Hardy Allround

[Paul F]

I have rod number G35986, green whipped. The "F.W.K.Wallis Avon" . A truly lovely rod to use and more than capable of subduing the larger fish when encountered.

Wal.

Wal, That puts the cat among the pigeons!
The records I have, show 'G' prefix numbers go to 1955; G32147-G32559, although we know the Avon was made until 1957
If the writing is correct, then the omitting the "FWK Wallis" name is inconclusive!
1955 was the start of 'H' prefix starting with H101

[CWK]

I have a Hardy Avon rod which has the number G31633 on the butt fitting . This has been beautifully restored by Jason White and he assures me that the FWK Wallis nomenclature was not previously written on it .. So it seems my rod was just called " The Avon " by Hardy's ..

G31633 is 1954

Thanks Pafpuff , that means the rod was crafted only 3 years after I was born !!. I wonder what stories it holds of previous owners and fish encountered . For sure it's a wonderful piece of cane , light , through action which is a pleasure to play fish on ..

[Wallys-Cast]

Paul I'm not certain about this but I have a list of Hardy rod numbers that someone gave me donkeys years ago.
It starts at rod Number 13452 in 1890 up to rod number 101679 in 1904.
Then they started with A prefix in 1905 up to rod number A100150 in 1916.
B prefix in 1917 with rod number B1021 up to rod number B23556 in 1919.
C prefix in1920 with rod number C10405 up to rod number C25725 in 1922.
D prefix 1922-3 with rod number D171 up to rod number D7375 in 1925.
E prefix started 1925 with rod number E1045 right up to E98999 in 1955.

Note Prefix F and G are missing.

H prefix in 1956 with rod number H101 right up to 1966 on rod number H69100.

After 1966 a different code was used where each year had a different Prefix letter.

The F prefix doesn't look to have been used at all unless it was kept for fibreglass rods (that's just a guess by the way) but I was told the G prefix was used for rods containing mixed sections such as cane / split cane and maybe even greenheart and these rods cant be accurately dated.

Probably totally wrong but I thought I would share as it may help somewhere along the line. Or more than likely bring more confusion.

Wal.

[Paul F]

Paul I'm not certain about this but I have a list of Hardy rod numbers that someone gave me donkeys years ago.
It starts at rod Number 13452 in 1890 up to rod number 101679 in 1904.
Then they started with A prefix in 1905 up to rod number A100150 in 1916.
B prefix in 1917 with rod number B1021 up to rod number B23556 in 1919.
C prefix in1920 with rod number C10405 up to rod number C25725 in 1922.
D prefix 1922-3 with rod number D171 up to rod number D7375 in 1925.
E prefix started 1925 with rod number E1045 right up to E98999 in 1955.

Note Prefix F and G are missing.

H prefix in 1956 with rod number H101 right up to 1966 on rod number H69100.

After 1966 a different code was used where each year had a different Prefix letter.

The F prefix doesn't look to have been used at all unless it was kept for fibreglass rods (that's just a guess by the way) but I was told the G prefix was used for rods containing mixed sections such as cane / split cane and maybe even greenheart and these rods cant be accurately dated.

Probably totally wrong but I thought I would share as it may help somewhere along the line. Or more than likely bring more confusion.

Wal.

Wal, Your list is almost complete and is correct

My list is from the book; The house the Hardy Brothers built by JL Hardy
It has the list you have and the following;

The 'G' prefix was listed in 1927, and you are correct it was for rods made of a mixture of material; Greenheart, whole cane & split cane, this list goes up to 1955, from G612 to G32559.

Iam not sure if 'G' records stopped or no longer recorded, but it seems strange there is a record in 1955 of E96203-E9899 and also 1955 H101-H4600

It is all very interesting

[CWK]

I conducted a liitle research about my Avon .. It transpires that the letter G prefix denotes a composite build , ie whole cane and split cane combined .

Hardy's were not adverse to modifying their standard specification to suit an individual customers requirments . Also , immediately in the post war period there was a scarcity of certain materials so out of neccessity substitutes were deployed .. Therefore , rods carrying the same denomination can vary considerably in appearance ..

