Life of a Cardinal 44 into a 4

[BeechmereLake]

Mine arrived today - and the marker pen came off relatively easily - phew!

Very smooth running and with only a few little scuffs and nicks, so not at all bad for a 45 year-old reel. The spare shallow spool was a bonus.


Screenshot_20230909-133425_Photos~2.jpg

Glad to see the "Graffiti" has come off your reel John without further damage to your reel, the paintwork on the first model 4X was Champagne and if you rubbed your hands near a mint one the paint would start to come off, in 1978-79 they changed the paint finish to a durable Ceramic coating with a black fleck in it, only thing with this paint is they didn't do a "Chip test" it really does chip quite easy almost like its brittle, the rotor cup bronze paint for some reason was never changed and again was very weak for a fishing reel, half the time you find one of these reels you can question if the rotor is original due to the amount of paint missing from the rotor, most of the time they do look like they have been made up from several different age reels but that is how they come. Im sure it will be like new inside and they do run rather nice though give me a "Special Foot" model any day of the week

[John Milford]

Mine arrived today - and the marker pen came off relatively easily - phew!

Very smooth running and with only a few little scuffs and nicks, so not at all bad for a 45 year-old reel. The spare shallow spool was a bonus.


Screenshot_20230909-133425_Photos~2.jpg

Glad to see the "Graffiti" has come off your reel John without further damage to your reel, the paintwork on the first model 4X was Champagne and if you rubbed your hands near a mint one the paint would start to come off, in 1978-79 they changed the paint finish to a durable Ceramic coating with a black fleck in it, only thing with this paint is they didn't do a "Chip test" it really does chip quite easy almost like its brittle, the rotor cup bronze paint for some reason was never changed and again was very weak for a fishing reel, half the time you find one of these reels you can question if the rotor is original due to the amount of paint missing from the rotor, most of the time they do look like they have been made up from several different age reels but that is how they come. Im sure it will be like new inside and they do run rather nice though give me a "Special Foot" model any day of the week

Thanks again for all the great info in this thread Martin.

I'm really pleased to have got hold of a 4X - and the fact that it has a few little signs of use is no bad thing in my book. It means I won't be afraid to use it! (Although I shall be taking very good care of it, as I do with all my reels).

[BeechmereLake]

Mine arrived today - and the marker pen came off relatively easily - phew!

Very smooth running and with only a few little scuffs and nicks, so not at all bad for a 45 year-old reel. The spare shallow spool was a bonus.


Screenshot_20230909-133425_Photos~2.jpg

Glad to see the "Graffiti" has come off your reel John without further damage to your reel, the paintwork on the first model 4X was Champagne and if you rubbed your hands near a mint one the paint would start to come off, in 1978-79 they changed the paint finish to a durable Ceramic coating with a black fleck in it, only thing with this paint is they didn't do a "Chip test" it really does chip quite easy almost like its brittle, the rotor cup bronze paint for some reason was never changed and again was very weak for a fishing reel, half the time you find one of these reels you can question if the rotor is original due to the amount of paint missing from the rotor, most of the time they do look like they have been made up from several different age reels but that is how they come. Im sure it will be like new inside and they do run rather nice though give me a "Special Foot" model any day of the week

Thanks again for all the great info in this thread Martin.

I'm really pleased to have got hold of a 4X - and the fact that it has a few little signs of use is no bad thing in my book. It means I won't be afraid to use it! (Although I shall be taking very good care of it, as I do with all my reels).

John, just so you know a common problem with many Abu reels is the clicker wire breaking which then leaves you relying on the drag to stop the spool from spinning, so youre aware I keep good second hand coverplates and I do have spare original wires also for most reels. You can also use piano wire to make repairs but it does need to be the same size

[Rockape]

Mine arrived today - and the marker pen came off relatively easily - phew!

Very smooth running and with only a few little scuffs and nicks, so not at all bad for a 45 year-old reel. The spare shallow spool was a bonus.


Screenshot_20230909-133425_Photos~2.jpg

Glad to see the "Graffiti" has come off your reel John without further damage to your reel, the paintwork on the first model 4X was Champagne and if you rubbed your hands near a mint one the paint would start to come off, in 1978-79 they changed the paint finish to a durable Ceramic coating with a black fleck in it, only thing with this paint is they didn't do a "Chip test" it really does chip quite easy almost like its brittle, the rotor cup bronze paint for some reason was never changed and again was very weak for a fishing reel, half the time you find one of these reels you can question if the rotor is original due to the amount of paint missing from the rotor, most of the time they do look like they have been made up from several different age reels but that is how they come. Im sure it will be like new inside and they do run rather nice though give me a "Special Foot" model any day of the week

I'm fairly new to the world of old ABU Cardinals (couldn't afford one back in the day), but your mention of the Special Foot 44, inspired my following comment:

I picked up a pretty close to mint one recently, and was amazed at how smooth it was in operation; to the point that I would say it nudges just ahead of my relatively new double handle Shimano Sahara, and that reel is super smooth, no exaggeration, so yes, very impressed!

They have a well deserved reputation (sorry for digressing).

Paul

[BeechmereLake]

Mine arrived today - and the marker pen came off relatively easily - phew!

Very smooth running and with only a few little scuffs and nicks, so not at all bad for a 45 year-old reel. The spare shallow spool was a bonus.


Screenshot_20230909-133425_Photos~2.jpg

Glad to see the "Graffiti" has come off your reel John without further damage to your reel, the paintwork on the first model 4X was Champagne and if you rubbed your hands near a mint one the paint would start to come off, in 1978-79 they changed the paint finish to a durable Ceramic coating with a black fleck in it, only thing with this paint is they didn't do a "Chip test" it really does chip quite easy almost like its brittle, the rotor cup bronze paint for some reason was never changed and again was very weak for a fishing reel, half the time you find one of these reels you can question if the rotor is original due to the amount of paint missing from the rotor, most of the time they do look like they have been made up from several different age reels but that is how they come. Im sure it will be like new inside and they do run rather nice though give me a "Special Foot" model any day of the week

I'm fairly new to the world of old ABU Cardinals (couldn't afford one back in the day), but your mention of the Special Foot 44, inspired my following comment:

I picked up a pretty close to mint one recently, and was amazed at how smooth it was in operation; to the point that I would say it nudges just ahead of my relatively new double handle Shimano Sahara, and that reel is super smooth, no exaggeration, so yes, very impressed!

They have a well deserved reputation (sorry for digressing).

Paul

For me Abu have always been about fine tolerances when it came to building reels and if you can exploit these tolerances in good ways you can get a 60's reel that will work and feel like any modern day high priced fishing reel, even the later Cardinals from the 70's and early 80's can be exploited to make them run as smooth as anything modern