Fuji centrepin reel ID help please

[Robbi]

I dug this out of the shed today, i think it was given to me many years ago and i never used it.

tried to find anything about it on the net with no luck, anyone here know anything about these / this reel ?

[Kevanf1]

Japanese Fuji. They come up quite often on eBay. Sadly they are not big money makers. What I can say is that they always appear to be in pretty good condition. Which tells me that they must be either pretty good reels that stand up to a lot of punishment or, they haven't been used much. I cannot believe so many would have been sold if they were no good so it must be the former. I'm afraid I have never had the opportunity to try one out. I'd be very interested to hear how they feel when it's been oiled up etc?

[Robbi]

Even as it is, it feels deep smooth think dark smooth chocolate not free running, it only does about 3 turns if you spin it, but it is SO smooth and silent there is a click button on the back that rather quaintly says "noise" for the ratchet , it also has an anti-reverse lever on the back.

quite a heavy duty reel that i reckon would do well for pike or light sea fishing.

[Kevanf1]

It's got to be worth giving a good clean and a fresh drop of oil You never know, it may well bring it back to life fully again. With it having stainless fittings it won't have the problem of corrosion to deal with. I wonder if it is a bearing or a true pin? If it's bearing then the unwillingness to spin more than 3 turns may just be accumulated muck in the races.

[Robbi]

here ya go

[Old Man River]

Sadly I cannot view the photos that this thread has included (tinypic )
But, going on the description of the centrepin reel I think it may be one of these...



I had this one gifted to me today amongst a large quantity of sea angling gear, from an old friend who is suffering from Alstheimers, before he began to forget things he told his wife that I was to have all his tackle , seeing him today was a sad occasion although we had a very nice day all together.

As far as the reel is concerned, I have never seen one before and to be honest the name Fuji for me at least stops with them manufacturing rod rings and cameras.

The reel is basic hard “ plastic” with stainless fittings, and seems very tough and exceptionally free running despite its obvious budget appearance.

It may well be used as a Pike reel, but will more than likley be included in my display of “ reel “oddities , of which there are quite a few.
I wonder if anybody on here has any information re the possible age of the reel, obviously John has no recollection and his wife, despite owning a tackle shop for many years has no idea either .

OMR

[Stingray]

I have bought and sold several Fuji reels centrepins over recent years and found there to be a good market for them. I would say they have some great designs and the quality is usually very good; stainless steel usually a prominent feature. Yours may well be this Fuji Reel VP35 model with the front stainless steel boss missing.

[Old Man River]

Cheers for that Stingray,
I think you are probably correct , but the ratchet spring in your example looks to be made from Stainless steel, the same spring on mine appears to be plastic, as you say the stainless spool disc covering the centre boss is also missing on mine which makes me think that mine may be a step down from yours and a bit cheaper model .

OMR

[Mole-Patrol]

Fuji were one of the companies who the American Lew Childs contacted when he went over to Japan in the early 1970's to try and source some alternative bamboo as trade with China had been embargoed. As well as the cane he contacted Fuji and Shimano about supplying rod fitting s and reels.He was the first westerner to import Fuji fishing equipment around 1978. At the same time he got Shimano to build rels that were almost identical to ABU 2500 multipliers. He called them the Lews BB-1. A couple of years later Shimano brought out their own versions - The Bantam and all ties with Shimano were cut by Lews who was killed in a plane crash shortly afterwards. Shimano made more of their own models and the Lews company used Ryobi to make their reels.

Fuji went on to make rod fittings and other angling equipment and retail it in their own right. The same company also made Subaru cars and of course cameras.

[Damflask]

I've just bought one of these because the slope on the spool lip makes it a good candidate for use with an Adaptacast ( I hope).