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Adcock Stanton: hellooooo, is anyone there?

The originals made by Harry Reynolds were hawked around pubs in Sheffield. There were a lot of Trent match anglers in the city, many members of sports and social clubs associated to their employment. The Stantons sold well to some of the best match anglers wanting a different reel to the Match Aerial that was almost ubiquitous to the Trent anglers.

Later reels have a metal reel seat, the Adcocks Stanton badge and are endorsed '1984' signifying the change of design. These as far as I know were made up until the current owner of the company took over and introduced his own version.

Just be aware that the early reels including the 1984 versions had chrome bearings that were prone to rusting if left wet. You'll be able to tell if they re rusty the first time you oil the bearing -it will run out brown. :(

If anyone does get one of the early reels they can be serviced at the current manufacturers and the bearings can be replaced with the current type - if you can get a reply that is.
 
not a fan of the new stantons ,and wasn't a fan of cliff's which he thought was weired as i thought them well built and solid reels and couldn't pin point why (and wouldn't have a bad word for them ,just didn't appeal to me) but i do like the Reynolds stantons and the copy's made at rolls royce factories

the new stantons are very well made and nice looking enough (the 25th anniversary model being the best) but to me as well they're too expensive for what they are ,this is due to the inevitable comparison too cliff's reels and the difference in comparative prices of them when new and in comparison to other twin bearings reels available .theres only a limited market for non mass produced ,off the shelf reels .and unless its a limited edition reel or you keep your customers waiting for their reels to be made/turned by hand (not computer controlled cnc) for three years+ to match demand to supply ,the ongoing demand will plateau .

there are alternatives of cause ,the okuma sheffield/aventa pro is a very capable reel ,if its a touch of bling thats required buy a martin bowler edition or one of the gold sheffields ,if its the personalisation the new stantons offer ,you can get most reels engraved .

if your looking for a new pretty bearings reel ,then your looking at youngs or the matt hayes special edition aerial from dragoncarp/used tackle .The youngs has a proven history of reliability ,but a tad expensive .the matt hayes special ed aerial is unproven in the reliability stakes being a relativly new reel and mass produced china import ,with the odd quality control reports.

you could always splash out and buy this
Rare Paul Witcher Aerial reel, 4in. No. 9. | eBay
 
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Clive, you could send it off to have the bearings replaced but if you are not totally cack handed you can do it yourself for not much more than the cost of posting it.
I don’t think Sheffield was special to Harry. He flogged them in any town with a rail link to Nottingham.
 
Kevin Daly said:
Clive, you could send it off to have the bearings replaced but if you are not totally cack handed you can do it yourself for not much more than the cost of posting it.
I don’t think Sheffield was special to Harry. He flogged them in any town with a rail link to Nottingham.
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Kevin,
If I'd have changed the bearing I would have inevitably ended up with some extra parts left over. Always happens. To be fair though, the reel needed a bit more sorting than just changing the bearing.

I agree that Harry was a travelling salesman. Sheffield would have been his biggest market though given the circumstances of there being so many fishing clubs with weekend matched on the Trent, anglers buying their bait on a Friday afternoons for those matches and the pubs in that city being open from 5pm not 7pm as elsewhere dictated by the licensing laws. :)

He wouldn't have had much luck in Derby though. They made their own versions in the Rolls Royce factory. :D

Here's a short video of my reel in action;
Steel City Grayling.f4v - YouTube
 
Clive I am fairly sure a few were shifted in the Leeds Bradford area. I think around that time Bradford Number Three was the biggest club in the north east and trotting and pegging was as popular on the Yorkshire Ouse and its tribs as on t' Trent. I have seen one RR reel; so the guy trying to flog it to me claimed; it looked a bit like Walkers pin, but knowing no better I assumed it was not the same sort of production line engineered job as Harry's and much more a tailor made item. Probably another toolroom genius.
 
You may well be right Kevin. After all, the 'Leeds' reel was well known. All I can say is what I know about Harry Reynolds hawking his reels around Sheffield on Friday evenings when the anglers were mustering for a pre match day drink in city centre pubs.

Interesting how many Adcock Stantons sold on eBay these days are from sellers based within 20 miles or so of Harry's home.

The Rolls Royce factory would have produced several versions of home made reels. If you put engineers who are anglers together with a free supply of materials and some of the best machinery in the country together you can imagine the outcome :D

In Barnsley where I come from virtually every outhouse was painted NCB blue and whole houses were re-wired with pit cable.
 
