Hardy Reels – The Evans' Tapes

In 2001 the respected Hardy reel collector, and acknowledged expert, Mr Ted Evans and his son, David, produced a series of 5 video tapes outlining the history and evolution of many of Hardy Brothers’ famous reels.

This year, 2011, I have been privileged and honoured to have worked with Ted and David to transfer these tapes to DVD.

The 5 videos are now contained on a 2 DVD set. We have done some minimal quality enhancement of the data and edited out unwanted introductions and adverts. None of the important reel information has been removed.

Among the numerous reels analysed are the Perfect, St George, Silex, Uniqua, St John, Altex, Elarex etc. - also included are much rarer reels such as the Tuna, Taupo, Eddystone, White-Wickham etc.

The original tapes were designated as follows –

Perfect Fly Reels 1 & 2.

Fly Fishing Reels

Casting Reels

Big Game and Sea Fishing Reels.

DVD 1 contains Perfect Fly Reels 1 and 2

DVD 2 is the other 3 tapes.

As well as detailing the time line and evolution of many collectable Hardy reels Ted discusses and shows some of the rarer examples. Where else will you be able to see ‘how to take apart a Hardy White-Wickham’? or what a cased 8 1/2" Zane Grey looks like.

A ‘must have’ resource for any Hardy Collector. 
Approx. 4 hours running time.

This 2 DVD set is available in both PAL and NTSC formats for £20.

(UK P and P - £2.00; Rest of World - £4.00; 
Please state which format is required)
"Paypal" £22.00 for UK, or £24.00, rest of the world, to the following email address

Contact us at – hardyflyreel@gmail.com

[for trade enquiries please email me]

Let’s Tackle Cancer, January Auction – Post script

Just a few words to summarise the January Auction.

First, the response, both in terms of level and quality of donations, and the buyer’s generosity, reflects very favourably the true spirit of fly-fishing.

Second, a huge ‘thank you’ to the members of this forum - www.flyforums.co.uk. Sometimes we’re seen as pedantic, argumentative, fluffy, capricious, crude and moronic – and that’s just on a good day. But that’s just good old British irony at play.

Third, thanks go to www.flyforums.co.uk - our hosts, and particularly to Sofi and Paul for their assistance.

Personally, (and Mrtrout agrees) I’m proud of the way everyone has responded to this appeal. We’ve raised well in excess of £1000 in our first month, all of which is going directly to Cancer Charities; and we have over twice as many Lots listed for our February Auction!

With everyone’s help we can drive this forward and actually make a significant contribution in the battle against cancer.

Our sincere thanks

Let's TACKLE Cancer

What started as a simple post on a fly fishing forum by an old friend of mine, Steven (Mr Trout), has grown almost exponentially. The original post was an offer to sell a few of the beautiful Furled Leaders which he makes, to raise funds for Cancer Research - LINK HERE

The response to the initial idea, as you can read above (and that doesn't include the PM's and e mails!), has been overwhelming. So many kind and generous people have offered donations of both goods and events.

The whole of 2011 has been covered with monthly donations of Flies, Lines and assorted bits and pieces of Fishing tackle; fishing days with BBQ's etc. with all funds going to Cancer charities (more details later)

The timing seems to have tapped the zeitgeist, and the idea is expanding daily. 

We are currently discussing the idea of calling the project the "Trout Fly Foundation" (because Steven is too modest to have it in his own name!) and the campaign has already been titled "Let's Tackle Cancer".

More as it develops . . . . . . . and donations welcome.

Update 11th Dec - thanks to A we now have a Facebook page HERE

17th December - we now have days on the Derbyshire Wye and Dove, Cumbria's Eden, the Thames, Monnow and others, superb flies by some very capable fly tiers, Hardy reels, books . . . .just click the link and keep watching (we haven't even started listing items yet (planned for early January) **** Now starting in December
A big thanks to all who have contacted us so far

18th Dec - Dave has put up the 'Just Giving' links for donations -

• Cancer Research UK  
• Marie Curie

Feel free to just donate! 

Update 18th Dec - Listings started today with River Test days, Grey's fly lines, books, leaders, bits  . . and growing 

21st Dec. - some more listings and F & F have now given us our own sub forum, so new LINK

31st December 2010. We end 2010 with some excellent auctions up and running. Check them out on the link above.
We also have a cupboard full of very generous offers which will be rolled out throughout 2011, with many more promised.
We'd like to thank all contributors, both donors and buyers, and wish everyone a fine and healthy 2011

2011
15th January - good luck and tight lines to all the salmon chasers in Scotland.

A nudge for "Let's TACKLE Cancer"  - LINK  
Lots to suit all fisherfolk now listed. and only just over 2 weeks to go for the January auction. Please be generous for a very worthy cause. 

