American fork and hoe rod

Question
QUESTION: Hi Joe, first thanks for any help you can give me. I have a square, steel, American Fork and Hoe fishing rod. The patent number is 1534674, above the patent number is the word "SPEEDLOCK" I believe this refers to the spring loaded, push lock reel holding design. This rod also appears to have some kind of protective coating inside the rod eyes. It is very unusual. I was wondering if you could possibly date this rod, and tell me what the ballpark value of it might be. Thank You Very Much for your time.

ANSWER: Hi Jim,

Speedlock does refer to the reel seat.  Is it possible that the guides have agate inserts?  If so, they could be almost any shade but likely something in the yellow to red spectrum.  These solid steel rods date from the 1910s to 1930s and were quite popular.  I think they make good fishing rods, but I have had one since I was a kid.

They don't have a lot of collector value.  In really good shape one might be valued at $15-$30 but, realistically, they sell for $10-$20 or so.  It probably has more value to you as a good rod for fishing than anything else.

Thanks,  Joe

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Joe, thanks for your fast response and knowledgable answer. My question this time about the value. It seems to me, one who is definitely not an expert, that practically anything that unique and between 78 and 98 years old would be worth somthing.(more?) Every fisherman I know has never even heard of American Fork and Hoe Co. Is it because there were so many rods like this one manufactured? I know you are a busy guy, but if you could help me get a grip on my curosity I would really appreciate it. Thank You!!

P.S. Does this spel chacker worke?

Answer
Hi Jim,

You know...I personally agree with you that anything that old that is still useful should be valued much higher.  It only seems right.

However, it doesn't seem to work that way.  They were popular rods in their day and, being made of steel, many have survived.  But I don't think the number manufactured or the number surviving has that much to do with the value.  There are a lot of rods that fall into the older, well made, and still very useful category that just are not real popular with modern fishermen.  If there is no real demand for the rod, then there is no way to generate a higher value for it.  They don't sell for high prices.

There are plenty of rods that carry higher values based solely on name or reputation of the manufacturer.  Individual rods may or may not be really good fishing tools, but the name carries the day and sales occur at higher prices thereby driving up the value.  Not that different from cars or washing machines, I suppose.  Advertising and name recognition can have a lot to do with original sales and the enduring reputation of the product.

On the other hand, there are plenty of rods that tend to be rated lower in value simply because of the manufacturers name.  In some cases there are quality differences that justify this, in other cases it is better to evaluate each individual rod on its merits before trying to value it.  This is why I often suggest taking a rod to a reputable appraiser for a hands on, in person inspection of the rod.  It is possible to find some really nice rods among the so-called production rods of the past.

I rely on publications that indicate the value of vintage rods plus my own observations as I buy and sell rods to set values.  The people who assemble these books gather sales data over time and tabulate it to produce the estimated value of rods as they sell in the market place.  It is very useful data much like the Blue Book for cars.  It also is a guide and specific individual rods can be rated quite differently from the "book" value depending on condition and rarity.

If you have used the steel rod you own, you know that it casts well and handles fish well, and it is pretty comfortable to hold and use.  It probably should be worth more, but with all the lighter weight alternatives and the changes in fishing tackle over the last century, it just doesn't have the following that it needs to drive the value up in the market.

Besides American Fork & Hoe you will find a number of rods built by Horton Manufacturing of Bristol, Conn, that may appear with a wide variety of vendor names on them.  Horton made lots and lots of steel rods and extruded (hollow) steel rods, and put the name of whoever was paying the bill on the rods.  They are also good rods. You might want to do some research into the older steel rods and their makers to satisfy your curiosity and learn more about them.

I have three of the old solid steel casting rods, two extruded steel casting rods in four piece configuration with brass ferrules, and three extruded steel fly rods.  I take these out and use them once in a while and they still work great.

Thanks,  Joe

Bad spelers of the world, untie!