Clive Kenyon said:
You may well be right Kevin. After all, the 'Leeds' reel was well known. All I can say is what I know about Harry Reynolds hawking his reels around Sheffield on Friday evenings when the anglers were mustering for a pre match day drink in city centre pubs.

Interesting how many Adcock Stantons sold on eBay these days are from sellers based within 20 miles or so of Harry's home.

The Rolls Royce factory would have produced several versions of home made reels. If you put engineers who are anglers together with a free supply of materials and some of the best machinery in the country together you can imagine the outcome :D

In Barnsley where I come from virtually every outhouse was painted NCB blue and whole houses were re-wired with pit cable.
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Wath on Dearn, here mate, small old world init. Guess what colour our privvy door was? My old man was a sparky! There were still reels of cable, pyro, glands, clamps et all in his shed when my brother and I cleared it out years later, and he had moved three times.
PS I think we had better give Howard his thread back.
 
Kevin Daly said:
Wath on Dearn, here mate, small old world init. Guess what colour our privvy door was? My old man was a sparky! There were still reels of cable, pyro, glands, clamps et all in his shed when my brother and I cleared it out years later, and he had moved three times.
PS I think we had better give Howard his thread back.
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No need Kevin. I am still waiting for a return call or some other kind of acknowledgement that I ordered a reel. So I hope you have a great deal more material to get through because this could be a long wait.

Incidentally if, instead, I wanted to acquire an old version for a bit of trotting- which specific model/version should I look out for?
 
Kevin Daly said:
Wath on Dearn, here mate, small old world init. Guess what colour our privvy door was? My old man was a sparky! There were still reels of cable, pyro, glands, clamps et all in his shed when my brother and I cleared it out years later, and he had moved three times.
PS I think we had better give Howard his thread back.
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So Maggie had it right then, all yorkshire miners were thieving gits, "the enemy within", robbing the country blind while the rest of us had our backs turned.
 
Adrian Williams said:
So Maggie had it right then, all yorkshire miners were thieving gits, "the enemy within", robbing the country blind while the rest of us had our backs turned.
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Let's just say that if you stood om Whitby pier on a weekend morning watching the angling boats going out you'd see that 90% of the anglers waterproofs were 'sponsored' by the NCB :D

Best line i heard was when beating with some old colliers, one of whom said that he'd: "....go back to the pit tomorrow. If only to catch up on my sleep." :D

Howard; IMO Look out for one with the 'Adcocks Stanton 1984' badge on and be prepared to ask questions such as: "Does it run without catching, wobble, etc" Also, there are several versions; with / without handles, with / without ratchet, with / without knurling on the spool edge, 4 1/2" or 5".

The ones without ratchet are an acquired taste. I'm sure that you are experienced enough to tame one, but they aren't for the newcomers. You can lock the spool for transporting between swims, but the reel can run away with you if you aren't on the ball.
 
Clive Kenyon said:
Let's just say that if you stood om Whitby pier on a weekend morning watching the angling boats going out you'd see that 90% of the anglers waterproofs were 'sponsored' by the NCB :D

Best line i heard was when beating with some old colliers, one of whom said that he'd: "....go back to the pit tomorrow. If only to catch up on my sleep." :D

Howard; IMO Look out for one with the 'Adcocks Stanton 1984' badge on and be prepared to ask questions such as: "Does it run without catching, wobble, etc" Also, there are several versions; with / without handles, with / without ratchet, with / without knurling on the spool edge, 4 1/2" or 5".

The ones without ratchet are an acquired taste. I'm sure that you are experienced enough to tame one, but they aren't for the newcomers. You can lock the spool for transporting between swims, but the reel can run away with you if you aren't on the ball.
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Nope- definitely a ratchet for me! I fall squarely into the newcomers category. Thanks Clive.
 
Adrian Williams said:
So Maggie had it right then, all yorkshire miners were thieving gits, "the enemy within", robbing the country blind while the rest of us had our backs turned.
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One view my old mate. Or perhaps you could look at it as supplementing a poor wage. Incidentally where exactly did you get your fishing boots?