[Wallys-Cast]

Thanks Paul, I think we can assume the G prefix will have carried on for mixed material rods but will probably just have to guess at the dates of those with later numbers than G 32559 in 1955.

Mine is G 35986 so that's 3427 rods later, so working on an average of 1000 mixed material rods a year that would put mine at 1958/9.
What do you recon?

Wal.

[Paul F]

Thanks Paul, I think we can assume the G prefix will have carried on for mixed material rods but will probably just have to guess at the dates of those with later numbers than G 32559 in 1955.

Mine is G 35986 so that's 3427 rods later, so working on an average of 1000 mixed material rods a year that would put mine at 1958/9.
What do you recon?

Wal.

Wal, The Avon was made up to 1957, so I would guess yours is one of the last to be made, all the same it looks fabulous and all original

[Crucian]

Great thread this

[AshbyCut]

Nobby, I'm beginning to get very confused with Hardy rods
I have a Hardy Allround rod with as you say low bell rings but with red whipppings and an Avon rod with stand offs and green whippings. I'm fairly new to collecting. Any thoughts?

Lets try and help here
The FWK Wallis Allround was manufactured from 1934-66
The FWK Wallis Avon was manufactured from 1934-57
The rod carried the full script "The FWK Wallis Allround" (or Avon) until after the war when they were just "Allround" or "Avon"

I have super bottom catalogues from 1935, 37 & 39
The catalogues say graduated stand-off "fullopen" bridge intermediate rings (low bells?)
high stand off (high bells) rings are not mentioned as an option in my 1930's catalogues for any rods, so I would assume were not available.

It is mentioned the only difference between No1 & No2 is the additional aluminium tube, this is not true!
The No1 of both models had nickle silver suction joints (Ferrules) and was close tied throughout (inter whipping)
No 2 brass joints, close tied tip & middle
No3 plain brass joints, close tied tip only

Now this is a personal opinion from what I have seen;
I have only seen unrestored Avon No1's in red and they were pre-war, the rest have been green, I have seen both restored, some red some green.
Bear in mind when ordering your rod if you wanted it in red, yellow, green, blue, if hardy had the silk they would do it for you.

I don't have 1950's super bottom catalogues, and would be interested in the listings.

In the true spirit of the TFF, member 'AllRounder' was passing my door earlier today and dropped off the 'Hardy's Super Bottom Fishing' catalogues for 1937, 1939, and 1955 ... allowing me to borrow them for a while. I'm afraid Pafpuff, Sir ... that there's no listing of any kind relating to the "Allround," F. W. K. Wallis or otherwise (nor any mention of the "Lightweight Match Fisher's Rod" in either "Thames" or "Sheffield Style," as there are in both the 1937 and '39 editions) in the 1955 edition.

There is a listing for "The F. W. K. Wallis Avon." However only one version is available, with a handle the same shape as my 'Allround,' and the price has risen from those pre-war (No 1 = 75/-, No 2 = 55/-, and No 3 = 35/- with a wood handle, 40/- with a cork handle) to a heady 145/- !!! ... that's £7 5shillings !!!

[Wagtail]

I have the Hardy 1955 catalogue which only lists the FWK Wallis Avon
As you say the "plain" Avon and Allround must have followed later perhaps after the production of the Wallis rods ended?

approx 5-6yrs before 1955 they had dropped the FWK Wallis name on the rod, but it seems they still called them FWK wallis in the catalogue!

We could do with people who have rods dated from the late 40's/early 50's to confirm when the name changed on the rods.

1946 - G25210-G26257
1947 - G26258-G26718
1948 - G26719-G27502
1949 - G27503-G28689
1950 - G28690-G28389
1951 - G28390-G30595
1952 - G30596-G30814

I have a "The Avon No.2" which was bought in un-restored condition that is coded G28703 (so 1951). It came with low-bells type intermediate rings and clear/grey agate lined tip and butt ring (the agate looks the same as Mal's 'Allrounder' butt ring)