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    Iron Heart Fall/Winter 2025 Collection Preview - Now Live

    Ask Giles and/or Alex Anything

    The Resource Centre
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    • endoE
      endo
      見習いボス
      @Matt
      Joined:

      @Matt said in Ask Giles Anything:

      So you’re saying the S stands for “S”omeday we’ll rerun the Beatle Buster?

      you're not following @Matt

      si tacuisses

      last edited by 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
      • jordanscollectedJ
        jordanscollected
        啓蒙家
        Joined:

        @Giles Has Iron Heart Wabash been made on selvedge machine before? if not, any reason why?

        world tours:
        888 Fat guy chocolate WT
        Mad Red x2
        Wabidashery

        last edited by 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 2
        • GilesG
          Giles
          IHUK Crew
          Joined:

          It has not. Possibly because the machines that we use to bleach the dots need projectile loom width of fabric. Or even if we can feed shuttle loom width through the "dotting" machine, it may be super inefficient....

          "OK face up to it - you're useless but generally pretty honest and straightforward . . . it's a rare combination of qualities that I have come to admire in you" - Geo 2011

          last edited by 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 2
          • jordanscollectedJ
            jordanscollected
            啓蒙家
            Joined:

            Thank you I can see where that would make it inefficient.

            world tours:
            888 Fat guy chocolate WT
            Mad Red x2
            Wabidashery

            last edited by 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
            • B
              Buckeye
              Haraki san Prodigy
              Joined:

              @Giles @Alex There are many things that make IH fantastic, but among my favorite are the dedication to quality assurance (fabric, stitching, shape, etc) and precision of sizing. What other brands do you both look to as following in the same footsteps at IH; i.e., doing things ‘the right way’? I think @Olly referenced @Alex respecting Freenote Cloth in that manner on a production of the Iron Cast.

              last edited by AlexA 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 2
              • SourPowerS
                SourPower
                Haraki san Expert
                Joined:

                @Giles do you have any photos of the titanium fishing reels you used to make?

                Excess In Moderation

                last edited by 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                • GilesG
                  Giles
                  IHUK Crew
                  Joined:

                  This was one of them.....

                  https://oldtimeangler.tripod.com/index/hardyzanetireel.htm

                  I'll take photos of them later....

                  "OK face up to it - you're useless but generally pretty honest and straightforward . . . it's a rare combination of qualities that I have come to admire in you" - Geo 2011

                  last edited by Giles 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                  • AlexA
                    Alex
                    IHUK Crew
                    @Buckeye
                    Joined:

                    @Buckeye said in Ask Giles Anything:

                    @Giles @Alex There are many things that make IH fantastic, but among my favorite are the dedication to quality assurance (fabric, stitching, shape, etc) and precision of sizing. What other brands do you both look to as following in the same footsteps at IH; i.e., doing things ‘the right way’? I think @Olly referenced @Alex respecting Freenote Cloth in that manner on a production of the Iron Cast.

                    Freenote, Samurai, Stevenson Overall, Y2, Double Helix, The Flat Head.. There are a lot

                    last edited by 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 3
                    • GilesG
                      Giles
                      IHUK Crew
                      Joined:

                      @SourPower

                      IMG_2696.JPG

                      This was the reel we made for House of Hardy, it was sold as the Hardy Zane Ti and retailed for USD10,000......🤯

                      This is the prototype, it has a handle made out of a "plastic" type material developed by the Soviets for the International Space Station (Hardy's changed the handle for the production model)...

                      IMG_2692.JPG

                      IMG_2693.JPG

                      IMG_2694.JPG

                      IMG_2695.JPG

                      This is a Ti prototype for the Hardy Marksman. Hardy's did not sell the Ti version (I think mine is probably the only one in existence), but they licensed the design from us and made it out of aluminium. They made a few 100, possibly a few 1000 and it was a nice little earner 🙂

                      IMG_2687.JPG

                      And these 2 are random 2/3 weights

                      IMG_2689.JPG

                      IMG_2690.JPG

                      IMG_2691.JPG

                      I've use the one with line on a lot (paired with an Orvis 1 weight) for native brown trout and a few memorable times for Bonefish in The Bahamas. I don't suppose many people have landed a Bonefish on a 1 weight outfit 🙂

