[LostinSpey]

Hardy 3 3/4" Wide Drum RHW without line guard. Unfortunately I haven't been able to teach myself to use my right hand and I am not a collector, so this reel is for sale. Sad, I love it but can't use it. Sounds wonderful and works great. $585 includes leather pouch and shipping to CONUS. Pics below..PM with questions. Thanks.

 

[sinktip]

If no line guard, simply flip the pawl and use it LHW.

 

[LostinSpey]

If no line guard, simply flip the pawl and use it LHW.

I thought about doing that but "when a steelhead fights the mechanical advantage of the right hand spindle thread overcomes the strength of the small left-hand spool lock screw, pops the head off, and the whole thing comes apart in your hands." Not sure I want to do that either..... :whoa:

 

[flyers66]

I thought about doing that but "when a steelhead fights the mechanical advantage of the right hand spindle thread overcomes the strength of the small left-hand spool lock screw, pops the head off, and the whole thing comes apart in your hands." Not sure I want to do that either..... :whoa:

Is that True?? any way to counter this if you wanted to go LHR??
As that would Suuuuck on a big bruiser...

 

[LostinSpey]

Is that True?? any way to counter this if you wanted to go LHR??
As that would Suuuuck on a big bruiser...

Yes, not sure how often it does happen but I contacted Mr. Archuleta about the reel and using it as a LHW and that is what he told me.

 

[Cutthroat1954]

Had that happen to me once with one of my St. Johns. Jammed the reel while I was playing the biggest steelhead I've ever hooked. Spindle just came unscrewed on a run. I was pretty upset at the time. Fixed it with a small drop of epoxy, then screwed the spindle back in. Let cure, problem solved...... Fast forward 30 years, reel is still just fine. However, i'm right handed, but if I understand your problem correctly, a drop of some sort of glue and flipping the pawls should work. Just a thought. Nice reel!

 

[o mykiss]

Must admit I've only been fishing Perfects for a couple years now but I'm a lefty who has fished RHW Perfects with the pawls flipped and although the sample size is not huge, have not had any issues. I guess tying into a fish that breaks the head off the spindle screw would be a high class problem to encounter.

 

[LostinSpey]

Must admit I've only been fishing Perfects for a couple years now but I'm a lefty who has fished RHW Perfects with the pawls flipped and although the sample size is not huge, have not had any issues. I guess tying into a fish that breaks the head off the spindle screw would be a high class problem to encounter.

So basically by flipping the pawls you have no drag and would be palming the reel......

 

[wrx_canoe]

That's not the case when I flipped the pawl on my pre-war MKII 4" Perfect. I can still adjust light or heavy tension with the adjustment knob.

So basically by flipping the pawls you have no drag and would be palming the reel......

 

[LostinSpey]

That's not the case when I flipped the pawl on my pre-war MKII 4" Perfect. I can still adjust light or heavy tension with the adjustment knob.

Okay, maybe I am missing something here. If I flip the pawl so it does not engage the gear (top of pic below), the other pawl is too far away to make contact with the gear? The spring makes contact and that is for the sound or click of the reel. There will be no resistance on the gear of the spindle/spool. The adjustment knob will be useless then.

 

[sinktip]

Ok,I have heard of people breaking screws but I have yet to actually see it myself or from any of my fishing buddies that fish old Hardies. I have landed fish to the high teens with no issues. Not to say it isn't a concern but I believe it a rarity.

I have fished RHW Perfects with flipped pawls since 2001. The pawl is slipped off the post and flipped over. You still get adjustable tension and the sound and tension will be greater going out than coming in - the same as it was before as a RHW.

Back to the screw issue, I have to wonder if cases of screw snaps are from people severely cranking against a sulking or running fish. Personally, I never put significant torque on my reel handles. I reel in when the fish is willing to come in and get my hand off the handle when it is going away. This is when I will apply light to moderate pressure to the spool to "brake" the run.

This is true even when fishing my disc drive Saraciones.

 

[Black Zonky]

It is curious because no warning is issued on a Bougle, which can be used either RHW or LHW, but the screw threads and setup are the same as a RHW Perfect.

 

[o mykiss]

Lostinspey - not sure I'm entirely following you but I think you're mixed up by what it means to "flip the pawl". You do not simply push the pawl nearest the tension nob over so that it no longer engages with the gear. What you do is pull that top spring back (towards the tension knob), push the top pawl (i.e., the one nearest the tension nob) off the post through the opening on the left, flip the pawl over, and push it back onto the post so the opening is on the right. The pawl and spring on the bottom play no role in the drag system (whether you fish RHW or LHW) as far as I know.

 

[Rustybee]

Okay, maybe I am missing something here. If I flip the pawl so it does not engage the gear (top of pic below), the other pawl is too far away to make contact with the gear?

The other pawl serves only serves to hold the spare spring and nut. It does not come into play at all.

 

[ralfish]

Okay, maybe I am missing something here. If I flip the pawl so it does not engage the gear (top of pic below), the other pawl is too far away to make contact with the gear? The spring makes contact and that is for the sound or click of the reel. There will be no resistance on the gear of the spindle/spool. The adjustment knob will be useless then.

Lostinspey - not sure I'm entirely following you but I think you're mixed up by what it means to "flip the pawl". You do not simply push the pawl nearest the tension nob over so that it no longer engages with the gear. What you do is pull that top spring back (towards the tension knob), push the top pawl (i.e., the one nearest the tension nob) off the post through the opening on the left, flip the pawl over, and push it back onto the post so the opening is on the right. The pawl and spring on the bottom play no role in the drag system (whether you fish RHW or LHW) as far as I know.

This is correct. While you do not quite get the same advantage as the RHW does because of the shape of the pawl and leverage of that on the spring, you do get some increase of tension as the adjuster is brought in to bear. Regardless, the pawl more or less is there to prevent backlash and you do use your hand/fingers to feather the drum/spool when playing a fish. Some people go out and get special springs made as they would rather use the pawl/ gear/spring as a drag system. problem with that is when you get a crazy hot fish you are under tension and this will cost you fish, where as using you hand you have infinite control..even left. To break the screw you really have to be doing something wrong ...

 

[LostinSpey]

Okay I think I got it. Thank you very much for the help. I will switch them over and give it a shot after work tonight, maybe post a pic once the pawl is flipped.

 

[fish0n4evr]

Look forward to your findings because with my Perfect 3 3/4 WD Duplicated MKII (pre-war) flipping the pawl (not rotating it on the post - ) does not truly convert the reel to LHW. By that I mean the tension is greater winding-in than it is going out. The spring in there is still very strong. So in reality it is not working as it is intended RHW.

 

[minto7]

Great reel that has proved itself I prefer the line guard on them that's just my own thoughts but a super reel good luck

 

[sinktip]

Fishon,

By that I mean the tension is greater winding-in than it is going out.

This should not be. I have had four prewar models and a 50s model and once the pawl was flipped, the out going tension was greater than the incoming. That is the reason to flip the pawl(s). Have you tried flipping the pawl from how you have it now?

 

[fish0n4evr]

sinktip

I did when I first got the reel and wasn't used to playing fish holding rod in left arm. The reel just isn't right reversed that way.

If you look closely at the lower arm of the spring where it rests on the pawl - you can see the pawl has more leverage on the arm when the gear/sideplate assembly rotates counter-clockwise than it does rotating clockwise regardless of how the pawl is posted. The reel in this post is the same set-up. That is the reason the LHW Hardys have the check components to the right of the tensioner and why the truly LH/RH reels have the twin (not Duplicated) checks and different tensioner arrangement.