Hardy reelmaker.. Who was (or is) "WT"?

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J Gustavsson
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Hardy reelmaker.. Who was (or is) "WT"?

#1

Post by J Gustavsson »

I have an old hardy 2-7/8" Uniqua marked WT 44 inside.
I looked at the list of hardy reelmakers at this site:
http://www.upon-bamboo-fly-fishing-rods ... reels.html
But mr WT is not to be found among them..
Anyone who know who this might be and when this person was working at
hardy's?

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bulldog1935
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Re: Hardy reelmaker.. Who was (or is) "WT"?

#2

Post by bulldog1935 »

not in Drewitt's published list
http://www.westslopefly.com/reels/hardy2.cfm

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middlecalf
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Re: Hardy reelmaker.. Who was (or is) "WT"?

#3

Post by middlecalf »

Interesting I don't see "Uniqua" in either of your lists.
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Re: Hardy reelmaker.. Who was (or is) "WT"?

#4

Post by euroflyangler_paul »

...nor do I see St.George anywhere, although some of them have been marked as well.
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Re: Hardy reelmaker.. Who was (or is) "WT"?

#5

Post by jhuskey »

Notice JS, James Smith category is Fly. His stamp is certainly on St. George and St. John reels. I don't own any Uniqua's - were they stamped?

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Re: Hardy reelmaker.. Who was (or is) "WT"?

#6

Post by J Gustavsson »

jhuskey wrote:Notice JS, James Smith category is Fly. His stamp is certainly on St. George and St. John reels. I don't own any Uniqua's - were they stamped?
At least mine is... ;)

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Re: Hardy reelmaker.. Who was (or is) "WT"?

#7

Post by greenwell »

In my humble opinion i do not think the WT are Hardy stamp markings,these may have been added later by the reel owner.
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Re: Hardy reelmaker.. Who was (or is) "WT"?

#8

Post by bulldog1935 »

um Chris, I'll take your humble opinion over 5 others (published).

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Re: Hardy reelmaker.. Who was (or is) "WT"?

#9

Post by J Gustavsson »

I found a thread on this forum about uniquas and there is one reel with the same marking: WT
Either it´s the same owner or this unknown reelmaker..;)

viewtopic.php?f=72&t=57253&start=20

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Re: Hardy reelmaker.. Who was (or is) "WT"?

#10

Post by oddsnrods »

My small Uniqua has J.S stamped inside. None of my reels have known makers stamps appear alongside (batch?) numbers, earliest in silex about 1908.
Personally I think these are original Hardy numbers and letters which may or may not be finishers initials. Initials that I have seen are mostly more than one letter and they usually have a period/ dot in between. They are also stamped in a straight line. The posters reel I would have thought, did not show initials as it was missing the dot. The second WT reel though does have the dot plus somewhat rushed stamped numbers. Interesting that the W appears slightly smaller than the T (cap height) in both reels.
I always wondered how initials could have been stamped without fracturing the reel, especially when on the thin drum wall. Would this F be another unlisted maker, this on a St George, drum only. I have yet to see single letter finisher initials in published lists, including Drewetts beyond C (Clark/Callow?) and D (Dingley), not much point when you think of it as they were put there in case of returns.


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Last edited by oddsnrods on 09/04/14 11:12, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: Hardy reelmaker.. Who was (or is) "WT"?

#11

Post by bulldog1935 »

1917
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Re: Hardy reelmaker.. Who was (or is) "WT"?

#12

Post by Reeldane »

jhuskey wrote:Notice JS, James Smith category is Fly. His stamp is certainly on St. George and St. John reels. I don't own any Uniqua's - were they stamped?
WS (Wilf Sinton) do often appear in Uniqua's !

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Re: Hardy reelmaker.. Who was (or is) "WT"?

#13

Post by euroflyangler_paul »

bulldog1935 wrote:1917
Image Image
There it is again, the mysterious "S" that I have been wondering about for some time.....here on a 4,5 Perfect, with staright alloy foot....possibly from the same period, from the same (yet to be identified) reel maker?

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...this speculation leads me to the question: could it be that the so far well known lists of Hardy reel makers are largeley incomplete (which is another speculation, of course)?
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Re: Hardy reelmaker.. Who was (or is) "WT"?

#14

Post by J Gustavsson »

Interesting...the plot thickens. Regarding the missing dot on my reel. Looking at the two WT stamps it's obvious that the (supposed) maker didn't tap his hammer as hard on my reel and as a result the dot may not have reached down to the surface... or he simply forgot to add it..

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Re: Hardy reelmaker.. Who was (or is) "WT"?

#15

Post by oddsnrods »

In Drewetts list there are three S finishers making fly reels- GS, JS, WS covering the 1914 - 1939 period. As the initials were put there for quality control, rather than posterity, what would be the logic of a single initial.

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Re: Hardy reelmaker.. Who was (or is) "WT"?

#16

Post by bulldog1935 »

maybe there was only one initial needed in 1917 and more S surnames arrived in the following years.

I'm pretty sure Drewett admits his list is abridged, tabulated from the best employee history he could assemble.

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Re: Hardy reelmaker.. Who was (or is) "WT"?

#17

Post by oddsnrods »

GS George Stone 1914-1922
JS Jimmy Smith 1908- 1960
WS Wilf Sinton 1929- 1939

There is a photograph in Drewetts book of an Hardy initial stamp, it is a single stamp with letters in place which is why initials line up, example shown J.A.J for Joe Johnson which would be hand held to be struck with a hammer.
Last edited by oddsnrods on 09/04/14 12:29, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: Hardy reelmaker.. Who was (or is) "WT"?

#18

Post by unclehardy »

My old Uniqua is stamped W.S without any add number .
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Re: Hardy reelmaker.. Who was (or is) "WT"?

#19

Post by euroflyangler_paul »

bulldog1935 wrote:maybe there was only one initial needed in 1917 and more S surnames arrived in the following years.

I'm pretty sure Drewett admits his list is abridged, tabulated from the best employee history he could assemble.
.....to spin the "S" discourse ("S" standing, for now, only for "S"peculation): here another Perfect, 4" (yet uncleaned), I suspect it would fit in the period in question as well?

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P.S.

...and: NO, I'm not a Photoshop-wizard.....
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Re: Hardy reelmaker.. Who was (or is) "WT"?

#20

Post by bulldog1935 »

well, if you look at my reel, it's "S."
That's an initial

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