Need info on South Bend fly reel

[Richard Lodge]

I picked up a "wide body" South Bend St. Joe No. 1172 skeleton fly reel, sort of a neat little thing. Does anyone have a catalogue that would tell me when the St. Joe 1172 was sold by South Bend? I also have the narrow spool 1170 and the 1180, which is a different finish. I'd appreciate info on the manufacturing dates on all of the above. Also, I'm always looking to add skeleton fly reels that I don't have in my collection, so if you have any to sell or trade, let me know. Thanks!

[Jim Madden]

Rich, the 1180 is the earliest made from 1924 through 1936. It is brass under the black paint. The 1170 is the same reel only made of steel under the paint. It went from 1935 to 1941. The wide spool 1172 (125 yds of G line) is the toughest made only from 1938 to 1941. Finding mint ones of any of these is difficult because the paint came off easily. All three came in a yellow box.

[tjolds]

Richard, I'm glad to hear that someone else is collecting these. I've got the 1170 and 1180 and I've been looking for an 1172. Great find to add to the other two.

Terry Olds

[Richard Lodge]

Jim and Terry: Thanks for the comments. Jim, you filled in a lot of gaps for me. The St. Joe 1180 I have is definitely brass with black paint for a finish. Mine is somewhat worn and chipped. I have a mint, in the box, St. Joe 1170 that I bought 3-4 years ago at a flea market. And I don't use the word "mint" lightly. Terry, I snagged the St. Joe 1172 off eBay a couple weeks ago. I must have sneaked up and grabbed it when no one was looking! I should post a couple of photos one of these days. Did you know the Kalamazoo Surprise and the Shakespeare Kazoo are exactly the same reel as the St. Joe? I don't know who actually made these reels, but I have versions of all 3 makers' reels and, aside from the markings on the back, they are identical. Pretty cool lineup.

[Harvey]

Not to throw water on your camp fire BUT----!
There is a diffrence in these reels. I am setting here with three Kazoos, one Suprise, a St Joe and three unmarked reels in front of me. (I am not rich enough to own a South Bend!) Check out the spacings between the rivets on the foot. plus, note the diffrent foot style on this Kazoo and the #1170 St. Joe. Using a wooden yard stick, the rivets spacing on my Kazoo is aproxx. 11/16" apart while the St.Joe is 13/16th.



Now to really cloud up the issue, there are two diffrent Kazoos. There is one model that is exactly like the St.Joe and the Suprise and one like is in the picture. Bill Land and I went through this sometime ago on this board trying to figure out when the two were produced. There is a change in the clicker buttons that brought our attention to the diffrence. I will go back through the board and try to find it. If I do, I will bring it back to the top for your reading.
Sorry about starting this conflict but it keeps me amused and you guys busy!
harvey

[Harvey]

Sorry guys but our conversation about Shakespeare
Fly Reels took place over e-mail. Here is a copy of
Bill's final draft of answering the question. You can
add this to your information bank.




"H"