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using old reels

I went through a Mitchell phase a few years ago but found I just couldn’t reacquaint myself with the cack-handed rotor direction and temperamental clutch. I even had a good 300 that had had the gears smoothed and re-profiled and serviced with better clutch washers and lithium grease and so forth but I just couldn’t warm to it. Same with an absolute mint 410 that I still have. Somewhere lying in the bottom of a long forgotten tackle box I even have my very first reel my dad bought for me from Young’s of Harrow - a boy’s 208. Worthless but I simply couldn’t ever sell it.

These days, if I want to use a vintage fixed spool then I’ll reach for one of these -

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Admittedly, the mitchel beats them on line lay, which it must be said is rather pants, but I find the clutch so much more reliable and confidence inspiring on these old Cardinals.

Occasionally, I’ll marry up one of these to my Allcocks Wizard, I then tell myself that I’m fishing for the day with the Cardinal and the Wizard which has much more of a sense of occasion to it than saying I’m off fishing with the 5000 xtea and the Powermesh.
 
Haydn Clarke said:
I went through a Mitchell phase a few years ago but found I just couldn’t reacquaint myself with the cack-handed rotor direction and temperamental clutch. I even had a good 300 that had had the gears smoothed and re-profiled and serviced with better clutch washers and lithium grease and so forth but I just couldn’t warm to it. Same with an absolute mint 410 that I still have. Somewhere lying in the bottom of a long forgotten tackle box I even have my very first reel my dad bought for me from Young’s of Harrow - a boy’s 208. Worthless but I simply couldn’t ever sell it.

These days, if I want to use a vintage fixed spool then I’ll reach for one of these -

View attachment 26412View attachment 26413


Admittedly, the mitchel beats them on line lay, which it must be said is rather pants, but I find the clutch so much more reliable and confidence inspiring on these old Cardinals.

Occasionally, I’ll marry up one of these to my Allcocks Wizard, I then tell myself that I’m fishing for the day with the Cardinal and the Wizard which has much more of a sense of occasion to it than saying I’m off fishing with the 5000 xtea and the Powermesh.
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Lovely collection
 
One day I will bite the bullet and get a vintage Cardinal, they have something of a retro Art Deconlook to them which I quite like .
Centrepins…. I have about s half dozen or so , which get used very regularly , from a Wide Drum Ariel to a Lovely but aged Speedia that has more patina than my old Mitchell .
The Speedia cost a whopping £2.50p at a car boot , beat the vendor down from a fiver 😋.
David
 
David Craine said:
The Speedia cost a whopping £2.50p at a car boot , beat the vendor down from a fiver 😋.
David
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Ruthless! But I do like your style, David.

I have a T 10 Aerial, but to be honest I prefer my Speedias all day long.
my first Speedia was a bit of a wreck that had the most hideous casting fault on the back plate. The paint was in an appalling state so I stripped it back to a bare metal finish and ground of the moulten casting blob. In the process the WR logo was lost, as this was where the fault was. What I ended up with is probably the only un-badged Speedia. Not that it bothers me. In fact, quite like that when I snuff it someone, somewhere will be scratching their head and thinking, well, it looks like a Speedia but ……
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Haydn Clarke said:
Ruthless! But I do like your style, David.

I have a T 10 Aerial, but to be honest I prefer my Speedias all day long.
my first Speedia was a bit of a wreck that had the most hideous casting fault on the back plate. The paint was in an appalling state so I stripped it back to a bare metal finish and ground of the moulten casting blob. In the process the WR logo was lost, as this was where the fault was. What I ended up with is probably the only un-badged Speedia. Not that it bothers me. In fact, quite like that when I snuff it someone, somewhere will be scratching their head and thinking, well, it looks like a Speedia but ……
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I like the speedia as well, and you did a good job imo.
 
Now that Haydn, is a bit special. Made me wonder about stripping mine back. I had to make a new reel seat from brass for mine, as the original had been almost destroyed, now it looks like a bit of a battered custom job.
Stripping it back to alloy as you have done would do it justice I think.
What did you use to remove the blacking ? I have used Dettol on a couple of reels which was fine ,and wondered if that was how you managed such a good finish ?

David.

