The Palace Superb Friction Drive Threadline Reel RARE

One oddity that occasionally pops up is the Palace Superb reel. Sometimes marked ‘A New Era Product’ they were made by W. White & Co, Wythall in Birmingham through the 1940s and 50s era.

Based on the same principle as the Allcock Stanley of Redditch it suffered the same design faults.

The friction drive rubber washer was open to the elements and would change the spool tension resulting in the drag adjuster having to be played with constantly.

These lightweight alloy reels are great lookers, arguably better than the Stanley black models.

Some examples are stamped with a shield logo on the gear plate, over painted in black and with the maker’s details. Others like this one here are unmarked.