There are two types of vintage fishing reels, the first is mint unused and the second is everything else!

The perfect mint reel will not have been mounted on a rod handle and is unlikely to have been out of its box since it was originally purchased. It will have no paint flaws except those that occurred during its manufacture. Mechanically there will be no deterioration and the handle will turn as easily as it did when it left the factory all those years ago, or will it? When a reel is made it is lubricated with the correct oil and grease so that it will operate smoothly. Unfortunately as time passes grease in particular starts to solidify and eventually will become so viscous that it will be almost impossible for the handle and gears to turn.  I recently purchased a mint fixed spool reel from a Japanese vendor and when I received the reel and opened the box it appeared to be in perfect condition which cosmetically it was but when I tried to turn the handle there was no movement and I feared the worse! I very carefully unscrewed the side plate to reveal the reels internal parts and to my surprise and relief everything looked pristine and it was likely that the reel had not been opened previously. So why would the handle a gears not turn? The answer was simple, the grease which had been in the reel for nearly fifty years had solidified.

The second type of reel which I described previously as "everything else" is the example which is in nearly mint, excellent, very good, good, average, below average, poor or very poor condition. When you open up a reel in any of these conditions you never quite know what to expect, it could be anything from perfectly lubricated too a black foul smelling greasy crud! One of the main drawbacks of purchasing a less than perfect vintage reel is that it may not have been maintained correctly by it's previous owner or owners!

Now there are two schools of thought with reel collectors regarding the insides of reels. Most would advocate re oiling and greasing back to as near the original specifications as possible but some like to leave the reel totally free of any form of lubrication. If you are a fisherman and wish to use the reel for what it was originally intended then the correct lubrication is essential. Whatever you decide to do, the removal of all the old oil and grease is essential if you want to preserve the reel as a collectors piece or for fishing with.

Let's assume that you are going to re oil and grease to achieve maximum protection and mechanical smoothness for you reel, where do you start? Most of us would know to put some oil in the bearings and perhaps some grease on the obvious moving parts that touch each other but that's about it! When the reel originally left the factory it would have been meticulously lubricated (some say over lubricated) to ensure that it arrived at the end user in tip top condition. If you have the original instruction book that came with the reel then this is likely to contain some basic recommendations on were to lubricate but this is unlikely to be extensive but not to worry. Click on one of the reel lubrication links and you will be able to view the recommended oil and grease lubrication points for your type of reel.