I have one reel from a package of reels I recently purchased that I need a bit of help with. I have searched EBay for weeks and have not found one. Actually I want to sell it. I just do not like selling something I know nothing about, so I am here to pick everyones brains.
The reel does not look so different than many other fresh water baitcasters. It is a Shapleigh's Meteor, No. SD 84. Does anyone know why these are so non-existant on EBay? Also, what the history of the brand is? Possibly it is a trade reel. it sort of looks like it might be a Shakespere product.
I will post some pictures, that might help.
Well here they are. Anyone out there familar with this reel or possibly could give me a ball park value or origins.
Lawson's price guide (3rd ed. 2001) mentions a few Shapleigh's, but no Meteor SD84.
The ones mentioned are rated between 15 and 35 usd, don't know if these values are still "valid".
I'm sure there's a few guys here that will have some more details on these reels, all I know is that it looks realy nice !
Jean-Paul
I have been bouncing around the internet looking for info on this reel. I think this must have been a Shakespere Trade reel for the Shapleigh Hardware Company. Of course, that is only a guess but I must guess because I can not find anything direct for this this reel. I have a Penn reel with a J.C. Higgins logo on it so I will presume this is a Shakespere with Shapleigh's name on it.
I too believe this is a Bronson reel. Shapleigh was a hardware company out of St. Louis, MO, one of the largest in the nation as a matter of fact. I covered the history of this company briefly in the June 2005 NFLCC Magazine article "Wholesale Hardware Companies and the Tackle Trade." I have a very long and detailed article on Shapleigh reels almost done, but I fear it is too long for The Reel News. May have to wait for the book.
The Meteor, San Luis, and others appear every month on eBay. Over the summer a Meteor sold NIB. I think, like almost everything on eBay, lureguys ended up buying it.
cool-thumb jump yay-banana usa, BRONSON all the Way! The handle is the give away, note the French Curve, however the marbilized knobs are Shakespere, (Harvy rember me talking with you about South bend, Shakespere and Bronson? and making parts for each others reels? also the spacer looks like SOUTH BEND, could be why the S on the bearing cap? or the S could be for shapleigh! anyway its in decent looking condition and is a (KEEPER) Your Ohio Conection On Lake ERIE Col. Milton Lorens aka SWIM JIG also the Click Buton is BRONSON!
You are a new voice in this. I thought it was a Shakespeare because of design and color similarities that I have seen to other Shakespeare's and because when I searched the internet there seems to be a connection between Shakespeare and Shapleigh. Why do you say it is a Shakespeare Trade Reel and not a Bronson?
I collect Shakespeare trade reels. Here is a Kalamazoo Royal. As you can see it is almost the same reel. With just a few differences. And in need of a new spacer.
The tailplate hardware is the same as a Kalamazoo Atlas 1708 Model D including the shape of the click button. The drag button location at 6 o'clock is key to similarity. These are the only reels I know of with this type drag - other than the old NLW reels. Your reel has the same drag location as the Kalamazoo reels. I have a Shalpleigh Master No. SR7 with drag and tailplate the same as your reel.
Other similarities exist with the Atlas and my Shapleigh, i.e., the spool arbors are both 0.340" dia. and the foot pillars are 0.220"dia.
Your Shapleigh reel also has Circular type Scrolls near the rim.
These scrolls are similar in shape,but not identical, to scrolls found on Southbend 750 or 1000 reels. Again, showing the influence of the Shakespeare mfg capability.
Handle nobs are also shapped identical to my Kalamazoo reels. The crank has the square hole and fits the thread and size of the Atlas reel.
Now for the Crank screw. Harvey is right. The shape is not common on Shakespeare and was used by Bronson on special reels like the X-pert and the 3700 Silver Princess. This is the only item that does not fit the full Shakespeare idenity. So, I went thru my Shakespeare parts boxes and found a whole pack of spacers used just like the screw spacer on this reel. With a gear change, the whole package looks Shakespeare if Shakespeare mfgd Kalamazoo's reels.