Howard. I have a slightly different take than Clive, In my opinion it’s a trotting reel no actually it’s the best trotting reel. I have no need of a ratchet other than its handy for moving swims, but so is an elastic band. The drag is nice touch; the knurled spool edge is to me a massive hindrance and now this has brought it back into focus the spool on my latest ebay acquisition is going on the lathe this afternoon or tomorrow to have the knurling polished out. To be honest I have more than a little sympathy with Patricks view regarding Pins and general Barbel fishing. I only ever use one directly under the rod tip in a proper rat’s nest when I need to be brutal with hit and hold and usualy its my old Match Arial.
Clive, Whitby pier; You forgot to mention the 10” diameter Tufnoll pins, manufactured in any pit maintenance department in the North East. Show me a better Whitby reel than that. Patrick show me a better retrieve rate than that about 31 and a half inch of line per turn of the handle.
PS there is one in my attic along with some pictures of 2000 lb. catches from Dennis Winspears boat The Boys. And a pic of a conger longer than the 6ft rod that boated it, caught from my cousin Cormac’s boat out of Dungarven.
 
Its not about the retrieve rate Kevin its the control of large fish give me a clutch anyday
 
Kevin Daly said:
One view my old mate. Or perhaps you could look at it as supplementing a poor wage. Incidentally where exactly did you get your fishing boots?

Howard. I have a slightly different take than Clive, In my opinion it’s a trotting reel no actually it’s the best trotting reel. I have no need of a ratchet other than its handy for moving swims, but so is an elastic band. The drag is nice touch; the knurled spool edge is to me a massive hindrance and now this has brought it back into focus the spool on my latest ebay acquisition is going on the lathe this afternoon or tomorrow to have the knurling polished out. To be honest I have more than a little sympathy with Patricks view regarding Pins and general Barbel fishing. I only ever use one directly under the rod tip in a proper rat’s nest when I need to be brutal with hit and hold and usualy its my old Match Arial.
Clive, Whitby pier; You forgot to mention the 10” diameter Tufnoll pins, manufactured in any pit maintenance department in the North East. Show me a better Whitby reel than that. Patrick show me a better retrieve rate than that about 31 and a half inch of line per turn of the handle.
PS there is one in my attic along with some pictures of 2000 lb. catches from Dennis Winspears boat The Boys. And a pic of a conger longer than the 6ft rod that boated it, caught from my cousin Cormac’s boat out of Dungarven.
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My ex-father-in-law gave me a 'pit special' Scarborough reel, fashioned by a colliery blacksmith. Tufnoll reel built on the hub of a bicycle so maybe one of the first bearing pins in existence?

I agree that the AS is an excellent out and out trotting reel and I prefer it to my Match Aerial, Sheffield or now sold Youngs Purist. The knurled drum I find handy for batting the reel back. Gives more grip to the bat. Haven't got a ratchet on mine, but I can see the usefulness of one for more general fishing methods.

Patrick, have you seen the new Okuma Sheffield DRII? Used to be called the Trent. All the smoothness of a Sheffield, but with a switchable one-way disc drag similar to that found on trout and salmon reels. For carp stalking the margins or in hook 'n' hold barbel swims it is ideal. And you can trot or roll meat with it all day too if you want. :)

Adrian; did you boots have those ridges up the front? Proper pit wellies had. You used to see them all the time on the Trent, but not now.
 
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Clive Kenyon said:
My ex-father-in-law gave me a 'pit special' Scarborough reel, fashioned by a colliery blacksmith. Tufnoll reel built on the hub of a bicycle so maybe one of the first bearing pins in existence?

I agree that the AS is an excellent out and out trotting reel and I prefer it to my Match Aerial, Sheffield or now sold Youngs Purist. The knurled drum I find handy for batting the reel back. Gives more grip to the bat. Haven't got a ratchet on mine, but I can see the usefulness of one for more general fishing methods.

Patrick, have you seen the new Okuma Sheffield DRII? Used to be called the Trent. All the smoothness of a Sheffield, but with a switchable one-way disc drag similar to that found on trout and salmon reels. For carp stalking the margins or in hook 'n' hold barbel swims it is ideal. And you can trot or roll meat with it all day too if you want. :)

Adrian; did you boots have those ridges up the front? Proper pit wellies had. You used to see them all the time on the Trent, but not now.
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Wrong boots mate but I did have a pair of those which came from a clearance job I did in Chirk, another old pit town.
 
Kevin Daly said:
Clive, the boots, wrong goverment department, sorry private joke mate
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I won't mention my Altberg dog handler's boots then ;)

p.s. I bought a pair of government surplus ex-RAF officer's shoes for court appearances as said Altbergs just didn't seem right in the walnut panelled chambers of the old Sheffield Crown Court.
 
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