It was just before midday when I took delivery of my latest acquisition from Les Shaw's superb Classic Vintage Fishing Tackle business. Today it was a pair of aluminium spools (modern copies, not original items) for my ABU Cardinal 44X's which I'm going to use for the upcoming Tench project. Just as with my previous experience, Les has been an absolute star with his helpful advice, via email exchanges, and genuine desire to deliver premium customer service.
It all started when I was looking for some replacement spools for my ABU Cardinal 55's. Les was able to provide me with two aluminium replicas, which are very slightly heavier than the "plastic" originals, yet of such high quality as to be far superior. At the time, I'd also enquired about replacement spools for the 44X's, only to be told that what he had at the time, might be a tight fit for older versions of these reels? Such honesty is so refreshing in a time when chasing the dollar rules the waking hours of so many individuals.
However, with the new "traditional" season fast approaching and a desire to get back into the spirit of those, long passed, Tring times I dearly wanted to get the Cardinal 44X's out of the cupboard and back onto the bank. So it was an email exchange with Les which convinced me that what he was offering would be perfectly suited to my task and the transaction was confirmed. I had to visit Benno, as part of this process, as he has a Paypal account so was able to do the computer stuff on my behalf. Yes I did give him the money! What followed was extremely surprising, yet was just another demonstration of Les's commitment to his customers. I received an email saying that my spools had been packed and were being delivered by the Post Office via their parcel tracking system. Les provided me with all the relevant details and "Bingo" the parcel arrived twelve minutes earlier than the Post Office had predicted!
The quality of engineering and finish on these spools is, quite simply, off the scale in comparison to most modern tackle. When I purchased these reels, around 1970 whilst still at school, they cost me 22/6d each (that's twenty-two shillings and sixpence in old money or one pound, twelve and a half pence in modern parlance) and I got them via a Littlewoods catalogue which allowed me to pay a shilling a week! Those were the days - eh?
I would like to make it very clear that I have no affiliation with Les, nor his business, and this post is purely to highlight the incredible service provided and not because I receive any special treatment.
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