Latest find.

[Wallys-Cast]

Hi all, I have just received another Hardy for restoration and wondered if any of our Hardy experts can tell me what is missing from the rods script. There a couple of characters which look like an A and maybe an R floating above the "The Avon" and wondered what was missing.
The rod is 11ft long, butt cap numbered G32635 which I believe dates it to 1956.

Wal.

[Paul F]

Hi Wal,
You are correct with the year, looking in my 1955 & 57 Super bottom catalogues, they called it "The FWK Wallis Avon"
You need someone with a rod of the same approx. date to compare the script, my best guess is that the script has be re-written & maybe the AR are the owner's initials?
Search old post in the Hardy rod section, you may find something to compare?

[AllRounder]

They’re just inverted commas Wal. The later rods were simply designated “Avon” or “Allrounder”

[Wallys-Cast]

Thanks for replies chaps.
My other one has the full F.W.K.Wallis Avon. It is numbered G35986 so is actually a slightly later rod. (1958 I think).
Anyway it will be a nice restoration project when I get chance to do it.

Wal.

[AllRounder]

I stand corrected Wal… so many anomalies to deal with.

[Wallys-Cast]

I stand corrected Wal… so many anomalies to deal with.

Yes it sometimes appears as if they had two different factories making these rods and couldn't make their mind up what to write on them.

I do remember something about Hardy dropping the name Wallis when Allcocks made the Wallis Wizard, or was it the other way round.
I do know that Hardy had the best stock of whole cane and this apparently gave their versions the edge over the later versions of Allcocks rods.

Wal.

[AllRounder]

I sometimes think it’s far too easy to regard these factories as modern production lines when in fact the reality was probably quite different. A lot of the finishing details were probably down to the individual on the day.
It would surely be unreasonable to think that Hardy only had one employee to add the handwritten script to every rod.

[Silfield]

I stand corrected Wal… so many anomalies to deal with.

Yes it sometimes appears as if they had two different factories making these rods and couldn't make their mind up what to write on them.

I do remember something about Hardy dropping the name Wallis when Allcocks made the Wallis Wizard, or was it the other way round.
I do know that Hardy had the best stock of whole cane and this apparently gave their versions the edge over the later versions of Allcocks rods.

Wal.

Happy New Year to you Wal
By chance I went to have a look at one of these yesterday and was really taken by it. I couldn't go home and leave it behind so am now the proud custodian.


G28708 which, I think, makes it 1950?

[Wallys-Cast]

That looks lovely, almost certainly the same handwriting as mine too.

I took mine on a weeks holiday just after I bought it and managed a few nice tench, ide and a few of these. The rod handled them all without any fuss.


It has since been tidied up and now looks a lot nicer. Once I get my strength back I intend to give it another outing.

Wal.

[Liphook]

Legend has it that there was a lady who hand inscribed all the Hardy rods before they moved to entirely printed labels on the modern stuff?