mrkjhn wrote:
I would think someone selling the reels would have cleaned it up before posting, but looking at these, seems like either they just pulled it out of a old box and didn't bother or this is how they age with time... in all their glory.
This could be the
Antique Roadshow Effect. I'm sure many of us have seen an appraiser explain that if the excited owner
hadn't refinished their antique it would be far more valuable (that's
so cruel to watch). 'Patina sells' is becoming ingrained in the antique business.
I'm more than OK with sellers not cleaning tackle before I buy it. A heavy handed cleaning can easily damage ferrules or pooch the finish. The colorful anodized reels from the 50s/60s can become a swirly mess from the wrong metal polish. The less done the better. I'll carefully clean the rod/reel myself anyway. Besides, unlike high end antiques, fishing grade tackle sells for less with dirt and mojo included.
I've
shown these photos before. At first glance, the bottom rod looks almost pristine. It's not. Some ham handed moron 'enhanced' the cork (not me). It is very, very easy to over sand cork. Note how the reelseat lock ring is sliding onto the grip, which would never happen on a factory rod. The reelseat butt cap is rather scratched (second photo), which is a more reliable indicator of use. I bid accordingly and received a nice fishing grade rod.
More to the point in this thread, the Hardy made System 5 reel on the right was a dirty mess when I got it - the spool was sticky and the drag felt broken. After a
full bulldog cleaning the finish is still chipped up, but the reel purrs nicely.
Tom