John says:
He also provides this picture from Tom Watson's 1969 catalogue:. I had a query about a Trentman reel but know very little about them other than they were retailed by Tom Watsons shop in 1970, maybe because of the shops link with Jim Sharp. Any information on when they were introduced and who manufactured them would be very useful.
We've had some discussions about these before, to which Barbelseeker and Bob Brookes, among others contributed. It would be good if we could get some definite conclusions.
Tom Watson used 'Trentman' as a brand for various kinds of tackle: rods, reels, floats etc. He seems to have bought these in but who actually made the reels which started mid to late 60s? They look to be a very professional product, the knurled rim and the anodising mark them out as the product of someone highly skilled with access to relatively sophisticated equipment and processes. They don't appear to be cast but cut from aluminium stock. The Raleigh works has been suggested but back then bike frames were, I believe, always steel and therefore there was unlikely to be anodising equipment around. On the other hand there are few of them around so it could have been someone with limited access or who moved on to other stuff after a while.
They've always reminded me of the Lewtham Leeds reels (the lack of handles, the knurled rim, the anodising) so were they perhaps an early product of that venture?
Any ideas gratefully received, let's see if we can get a consensus.
