Abu 444a

[The Sweetcorn Kid]

What a lovely reel!!

[BeechmereLake]

If your talking of my reel sweetcorn kid then thanks very much, it is a very nice reel with a little sentimental value to it.
I also have another I bought from a collector friend in Sweden, this one goes back to being the first model 444 made and dates 1955.
There were two models made in this year but this one is showing the small triangular shape in the rotor (counter balance weight) the later model that year had a bigger counter balance weight to it to help smooth it out. Notice the bare untreated metal of the spool with brass dome around the flat topped push button.
You can see by the patination of the metal the spool is made out of that its been untreated.

[The Sweetcorn Kid]

Delightful, thanks for sharing.

[Tinca Tinca]

Very nice reels the 444s are.I own one of the first,too and have to say that I had none problems with it since
I got it years ago.

Are the only differences between the 444 and the 444a that the colour and the plastic clutch nut changed?
Inside both reels look very similar to me....


Ps.after looking I saw that mine has the great counter weight.It is a "later early" one I suspect.
Sadly no serial number on this early reels...

[BeechmereLake]

Your reel will be a late 1955 reel with the bigger counter balance weight with no serial number

[Tinca Tinca]

What is the reason that a few old ABU reels have the name Record?Have they bought the namerights of
Thommen Switzerland (the Record 600 looks a little like the Thommen Record for me)or are there other reasons?

[BeechmereLake]

The name RECORD is actually the name of the first taximeters which came about after the dying sales of pocket watches made by Carl August Borgstrom, the founder member of AB Urfabriken which in short is how the name ABU came about.
After the death of C.A.Borgstrom in 1935 his son Gote Borgstrom took over management of the plant making the Record taximeter, after competition from Halda another taximeter company it was Gote who after years of watching his father came up with his own design of a taximeter which was so small it could be mounted into the dashboard of the taxi.
With Halda being the more recognized manufacturer of taximeters Gote tried to steal a march on that company by letting all the local Swedish governments know there was two manufacturers about now but didn't let it sit just there, he went to all the counties where meters were not already introduced and told all the taxi drivers it was going to be compulsory to have a meter in their taxi's, he took orders there and then from the drivers and then went about manufacturing them.

This was around 1939 and his taximeters were well received but the cost of building these meters were going through the roof so to speak, Gote remortgaged his house, borrowed money from anyone he knew and even sold insurance on the side to make a bit more money to put into his company.
With everything going well WW11 began and there was no import on vehicles and no export on taximeters, his business and the Haldra company died a death.
Cutting down on the taximeter history Gote remembered his father building a fishing reel which he used on the Morrum river and with his fathers creation in hand he set about building a fishing reel using clock building technology which he already had and the building of taximeters, he took several brands of reels from the USA and used each reels best quality to build his own reel, this reel was named the "RECORD" and was a ltd supply of reels made all by hand intended as samples for wholesalers.

This is how the name "RECORD" came about on the first ABU reels, maybe a bit long explaining it but sometimes the more you know the more you understand it.

[Tinca Tinca]

Thank you,Sir.

[Kingfisher]

Thanks for that Beechmerelake Sir, interesting stuff.

[BeechmereLake]

Its nice its appreciated by members so its worth my time doing the reply, all the information comes from Len Borgstrom himself so it's an accurate account of how it was back in the day.