Hardy

 

Hardy began in 1872 and is still active today. Over the years they have made guns, rods, reels, lures, creels and virtually everything an angler could need …and some things no angler really needed …I like those things best. Hardy is of course best known for their large and superb range of reels …from fly reels, to bait-casting reels, tournament reels, spinning reels and big game reels. Hardy is perhaps the most recognized name in the world of fishing tackle.

~ Click On Pictures To Enlarge ~


Hardy's Largest (5") Half-Ebonite Birmingham Reel And Their Smallest (2.5" Hercules Reel, Both With Rod-In-Hand Logos

Hardy’s Largest (5″) Half-Ebonite Birmingham Reel And Their Smallest (2.5″) Hercules Reel, Both With Rod-In-Hand Logos

Nice Attention To Small Details

Nice Attention To Small Details

The Hardy “Drianoil” Fly Oiler Is A Modified Pocket Watch Case With A Felt Pad For Oiling Flies And An Amadou Pad For Drying Them. Circa 1921.  These Are Rare And Those Examples Which Are Not Marked “Hardy” Are Not By Hardy.

The Hardy “Drianoil” Fly Oiler Is A Modified Pocket Watch Case With A Felt Pad For Oiling Flies And An Amadou Pad For Drying Them. Circa 1921. These Are Rare And Those Examples Which Are Not Marked “Hardy” Are Not By Hardy.

Hardy Brothers Marbleized "Harlaw" Dry Fly Oiler With Original Box. The Oil Is Housed In The Pen And You Apply It To The Fly With The Paintbrush Tip. Absolute Eye Candy.

Hardy Brothers Marbleized “Harlaw” Dry Fly Oiler With Original Box. The Oil Is Housed In The Pen And You Apply It To The Fly With The Paintbrush Tip. Absolute Eye Candy.

A Marbleized "Harlaw" And The Standard Black "Harlaw" Dry Fly Oiler

A Marbleized “Harlaw” And The Standard Black “Harlaw” Dry Fly Oiler

Hardy's "Curate" Combines Cutters, Tweezers, A Priest, An Oil Bottle And A PIck

Hardy’s “Curate” Combines Cutters, Tweezers, A Priest, An Oil Bottle And A Pick

This Vise Is Pictured In The 1909 Hardy Brothers Catalog And Can Be Worn On The Thumb Or Screwed Into A Suitable Surface For Use. It Measures Just 4" From End To End. Very Rare.

This Vise Is Pictured In The 1909 Hardy Brothers Catalog And Can Be Worn On The Thumb Or Screwed Into A Suitable Surface For Use. It Measures Just 4″ From End To End. Very Rare.

The Scarce First Model Hardy “Wardle” Magnifier Is Easily Distinguished From The Second Model By The Four Screws In The Rim Which Hold The Two Halves Together And By The Lacquered Brass Finish, Rather Than The Black Paint Of The More Common Second Model

The Scarce First Model Hardy “Wardle” Magnifier Is Easily Distinguished From The Second Model By The Four Screws In The Rim Which Hold The Two Halves Together And By The Lacquered Brass Finish, Rather Than The Black Paint Of The More Common Second Model. Note Two Of The Screws Have Been Filed Flush And Are Barely Visible.

The First Model Wardle As Shown In Hardy's 1937 Catalog

The First Model Wardle As Shown In Hardy’s 1937 Catalog

The “Wardle” Was Designed To Be Worn On Your Coat Or Vest And Flipped Up For Use And Left Down When Not, To Keep It Out Of The Way

The “Wardle” Was Designed To Be Worn On Your Coat Or Vest And Flipped Up For Use And Left Down When Not, To Keep It Out Of The Way

A Very Scarce Pair Of Hardy “Sheath Scissors” With Nickle-Silver Tip Guard, Marked “Hardy Brothers, Alnwick, England”

A Very Scarce Pair Of Hardy “Sheath Scissors” With Nickle-Silver Tip Guard, Marked “Hardy Brothers, Alnwick, England”

A Hook and Leader Gauge Made For Hardy By Chesterfield Of England

A Hook and Leader Gauge Made For Hardy By Chesterfield Of England

A Pair Of Hardy “Zephyr” Pocket Bottles …The Scarce Brass Version On The Left And The Rare First Model With The Inner Bottle Of Glass On The Right

