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Post 29 Nov 2017, 19:30 • #1 
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Joined: 09/19/17
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Location: US-IL
I've got a 5/6 Orvis Battenkill and it 's made in England. Can I assume that it is made by Hardy , or did Orvis have them made by others? And if they did , how could I tell by looking at it ? Thanks in advance .


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Post 29 Nov 2017, 20:54 • #2 
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Mine was made by BFR, and as far as I know they all were.


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Post 29 Nov 2017, 21:02 • #3 
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Some early ones certainly look like JW Youngs.

Barry


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Post 29 Nov 2017, 21:11 • #4 
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Joined: 01/08/08
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They were made by Hardy, Young, and then BFR before Orvis bought BFR, essentially making them for themselves. I believe that's how it went.
To many, the JW Young made Battenkills are some of the nicest looking reels made.


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Post 30 Nov 2017, 09:13 • #5 
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The earlier Battenkills by JW Young were the Beaudex reel with the spool's front face plate left "in the white".


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Post 30 Nov 2017, 09:47 • #6 
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One model Battenkill was made by Hardy, then Young, and everything since was Orvis/BFR.


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Post 30 Nov 2017, 16:58 • #7 
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Standing corrected as always thought Young was before Hardy. Did Orvis buy the British Fly Reel company? Thought I read that before. Thanks Ron.


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Post 30 Nov 2017, 17:31 • #8 
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Don't think I was correcting.
I believe Young actually began Battenkill in 1964, then Hardy for just a couple of years, then Young-made Battenkill Lightweights.
(New Hardy ownership quit making Battenkills, and stopped selling Lightweights for Orvis distribution)
Orvis bought BFR, eventually moved them to Korea, and then sold them.


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Post 01 Dec 2017, 13:50 • #9 
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there were a couple of Hardy-made Battenkills, but the 5/6 is a BFR. There were a couple of versions of the BFR Battenkill too..

Here's the lineup,
viewtopic.php?p=49260#p49260

I have a Young-made Battenkill Lightweight and the full range of Hardy-made Battenkill Mark (III, IV, V), which are excellent reels. Don't much care for the Hardy-made Battenkill III etc, which were like the Hardy Viscount, somewhat budget. Haven't started down the BFR Battenkill path yet ;-)


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Post 01 Dec 2017, 16:31 • #10 
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Location: downtown Bulverde, Texas
they're really nice - I bought a closeout from Harris for $75, fished it for awhile and sold it.
So what I said, yes, Hardy Battenkills followed Young Lightweights. But Hardy did quit selling Lightweights to Orvis for distribution, which promoted Orvis to ask Young to design the Battenkill Lightweights.


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Post 02 Dec 2017, 10:47 • #11 
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Joined: 09/19/17
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Location: US-IL
Thanks , guys for all of the information about Battenkills. I love this site simply for the collective knowledge that is available to me. I new to fly fishing ,so be patient with my seemingly endless questions.

#1BassMaster


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Post 06 Dec 2017, 20:11 • #12 
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Joined: 10/26/12
Posts: 1188
Location: Fairfax, Virginia
I did not know that Orvis actually bought BFR ... thanks all for that piece of trivia !

Pecos


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