Hope this helps.
Dale.
Note: The Kalamazoo Challanger 1718 Model D also has similar nobs, drag location, and also varied scroll designs on both plates. The arbor dia is different at 0.380" vs 0.340".
Last edited by Dale Noll on Tue Sep 19, 2006 12:44 pm, edited 1 time in total.
I love the responce. I seems my first impression may be correct. At this point I believe it is a Shakespeare, not a Bronson. One thing is for sure, I am not selling this reel after all this. It is just too interesting a piece. I think I will wait for Dr. Todd's book.
Col. Milt, don't all the parts mentioned interchange between manufacturers named here? Could things have been replaced? I agree the major components say the same company made them but that could account for the smaller differences. Anyway, I vote for the Kalabronspeareshapbend reel!
Just to put the final touches on this, Merv was right and I am wrong. (only the second time in my life) It is a KTC trade reel and a remake of the Royal.
Sorry for the mis-information, Mike, Should have put my mind in gear before I opened my mouth!
And I did notice on Merv's reel that it had out grown it's spacer rings.
It is a wondeful thing when all this discussion can be initiated by a little reel. We have also made a discovery, this is the second time in history that Harvey was wrong. When was the first
This little reel now sits in the part of my collection named, "STATE OF CONFUSION", which is where I also spend most of my time.
Harvey, I have dozens of oil caps like that for later South Bend reels. Many of the other features on that reel also show up on some of the 200+ models of SB - even the handle knob. Just reaffirming the Shakespeare vote. No confusion. Jim
I am not exactly sure what Shapleigh you are talking about on Ebay. I did a quick search and came up with a very rough Shapleigh Black Prince (sort of reminds me of a Shakespeare President) for sale.
Someone actually hammered the main shaft, like it was a rivet, to hold the handle on. Now that is a technique that belongs in the "Cleaning and Restoration" section of ORCA's archives. I bet no member ever thought to do that to a reel.
What you are telling me about your repair kit, which sounds like an interesting kit to own, reinforces the fact that my Shapleigh Meteor is a Shakespeare Trade reel. I did not put a micrometer on the clicker button but your estimate of the diameter looks right or as close to right as we need to be in our reel collecting world, I put a ruler on the button on my reel and by my, getting older by the day, eyes it looks to be 5/16 inch diameter which would work out to .3125 inch.
Thanks for the info on EBay. That is the first Shapeigh reel I have seen on EBay in a month.
These freshwater reels are much more complicated than the salt water variety I am accustomed to. Saltwater reels have their twists also but nothing like the changes and cross overs that happen in the fresh water world. Maybe a comparison is in order. A thought for a "Reel News" article.
Mike, You don't have enough time nor enough lead in your pencil to research Trade Reels. Ask Dr. Todd Larson. As for Shakespeare, That is why the Kalamazoo Tackle Co. was started. If you wanted a reel with your name on it, just say so. It was all about the money. Some companies bought complete reels, some bought parts or anything else to make something they could sell. That is why most of us in always in a haze about who made what and by whom.
Good luck.
"H"
I understand what you are saying Harvey. The market is massive and feeding that market creates an infinite variety of product. Be that as it may, it sure raises some interesting questions and makes this hobby an endless flow of discoveries and mysteries. And when we get tired of taxing our brains for answers, we can always go fishing.
cool-thumb jump 
yay-banana usa, BRONSON all the Way! The handle is the give away, note the French Curve, however the marbilized knobs are Shakespere, (Harvy rember me talking with you about South bend, Shakespere and Bronson? and making parts for each others reels? also the spacer looks like SOUTH BEND, could be why the S on the bearing cap? or the S could be for shapleigh! anyway its in decent looking condition and is a (KEEPER) Your Ohio Conection On Lake ERIE Col. Milton Lorens aka SWIM JIG also the Click Buton is BRONSON!