BTW, nice to see it on a fine bit of cane. 👍
 
Tony Koziol said:
No problems with my 300's or 410's either David, looked after them from day one 1980. Iconic reels that lots of anglers used from 1950's ? onwards and when I use them now I am in heaven when I hear that coffee grinding noise.

I would stick my neck out and say the 300/301 where the biggest selling reel model ever ??
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The 300s etc were the first fixed spool reels that functioned well and had a beauty that is even more appreciated almost 70 years later. They were popular with both match and pleasure anglers, and considering how huge match fishing was back then they were everywhere. So yes I would think you probably right.
 
I've still got 300`s & 410`s - had a look at the history & it seems that they may have made as many as 30 MILLION 300's!
Makes the notion of them being 'collectable' a bit daft.
Apart from maybe these -

In 1971 Barrie Welham was awarded the very special sterling Silver Mitchell 300 20-Millionth celebration reel shown below that was presented to National Agents to commemorate the worldwide sale of 20 million Mitchell reels. The other reel collectors refer to as the Mitchell 410 20-Millionth Global was also ​

presented to a select few top executives​

.reel.jpg​

 
David Craine said:
Now that Haydn, is a bit special. Made me wonder about stripping mine back. I had to make a new reel seat from brass for mine, as the original had been almost destroyed, now it looks like a bit of a battered custom job.
Stripping it back to alloy as you have done would do it justice I think.
What did you use to remove the blacking ? I have used Dettol on a couple of reels which was fine ,and wondered if that was how you managed such a good finish ?

David.

BTW, nice to see it on a fine bit of cane. 👍
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I have heard of others using Detol to strip Speedias before. Given that Speedias were only a painted finish rather than true anodising then Detol will probably do the job, albeit very slowly.

I used a paint stripper called Paramose but you won’t be able to buy it as it’s an industrial product for professional use only. Nitromoors would probably be the next best thing but to be fair the water based stuff available now is not only ridiculously expensive but it’s also crap compared to Paramose. Again though, the paint on Speedias is hardly durable so should readily come off.

Here’s another paint stripper job that I call “The Terminator” a Mitchel 410 that had something of a beating in its former life. Do t look too dissimilar from the silver Mitchell above.
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That looks neat. I had my 410's along with sports kit stolen in a car fire in the early 90's (these things happened then). It was out of necessity that I converted to bait runners. I couldn't go back now. I tried though some years back with Mitchell 306's on a pair of Terry Eustace big pikes. No definitely not for me 😀.
 
Dave Brooksbank said:
Always fancied an Abu suveran.
A proper Rolls Royce of an Abu reel.
Does anyone still use one?
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Yes have it as my chub rod reel for the winter or occasional bit of perch spinning.
Lovely clutch, needed a new anti reverse fitting but works very well. Mine has a few scuffs but works perfectly, testament to ABU of old in Sweden.
Fed up that they've become `collectable` & now appear at crazy prices if 'still in box with papers', blah blah for the display cabinet nutters.
 
David Craine said:
Shame Adam , I find Mitchells every bit as good as any modern reel of the same
size .Which side the handle is on does not bioher me on fixed spools, although I prefer my pins to be LHW .

People complain about sticking clutches and weak bail springs on Mitchells ,but mine are fine, a little tlc and they will probably be around long after most modern ” plastic” reels have given up the ghost.I have no idea how old mine are but I do know one of them was purchased second hand when I was about 20 , I am nearly 71 now so it has stood the test of time, a bit battered and chipped but it works fine , its what is inside that matters , not a badly needed paint job.

Or as I do , just call it Patina .

David
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Hi David , you can have them for cost of postage if you want ?
they have been little used .👍
 
Mostly use ABU Cardinal 54's or 55's , over engineered , beautiful reels .Sometimes mitchell 301 or 411 , nice reels great ergonomics but ''clutch'' a bit snatchy , occasionally a Shimano with a baitrunner facility ,can't remember what model it is but does a job , and of course various centre pins for close in work , I am not good at the Wallis cast !
 
Seeing all those Cardinals makes me think of many days as a young teenager gazing lovingly at all the pictures in the annual Abu Tight Lines catalogues. Wish I had kept them!!
 
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