The only down side it that it will take a while to get the required information. The other challange will be the same reel showing up in several different places under different names. There is one little reel that looks exactly like a Pflueger 1000, It also looks like a Heritage form Canada, and it also looks like a Fjord. Just different colours and differnt names. However the research has been fun and interesting and as I said I am meeting lots of great people so all is good.
One request I would have from the message board is if anyone knows which companies the reels were being made for would be a great help. For example Compac made reels for St Croix, Omari made reels for Shakespeare, Olympic made reels for Ocean City. This information would be a great help.
Bill Tunbull
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clinton_beeler
- Advanced Board Poster
- Posts: 291
- Joined: Sun Feb 08, 2004 2:32 pm
- Location: Tulsa , Oklahoma
The spinning reel business plan was written based on a research study from 1974 and the book itself was probably written in 1975. It provides a wonderful snapshot of the tackle industry during that period.
Daiwa- it appears, sold reels only under their own name.
Ryobi- was sold by Zebco in the U.S., Ryobi in europe, Javis Walker in Australia, And Tatlow & Wright in south america.
Olympic- OLM, Private Brand U.S., True Temper and Heddon, european distributors, and Hoffman in Australia.
Sugita- Garcia, OLM, Berkley, and other Japanese exporters.
Omori Seisakusho- Shakespear and Norris-Shakespear
Hiyoshi- Shakespear, Norris, Pflueger, and Kenco sales through exporter
Point- South Bend, Berkley, and Johnson through Pacific Products
Shimano- Lew Childre, Shimano America. European market (random)
Maki- South Bend through Pacific Products and Hank Wolf
Sankyo Fishing- Random sales through Pacific Products and Hank Wolf (K-Mart)
Lida Machine Works Ltd.- K-Mart, Olympic, and other importers
Taiyo Shoko- Olympic through exporter
Hope this helps.
Regards,
Clinton
Daiwa- it appears, sold reels only under their own name.
Ryobi- was sold by Zebco in the U.S., Ryobi in europe, Javis Walker in Australia, And Tatlow & Wright in south america.
Olympic- OLM, Private Brand U.S., True Temper and Heddon, european distributors, and Hoffman in Australia.
Sugita- Garcia, OLM, Berkley, and other Japanese exporters.
Omori Seisakusho- Shakespear and Norris-Shakespear
Hiyoshi- Shakespear, Norris, Pflueger, and Kenco sales through exporter
Point- South Bend, Berkley, and Johnson through Pacific Products
Shimano- Lew Childre, Shimano America. European market (random)
Maki- South Bend through Pacific Products and Hank Wolf
Sankyo Fishing- Random sales through Pacific Products and Hank Wolf (K-Mart)
Lida Machine Works Ltd.- K-Mart, Olympic, and other importers
Taiyo Shoko- Olympic through exporter
Hope this helps.
Regards,
Clinton
Japanese Reels
Hi Clinton
Thank you so much. This will be a great help and has given me a lot more options for web searches. I have a couple of questions. First of all how does one get a copy of the Spinning reel business plan? Also did the research study disucss Compac fishing reels and Army and Navy reels. Thank you again for this information and your time an effort. It is appreciated
Bill.
Thank you so much. This will be a great help and has given me a lot more options for web searches. I have a couple of questions. First of all how does one get a copy of the Spinning reel business plan? Also did the research study disucss Compac fishing reels and Army and Navy reels. Thank you again for this information and your time an effort. It is appreciated
Bill.
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clinton_beeler
- Advanced Board Poster
- Posts: 291
- Joined: Sun Feb 08, 2004 2:32 pm
- Location: Tulsa , Oklahoma
Hi Bill,
The "Brunswick Corp. Spinning Reel Business Plan 1976/77" was a proprietary internal document for Zebco and as such was never published. There were probably never more than 25 copies made as they would have been distributed only to executives at the V.P. level or higher. I seriously doubt that any other copy of it exists today.
I refer to it frequently while working on my Zebco book and when that is done I will discuss with father whether it would be permissable to copy it for the ORCA library. It is entirely possible that parts of it remain proprietary to this day (though I would hope not).
When I get home I will look for Compac and Army and Navy references. I have a Compac reel NIB. Part of the printing on the top of the box is upside-down.
Regards,
Clinton
The "Brunswick Corp. Spinning Reel Business Plan 1976/77" was a proprietary internal document for Zebco and as such was never published. There were probably never more than 25 copies made as they would have been distributed only to executives at the V.P. level or higher. I seriously doubt that any other copy of it exists today.
I refer to it frequently while working on my Zebco book and when that is done I will discuss with father whether it would be permissable to copy it for the ORCA library. It is entirely possible that parts of it remain proprietary to this day (though I would hope not).
When I get home I will look for Compac and Army and Navy references. I have a Compac reel NIB. Part of the printing on the top of the box is upside-down.
Regards,
Clinton
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Ozzy
Just ran across this site when trying to find information about Compac reels. I saw a Compac Clipper Model 36 in a thrift store I could have had for $5 (half price Monday). Didn't buy it, but I'm sure it is still in there. I should buy it just to make sure it makes it back out into the fishing world. One just sold on Ebay for a whopping $6.05 
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Outtie61
Depending upon the business model and internal beliefs of the company in question , there could have been a plan given to rep principals and all key personnnel involved in sales, marketing and sourcing product. It sounds like what some us did and still get when at various sales meetings. I have even seen some focus groups held, strictly for staff identified to represent an appropriate cross section, in order to assist possible future products selected, guideance.
Outtie61
Outtie61