Content to admire high-grade, high-value, and antiquarian reels through discussions like this one, I have greatly enjoyed the displays above. I pretty much
stick to good quality blue collar reels and don't get many of those any more. Although I have similar ones, I nevertheless couldn't resist these two
Martins recently, each only about $20 delivered. On the left, an MG 7 in battleship gray (late '70s or early '80s I'd guess), and on the right, an
MG 10 multiplier in charcoal black, which I believe is the
finish used in the later years of MG series production:
To answer a question that came up below, the MG 7 is a conventional 1/1 reel with adjustable click drag. The Martin 72 or ventilated-back, machined-reel-foot MG 72 is a multiplier somewhat like the MG 10, the 72's heavy duty disc drag being the main difference. Both have the gearing and handle drive on a removable plate, the gearing meshing with a drive gear on the spool in what would ordinarily be the latch position on a 1/1 reel. The backplate side of these multipliers, as it would on a 1/1, has the drag mechanism. In the MG 10, that's the same Martin click-pawl design as on its USA 1/1 trout/moderate duty reels. The spool on that side has the matching 28-tooth gear the pawl rides on. In the 72, the drag mechanism is a "floating disc" system, with domed adjuster knob on the back plate, concentric with the spindle. The spool on that side has a matching component that, as I recall, includes the reversible "clutch" for RHW or LHW. This is the same drag system used on the 1/1 Martin disc drag 70. These utitlitarian, rugged designs took great advantage of shared components that could be configured for different reel types. I don't have one to compare, but quite likely the handle/gear plate on the MG 10 is identical to the one fitted to the 72, and I believe they shared the same gear ratio, about 3 to 1. The reel you referred to is much loved by steelheaders and others who wanted a heavy duty knockabout. The USA-made multiplier, disc-drag 72, or its cosmetically upgraded MG version, still have quite a following, but are also pretty commonly available, selling on Ebay usually for $35-75. Currently, one is about to close at over $100.
finish used in the later years of MG series production:
To answer a question that came up below, the MG 7 is a conventional 1/1 reel with adjustable click drag. The Martin 72 or ventilated-back, machined-reel-foot MG 72 is a multiplier somewhat like the MG 10, the 72's heavy duty disc drag being the main difference. Both have the gearing and handle drive on a removable plate, the gearing meshing with a drive gear on the spool in what would ordinarily be the latch position on a 1/1 reel. The backplate side of these multipliers, as it would on a 1/1, has the drag mechanism. In the MG 10, that's the same Martin click-pawl design as on its USA 1/1 trout/moderate duty reels. The spool on that side has the matching 28-tooth gear the pawl rides on. In the 72, the drag mechanism is a "floating disc" system, with domed adjuster knob on the back plate, concentric with the spindle. The spool on that side has a matching component that, as I recall, includes the reversible "clutch" for RHW or LHW. This is the same drag system used on the 1/1 Martin disc drag 70. These utitlitarian, rugged designs took great advantage of shared components that could be configured for different reel types. I don't have one to compare, but quite likely the handle/gear plate on the MG 10 is identical to the one fitted to the 72, and I believe they shared the same gear ratio, about 3 to 1. The reel you referred to is much loved by steelheaders and others who wanted a heavy duty knockabout. The USA-made multiplier, disc-drag 72, or its cosmetically upgraded MG version, still have quite a following, but are also pretty commonly available, selling on Ebay usually for $35-75. Currently, one is about to close at over $100.
)
Sorry to hear you've blown the budget Sir. Whew, maybe I'll get a
chance to buy something now.
- so I don't want
to be the odd guy two years in a row although it may be unavoidable.
