Penn Reel Question

[Sinker]

Just stopped by a garage sale a little bit ago and they had some Penns ta sell. I bought a #9. It appears ta be older than Hilly's #9, as his has an extra pawl on it. That's one question. What th h___ is a pawl, an why do ya need a extry?
My other question is when did Penn make a 360? And are they a good snaggin reel? Compared to a 49 of course.

[chefjim]

Here's a picture of a pawl:


It goes in the line guide (the little part that goes from side to side and makes the line go on the spool evenly).
The "teeth" fit in the grooves on the worm gear. They wear out, and being that you can replace them while you're out fishing in about 30 seconds, Penn put spare ones on the sideplate so they would be handy......

As far as the 9 you found, the older the better. They were introduced in 1941, and a good many of the original ones are still being used today.

360? That would be the BIG spinning reel. Made back in the 80's as I remember. I never used spinning reels that big myself. I always used conventional Penns. But they are good reels though. Snagging a 50lb spoonbill might be a stretch for them........

[Sinker]

Jim this aint no spinnin reel, but I'd swear it sez 360 on th side.

[chefjim]

barnwoodjim said:

Jim this aint no spinnin reel, but I'd swear it sez 360 on th side.

Can ya get me a pic or anything? I don't recall ever seein' one...

[Sinker]

No way ta take a pic, sorry. Its in a garage sale and I thawt it mite be a collectors item, er some such. That's what I git fer thinkin!

[Sinker]

Reality check. It sez 350 and th other 2 are #85. All have what appears to be plastic spools.
Even th #9 I was so proud of yesterdy has a black plastic spool.

[chefjim]

barnwoodjim said:

Reality check. It sez 350 and th other 2 are #85. All have what appears to be plastic spools.
Even th #9 I was so proud of yesterdy has a black plastic spool.

Ok, gotcha now. The 350 *Leveline* was made for a few years back in the 1950's. They had the funny shaped cam crossbar that was supposed to feed the line evenly on the spool. Trouble with them was they didn't work long. The crossbar was driven by little nylon fingers turning it, but the fingers would only work for a short while. You still see a bunch of them around, and they are good solid reels, but pretty much none of them self-level the line any more. They're the same length and diameter as a 500 Jigmaster (which was originally called a 250 Surfmaster).

The 85's were economy grade reels, originally sold back in the 1940's for 1.25 apiece (when a 209 was about 12.50.) There's still many of them around, and I think they made them until recently also.

As far as the plastic spools, most Penn conventional reels offered different spools as options. They were usually:
Plastic (light weight for extra casting distance)
Metal (chrome plated bronze for superior strength)
Stainless steel (the most corrosion resistant for saltwater use)
Anodized aluminum (Light weight; replaced plastic)

As a sidenote, if a box for a 209 said "209M", it was a 209 with a metal spool. A 209 ML would be a 209 with an anodized aluminum spool, and so on.............

[Sinker]

Thanks Jim, I was lookin fer bargains when I saw'em an too many times I have leaped before I looked, an wanted ta know a little more about'em. I remembered reading somethin ya sed bout plastic reels , but I couldn remember what it was.

[Sinker]

Well, I still don't gotta picture, but I wound up owning one #85 and th #360. Also got an old deep sea St, Croix. Appears ta be solid fiberglass. Eyes are no good on it, an our local sport-world don't carry'em. Mebbe I can find some somewhere.

[chefjim]

New Penns at your house! Wonderful. A man can never have too many of them........

As far as the guides, I bet you can find a set on EBay for about 5 bucks. There's a ton of them there.........