A Pair Of Hardy “Zephyr” Pocket Bottles …The Scarce Brass Version On The Left And The Rare First Model Of Nickle Silver With A Glass Inner Bottle On The Right

This Early Version Is Made Of Brass, Rather Than Nickel Silver, And Is Stamped “Hardy Bros. Ltd, Alnwick, England”

This Early Version Is Made Of Brass, Rather Than Nickel Silver, And Is Stamped “Hardy Bros. Ltd, Alnwick, England”

This Particular “Zephyr” Pocket Bottle Raises Some Questions …Or, Perhaps Answers Them. As Mentioned Above, The First Version Zephyr Pocket Bottles Are Found With Glass Inner Bottles, Which Coincidentally Are Exactly The Same As The Original “Sunshine” Dry Fly Oil Bottles, But With No Label. So, Which Came First; Zephyr Dry Fly Oil, Or Sunshine Dry Fly Oil? Perhaps The Earliest Zephyr Pocket Bottles Were Originally Sold With Labeled Sunshine Bottles? This Makes Sense As It Would Make Replenishing Your Dry Fly Oil Far More Simplistic Than Pouring The Preparation From The Much Larger Glass Bottle Of Zephyr Oil Into The Smaller Pocket Bottle. Instead, Anglers Would Simply Insert A New Bottle. Maybe Someone In The Marketing Department Just Didn’t Like The Sound Of “Sunshine Pocket Bottle”.

This Particular “Zephyr” Pocket Bottle Raises Some Questions …Or, Perhaps Answers Them. As Mentioned Above, The First Version Zephyr Pocket Bottles Are Found With Glass Inner Bottles, Which Coincidentally Are Exactly The Same As The Original “Sunshine” Dry Fly Oil Bottles, But With No Label. So, Which Came First; Zephyr Dry Fly Oil, Or Sunshine Dry Fly Oil? Perhaps The Earliest Zephyr Pocket Bottles Were Originally Sold With Labeled Sunshine Bottles? This Makes Sense As It Would Make Replenishing Your Dry Fly Oil Far More Simplistic Than Pouring The Preparation From The Much Larger Glass Bottle Of Zephyr Oil Into The Smaller Pocket Bottle. Instead, Anglers Would Simply Insert A New Bottle. Maybe Someone In The Marketing Department Just Didn’t Like The Sound Of “Sunshine Pocket Bottle”.

The Implements In Hardy’s “Pocket Tool Outfit” Include (From Left To Right) A Knife Blade, Screwdriver, Half-Round File, Awl, Chisel & Saw. The Tools All Neatly Store Inside The Handle And Are Inserted Into The Screw-Down Collar For Use. The Handle Is Aluminum, The Collar Is Nickle Silver And The Tools Are Of Sheffield Steel, By Butler. Butler Also Made Some Of Hardy’s Fly Fishing Knives.

The Implements In Hardy’s “Pocket Tool Outfit” Include (From Left To Right) A Knife Blade, Screwdriver, Half-Round File, Awl, Chisel & Saw. The Tools All Neatly Store Inside The Handle And Are Inserted Into The Screw-Down Collar For Use. The Handle Is Aluminum, The Collar Is Nickle Silver And The Tools Are Of Sheffield Steel, By Butler. Butler Also Made Some Of Hardy’s Fly Fishing Knives.

The Waistcoat Pocket Fly Oil Bottle Is The Rarest Of All Hardy Fly Oil Bottles.  Only Appearing In The 1924 Anglers Guide, This Flat Circular Bottle Was Made Of Celluloid And Was Fitted With An Internal Sleeve And Applicator Brush.

The Waistcoat Pocket Fly Oil Bottle Is The Rarest Of All Hardy Fly Oil Bottles. Only Appearing In The 1924 Anglers Guide, This Flat Circular Bottle Was Made Of Celluloid And Was Fitted With An Internal Sleeve And Applicator Brush.

Note The Construction Is a Simple Hoop With Two Sides Applied

Note The Construction Is a Simple Hoop With Two Sides Applied

Hardy’s “Driflydresser” Has Amadou Pads On One Side For Drying Flies And Felt Pads On The Other For Oiling Them. When You Slide The Latch On The End It Opens For Use. Circa 1937 And 3″ Long. Note The Example In Front Is Pre-Patent.

