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Iron Heart Fall/Winter 2025 Live Reveal - Thursday 12th of June at 1700BST

Ask Giles and/or Alex Anything

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  • B
    Buckeye
    Haraki san Prodigy
    Joined: 7 Aug 2023

    @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 17 Feb 2025, 18:34 A 1 Reply Last reply 18 Feb 2025, 09:58 Reply Quote 2
    • S
      SourPower
      Haraki san Expert
      Joined: 10 Mar 2024

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

      Excess In Moderation

      last edited by 18 Feb 2025, 03:44 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
      • G
        Giles
        IHUK Crew
        Joined: 22 Sept 2009

        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 18 Feb 2025, 06:58 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
        • A
          Alex
          IHUK Crew
          @Buckeye
          Joined: 28 Sept 2009

          @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 18 Feb 2025, 09:58 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 3
          • G
            Giles
            IHUK Crew
            Joined: 22 Sept 2009

            @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 18 Feb 2025, 10:05 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 5
            • G
              Giles
              IHUK Crew
              Joined: 22 Sept 2009

              @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 18 Feb 2025, 10:14 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 2
              • S
                SourPower
                Haraki san Expert
                Joined: 10 Mar 2024

                @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 18 Feb 2025, 15:20 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                • G
                  Giles
                  IHUK Crew
                  Joined: 22 Sept 2009

                  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 18 Feb 2025, 15:44 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                  • G
                    goosehd
                    Mod Squad
                    Joined: 8 Apr 2016

                    "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 18 Feb 2025, 15:53 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                    • S
                      SourPower
                      Haraki san Expert
                      Joined: 10 Mar 2024

                      @Giles
                      IMG_6064.jpeg

                      Excess In Moderation

                      last edited by 18 Feb 2025, 16:03 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 2
                      • S
                        Sir_Cuffs-a-Lot
                        The Unwoven
                        Joined: 11 Feb 2023

                        but were you happy about it?? 🙂

                        last edited by 18 Feb 2025, 16:17 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                        • G
                          Giles
                          IHUK Crew
                          Joined: 22 Sept 2009

                          @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 18 Feb 2025, 16:32 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                          • topic:timeago-later,8 days
                          • B
                            Buckeye
                            Haraki san Prodigy
                            Joined: 7 Aug 2023

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

                            last edited by 27 Feb 2025, 02:32 S G 2 Replies Last reply 27 Feb 2025, 02:54 Reply Quote 0
                            • M
                              Matt
                              見習いボス
                              Joined: 4 Oct 2011

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

                              last edited by 27 Feb 2025, 02:49 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                              • S
                                seawolf
                                Mod Squad
                                @Buckeye
                                Joined: 28 Oct 2011

                                @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 27 Feb 2025, 02:54 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                                • B
                                  Buckeye
                                  Haraki san Prodigy
                                  Joined: 7 Aug 2023

                                  Thank you @Matt and @seawolf!

                                  last edited by Buckeye 27 Feb 2025, 03:46 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                                  • A
                                    Arkimeediz
                                    Raw and Unwashed
                                    Joined: 25 Dec 2024

                                    Do items purchased from the RE:LOVE shop count towards vouchers?

                                    ...many a slip 'twixt the cup and the lip

                                    last edited by 27 Feb 2025, 04:02 A 1 Reply Last reply 27 Feb 2025, 04:22 Reply Quote 0
                                    • A
                                      Alex
                                      IHUK Crew
                                      @Arkimeediz
                                      Joined: 28 Sept 2009

                                      @Arkimeediz said in Ask Giles and/or Alex Anything:

                                      Do items purchased from the RE:LOVE shop count towards vouchers?

                                      All spend at our shop does

                                      last edited by 27 Feb 2025, 04:22 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                      • G
                                        Giles
                                        IHUK Crew
                                        @Buckeye
                                        Joined: 22 Sept 2009

                                        @Buckeye

                                        As Matt and Seawolf said.

                                        Fron Wiki:

                                        "Extant is the opposite of the word extinct."

                                        "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 27 Feb 2025, 06:59 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                                        • K
                                          Kasi
                                          見習いボス
                                          Joined: 9 Oct 2014

                                          @Alex

                                          How long for the new Good Art collaboration coming. Thanks

                                          The world's insane
                                          While you drink champagne
                                          And I'm livin' in black rain 4Q 🖕

                                          last edited by 27 Feb 2025, 13:26 A 1 Reply Last reply 27 Feb 2025, 21:56 Reply Quote 1
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