19th January - Great idea from Edd & Colin - LTC Badges - get your order in here LINK. 
Badges marked jointly with Flyforums.co.uk & Let's Tackle Cancer (still being finalised, but will be great!) I'll post a pic as soon as available

31st January - last day to get your bids in for the January, Let's Tackle Cancer auction - hit link  to view  all lots..................and thank you.

8th February - update - over 40 lots listed for February - something for everyone - hit the link above

Hardy Neroda Fly Boxes, update

Back in February, 2010, I wrote a piece about Hardy's Neroda Boxes.  *   LINK  *  

Today I was looking at a couple of the smaller boxes. Whilst they clearly show the 2 different colours available - referred to as "Oxblood" & "Tortoiseshell"; it was noted that the clips were different, both in type and orientation. The Oxblood box has Hardy's 'Holdtite' clips and the other appears to be standard Wheatley type clips. OK, not nuclear fusion, but another detail for the collectors and curious Googlers. see pics:

 

On closer inspection the tortoiseshell box does not have the Hardy stamp on the face. I know unstamped boxes show up occasionally but assumed it was a glitch.
If anyone has seen these boxes retailed by any other dealer I'd be grateful if they'd let me know.

BFFI & toys

At today's BFFI were lots of things every angler "needs"!
High on my list would be these gorgeous titanium reels from Mr Leen Huisman, who was there personally for the release of this new model. A very skilled gentleman, helpful, and great to chat to.






If you decide you can't live without one of these 4 weight, or 5 weight, Titanium and highly resilient plastic masterpieces, call Mark at Alternative Tackle

Who made the first aluminium fishing reel?

First, a few considerations:

At the beginning of the 19^th century aluminium was said to be price comparable with gold, some claim it was even more expensive. Napoleon is said to have had a set of aluminium plates for the use of his favoured guests.

In 1884 aluminium was used for the apex of the Washington Monument and is stated to be the same price as silver (around $1/ounce)

Between 1889 and 1892 the method of production of aluminium changed from the sodium process to the electrolyte method.

In the UK this resulted in the price falling from “half a guinea a pound” (10 shillings and 6 pence) in 1889 to 2 shillings a pound by 1892, - “comparable bulk for bulk with the cost of copper” to quote a contemporary UK newspaper.

In the US of A, the cost was £2-10-0 a pound in 1886, when the countries total production did not exceed 3000 lbs (most of which was used in steel production). By 1897 the metal could be obtained for 1 shilling 4.5 pence per pound, with US production being around 4,000,000 lbs weight.

By 1900 aluminium was still twice the price of copper per pound, but it is less than one third the density.

During the last decades of the 19^th century, the huge demand for copper to service the expansion of both electrical and telephone distribution systems saw copper prices rise rapidly. This continued in the US until the Government introduced price limits during WW1.

Anyone producing fishing reels during this period would have been aware of most of the above. Brass reel makers would watch as their raw material was becoming harder to source and increasingly more expensive, and simultaneously the price (and quality) of aluminium more viable; not to mention the weight consideration.

We understand that Hardy Brothers of Alnwick, the famed fishing tackle makers, were experimenting with what they called their “Hercules metal” in the late 1880’s. (I should note here that some of these were made for Hardy by David Slater and possibly Malloch) This is basically an “aluminium bronze” and, to quote an early Hardy catalogue, contains “three to twelve per cent aluminium” [not to be confused with some pre 1900 “Hardy Hercules reels” made of Aluminium, these are rare animals] What I'm trying to find is the first true aluminium reel.

Some UK reel makers obviously saw a future for the metal. It was recorded in the Birmingham Daily Post in April 1893 that Mr Reuben Heaton had filed a patent for “Aluminium Solder” as early as 1892.

Jess Miller, in his Dunkeld Collection book, describes the Combined Fly/Spinning reel thus: “It was certainly one of Hardy’s earliest alloy reels and was made between 1894 and 1898.”

On the other side of the Atlantic, in a similar vein, various makers were also experimenting with this new metal which, to quote an 1892 English newspaper “greater uses would be found than any that had yet been discovered”.

 . . . .I posted the query on ORCA's board - read here 

Further research reveals this article by Dr David Harris which suggests the first ever aluminium casting (a statue of Diane de Gabies, by Paul Morin) was produced between 1858 & 60.

My answer to the original question is that I don’t know who made the first aluminium fishing reel. It is not impossible that, in the manner of Napoleon’s plates or one of the mid 19^th century solid silver reels, someone made an early, and expensive, toy reel.

It is a fair assumption that the first commercial aluminium reel was produced around 1890. Now all we have to do is prove which reel and who made it.

The Lost World of Mr Hardy - extra scenes

More scenes from a fabulous film. Superb images, SBS, Tarantino, and finest quality fishing kit.
All HERE

Enjoy