Hardy's 4" Silex No. 2 Fishing Reel
Hardy's 4" Silex No. 2 Fishing Reel
A fine Hardy 'SILEX' No2. Fishing Reel.
A good Hardy 4 inch alloy fishing reel, ' THE 'SILEX' No.2'. This reel has twin horn type handles made from plastic, alloy foot, ivorine rim mounted brake handle, brass rim tension screw, ventilated spool and a sprung lever drum release catch. On the back plate it is engraved, 'HARDY BROS Ltd, ALNWICK, ENGLAND.' with 'THE "SILEX" No.2, Hardy's PAT. Nos 2206. The inside is stamped with the reel makers initials 'A.H.W.' (Arthur Humphrey Wall).
The last few images are copies showing the entry for the "Silex" Major & Minor from a Hardy's Anglers' Guide & Catalogue.
The 4.4 cm depth shown is without handle, handle is an extra 1½ cm.
The Silex was patented at the end of 1896. It was with this reel, and the perfect, that helped Hardy's become one of the top manufacturers. Anglers readily went for the Silex over normal wooden starback reels because of the supreme casting performances it gave. The Silex was made from 1896 to 1911. The Silex No. 2 was a natural progression and was made from 1911 until 1921.
Adapted from John Drewett's book 'Hardy Brothers, The Masters The Men & Their Reels.
Arthur Humphrey Wall was born in Birmingham, 7th February 1874. His father, Humphery wall, was a partner in Messrs Smith & wall, a highly reputable Birmingham fishing reel and tackle manufacturers. A.H.W. served his apprenticeship with Smith & Wall and continued there for a further seven years.
He moved from Birmingham to Alnwick in 1901 where Hardy's were recruiting good reel makers. Hardy's had Arthur develop their range of sea reels further and, in addition to producing specials such as the 6" wooden Silex reel ordered by a customer in 1902 for use when surf fishing in South Africa, he was responsible for fashioning the prototypes of the new 'Ebona' range of sea reels.
Fortunately Arthur was not called up during the First World War and was able to continue with Hardy's, becoming involved with the production of, amongst other things, the new aluminium Farne and Sea Silex reels. Production of these models of course carried on after the war ended and some of them, together with a number of the more unusual or complicated reels, continued to receive the A.H.W. stamp throughout the 1920's and 30's.
Arthur retired from Hardy's in 1939 after serving the firm for 37 years. Arthur was described by a fellow college as 'one of the best', a true craftsman in every sense of the word.
In addition to making reels, Arthur was also keen to use them, either sea fishing or fly fishing, whenever the opportunity arose. The early photograph taken of Arthur (circa 1895) shows, judging from the tackle he is using, he liked to use the best equipment.
Dimensions:
1900-1949
Late 1920's
Alloy
United Kingdom
Hardy
Good usable condition.
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![](https://www.pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=https://sportantiques.co.uk/fishing/reels/hardys-4-silex-no-2-fishing-reel&media=https://seek-unique-co.s3.amazonaws.com/sportantiques-64hFGwj3-uEHU73t22/stock/664487733cfc2_3_30228.jpg&description=A fine Hardy 'SILEX' No2. Fishing Reel.A good Hardy 4 inch alloy fishing reel, ' THE 'SILEX' No.2'. This reel has twin horn type handles made from plastic, alloy foot, ivorine rim mounted brake handle, brass rim tension screw, ventilated spool and a sprung lever drum release catch. On the back plate it is engraved, 'HARDY BROS Ltd, ALNWICK, ENGLAND.' with 'THE "SILEX" No.2, Hardy's PAT. Nos 2206. The inside is stamped with the reel makers initials 'A.H.W.' (Arthur Humphrey Wall).The last few images are copies showing the entry for the "Silex" Major & Minor from a Hardy's Anglers' Guide & Catalogue.The 4.4 cm depth shown is without handle, handle is an extra 1½ cm. The Silex was patented at the end of 1896. It was with this reel, and the perfect, that helped Hardy's become one of the top manufacturers. Anglers readily went for the Silex over normal wooden starback reels because of the supreme casting performances it gave. The Silex was made from 1896 to 1911. The Silex No. 2 was a natural progression and was made from 1911 until 1921.Adapted from John Drewett's book 'Hardy Brothers, The Masters The Men & Their Reels.Arthur Humphrey Wall was born in Birmingham, 7th February 1874. His father, Humphery wall, was a partner in Messrs Smith & wall, a highly reputable Birmingham fishing reel and tackle manufacturers. A.H.W. served his apprenticeship with Smith & Wall and continued there for a further seven years. He moved from Birmingham to Alnwick in 1901 where Hardy's were recruiting good reel makers. Hardy's had Arthur develop their range of sea reels further and, in addition to producing specials such as the 6" wooden Silex reel ordered by a customer in 1902 for use when surf fishing in South Africa, he was responsible for fashioning the prototypes of the new 'Ebona' range of sea reels. Fortunately Arthur was not called up during the First World War and was able to continue with Hardy's, becoming involved with the production of, amongst other things, the new aluminium Farne and Sea Silex reels. Production of these models of course carried on after the war ended and some of them, together with a number of the more unusual or complicated reels, continued to receive the A.H.W. stamp throughout the 1920's and 30's.Arthur retired from Hardy's in 1939 after serving the firm for 37 years. Arthur was described by a fellow college as 'one of the best', a true craftsman in every sense of the word.In addition to making reels, Arthur was also keen to use them, either sea fishing or fly fishing, whenever the opportunity arose. The early photograph taken of Arthur (circa 1895) shows, judging from the tackle he is using, he liked to use the best equipment.){kind=link}