Hardy’s “Driflydresser” Has Amadou Pads On One Side For Drying Flies And Felt Pads On The Other For Oiling Them. When You Slide The Latch On The End It Opens For Use. Circa 1937 And 3″ Long. Note The Example In Front Is Pre-Patent.

Admittedly, This Doesn’t Look Like Much, But For A Hard-Core Gadget Collector It Doesn’t Get Much Better Than The Hardy “Eyed-Fly Gut-Cutter And Tweezers” …As It Was Called In Hardy’s 1892 (!!) Catalog. While Hardy’s Later “Curate” Style Gut-Cutter (Which Has Curved Tips And A Disgorger) Is Rare, This Is The First Earlier Version  I Have Ever Seen.

Admittedly, This Doesn’t Look Like Much, But For A Hard-Core Gadget Collector It Doesn’t Get Much Better Than The Hardy “Eyed-Fly Gut-Cutter And Tweezers” …As It Was Called In Hardy’s 1892 (!!) Catalog. While Hardy’s Later “Curate” Style Gut-Cutter (Which Has Curved Tips And A Disgorger) Is Rare, This Is The First Earlier Version I Have Ever Seen.

Hardy’s #1 Size Anglers Knife Is The Smallest Of Hardy’s Anglers Knives And This One Is Signed “Eye Witness, Sheffield”

Hardy’s #1 Size Anglers Knife Is The Smallest Of Hardy’s Anglers Knives And This One Is Signed “Eye Witness, Sheffield”

Hardy Brothers Big Game Reel Oil Bottle

Hardy Brothers Big Game Reel Oil Bottle

A Hardy #1 Angler's Pipe In It's Original Box

A Hardy #1 Angler’s Pipe In It’s Original Box

The Hardy "Zane Grey" Reel Oiler Operates More Like A Grease Gun. Even More Impressive Than It Looks.

The Hardy “Zane Grey” Reel Oiler Operates More Like A Grease Gun. Even More Impressive Than It Looks.

Hardy’s Version Of A Gut Cutter Shares The Same Name As Their “Curate” And Is Simply The Large Version Sans The Priest. Refer To “Hardy Brother’s Curate” In The “Favorites” Section Of This Site To See The Full Size Version. As Typical Of A Gut Cutter, This Tool Incorporates A Line (Gut) Cutter, Tweezers And A Disgorger. These Are Downright Rare In Comparison To The Full Size Curate, Which Are Certainly Very Scarce, And Finding One In Excellent Condition Is Very Difficult.

Hardy’s Version Of A Gut Cutter Shares The Same Name As Their “Curate” And Is Simply The Large Version Sans The Priest. Refer To “Hardy Brother’s Curate” In The “Favorites” Section Of This Site To See The Full Size Version. As Typical Of A Gut Cutter, This Tool Incorporates A Line (Gut) Cutter, Tweezers And A Disgorger. These Are Downright Rare In Comparison To The Full Size Curate, Which Are Certainly Very Scarce, And Finding One In Excellent Condition Is Very Difficult.

The More Common Hardy "Vesta" Tin Is Rectangular. This One Is 1.75" Square And Lists The Hardy Branches.

The More Common Hardy “Vesta” Tin Is Rectangular. This One Is 1.75″ Square And Lists The Hardy Branches.

Hardy Brothers "Sunshine" Dry Fly Oil

Hardy Brothers “Sunshine” Dry Fly Oil

Hardy Fly Tying "Bent Blade" Scissors. Circa 1920.

Hardy Fly Tying “Bent Blade” Scissors. Circa 1920.

The Earliest Version Of Hardy Brothers Smallest "Neroda" Fly Box. Note The Tiny Knobs On The Sliding Windows.

The Earliest Version Of Hardy Brothers Smallest “Neroda” Fly Box. Note The Tiny Knobs On The Sliding Windows.

A Second Model “Wardle” Magnifier By Hardy, In It’s Original Box. The First Model Is All Brass With A Two-Piece Frame, While The Second Model Is Painted Black And Has A One-Piece Frame.

A Second Model “Wardle” Magnifier By Hardy, In It’s Original Box. The First Model Is All Brass With A Two-Piece Frame, While The Second Model Is Painted Black And Has A One-Piece Frame.

4" Hardy Brass Faced "Perfect"

4″ Hardy Brass Faced “Perfect”

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