                      "OK face up to it - you're useless but generally pretty honest and straightforward . . . it's a rare combination of qualities that I have come to admire in you" - Geo 2011

                      last edited by Giles 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 5
                      • GilesG
                        Giles
                        IHUK Crew
                        Joined:

                        @Buckeye Same as @Alex , but a few more

                        White Kloud
                        Ripple Fisher
                        Zenaq
                        The Osaka 5
                        Tackle House
                        Good Art
                        and and and

                        "OK face up to it - you're useless but generally pretty honest and straightforward . . . it's a rare combination of qualities that I have come to admire in you" - Geo 2011

                        last edited by 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 2
                        • SourPowerS
                          SourPower
                          Haraki san Expert
                          Joined:

                          @Giles thank you so much for sharing. These are genuine treasures, I love the timeless design and raw finish.

                          I cannot even imagine the joy of hearing that small arbor 1wt setup scream after connecting with a bonefish!

                          The Zane is a masterpiece, one of the most stunning pieces of fly fishing equipment I have ever seen. I can really appreciate the connection between your passion for fishing and over-engineered “IH values”. These photos bring me back to a beautiful tarpon that I landed about 5yrs ago after a grueling fight…

                          Excess In Moderation

                          last edited by 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                          • GilesG
                            Giles
                            IHUK Crew
                            Joined:

                            Ive still to do a Tarpon. I’ve tied shit loads of flies and chucked them at shit loads of fish in Florida, The Bahamas, Mexico and Belize. But still they allude me.

                            "OK face up to it - you're useless but generally pretty honest and straightforward . . . it's a rare combination of qualities that I have come to admire in you" - Geo 2011

                            last edited by 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                            • goosehdG
                              goosehd
                              Mod Squad
                              Joined:

                              "I don't give a shit what anyone else is doing, we will do what is best for us and our customers" - Giles P. :)

                              last edited by 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                              • SourPowerS
                                SourPower
                                Haraki san Expert
                                Joined:

                                @Giles
                                IMG_6064.jpeg

                                Excess In Moderation

                                last edited by 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 2
                                • Sir_Cuffs-a-LotS
                                  Sir_Cuffs-a-Lot
                                  The Unwoven
                                  Joined:

                                  but were you happy about it?? 🙂

                                  last edited by 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                                  • GilesG
                                    Giles
                                    IHUK Crew
                                    Joined:

                                    @SourPower That will do nicely, and boy do I love a pair of Xtratuf.....

                                    To your comment about taking Bones on a 1 weight outfit. It teaches you 2 things:

                                    1. How close you can get to a fish and cast without not spooking it. I got way more hits on the 1 weight than I do on my traditional #7. However, that may also have been that out of necessity, you have to use minute flies......
                                    2. That you have to know how to run mighty fast in calf deep water....

                                    "OK face up to it - you're useless but generally pretty honest and straightforward . . . it's a rare combination of qualities that I have come to admire in you" - Geo 2011

                                    last edited by 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                                    • B
                                      Buckeye
                                      Haraki san Prodigy
                                      Joined:

                                      @Giles What does ‘extant’ mean in the context of IH pieces?

                                      last edited by seawolfS GilesG 2 Replies Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                      • MattM
                                        Matt
                                        見習いボス
                                        Joined:

                                        That they are in semi regular production as opposed to being a seasonal release not to be rerun.

                                        last edited by 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                                        • seawolfS
                                          seawolf
                                          Mod Squad
                                          @Buckeye
                                          Joined:

                                          @Buckeye long ago, there used to be an archive of all of the “extinct” products that wouldn’t be rerun, and in contrast, as @Matt pointed out, the “extant” products are regularly restocked and very much “alive” in the manufacturing pipeline.

                                          “Good design is actually a lot harder to notice than poor design, in part because good designs fit our needs so well that the design is invisible” - Don Norman

                                          @zeebeeleather

                                          last edited by seawolf 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                                          • B
                                            Buckeye
                                            Haraki san Prodigy
                                            Joined:

                                            Thank you @Matt and @seawolf!

                                            last edited by Buckeye 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
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