OLE SCHOOL BLUE ROYAL ( REDUCED )

Hey Steve can you give us some history on the 'Blue Royal' brand of rods?

WILLIAM !
ALL I KNOW IS THAT HARNELL MADE THE ROD'S BACK IN THE 60's
HERE IS A OLD PRICE LIST BACK IN 1966.
SHOW'S THE BULE ROYAL BLANK'S AT THE BOTTOM.
ALSO KNOWN AS THE IMP. BLANK'S IN THE HARRINGTON BOOK.
SAME CROWN IN THE PICTURE.
HOPE THIS HELPS ?
THANKS
STEVE

Hey William, here's a little more. I can't attest to it's accuracy but it looks legit.

Originally Posted by Handcrafter

Well I finallly got the time to go and find the Harnell book, here is the opening page that gives some history to the Harnell line from 1945 forward. It also has the specs for the blanks is anyone needs them.....Lynn
Some additional history on this brand that I have not seen in print elsewhere. My father, Ed Weigel and Grandfather Maurice Parker entered into a partnership with John and Jean Harrington in the late 1960's when Harnell was based on Glencoe Avenue in Santa Monica (Venice). Harnell was on it's last legs financially and needed an infusion of cash. My father built out a facility in the Wagon Wheel area of Oxnard, Ca and with the Harrington's moved the Harnell factory to Oxnard (I believe that this was in 1968ish). After a short time as partners the two parties could not get aligned and parted ways on poor terms following a lawsuit that required my father to "buyout" the Harringtons stake in Harnell (this included all the factory equipment, mandrels and materials). The Harrington's were no longer allowed use of the Harnell brand. John and Jean resurfaced in Oxnard as Harrington Rod Company without the Harnell brand name. My father, using the original mandrels, started the Blue Royal Rod Company. The Harnell brand was not used by either company. Following a steady but ultimately unprofitable run, Blue Royal Rods was sold to Gary Loomis in the early 1980's (before Loomis was a known brand). The Harnell brand was left inactive and was picked up and manufactured overseas for a period of time (I am not clear on these details). Following the death of John Harrington, Jean moved the Harrington company to Missouri and continued to make rods from time to time and at somepoint reaquired the inactive Harnell brand/trademark. I beleive that Jean sold this business to a couple in Oregon to resurrect the Company. I would have to dig into my mother's business records to confirm the dates of what I describe above, but think that from memory I am pretty close. I still come across Blue Royal rods from time to time and add them to my collection. I find it interesting that those original mandrels that were spec'd by Mr. Fennel's eventually became Blue Royal Rods and then Gary Loomis rods. Someday, I will take the time to write out the history with more detail. This story was on my mind as I was cleaning out a shed on my father's property (he died in 2006) this weekend and found cases of Guderod thread and aluminum reelseat material whose boxes were addressed to Harnell. Funny how that stuff had survived all these years.

I'm not sure that the Royal on the price list above is the Blue Royal but an earlier name for what became the Imperial line. I have an IMP5 80# class rod that I absolutely love. The wall thickness is between two and three times their standard blank. Here's a picture of an IMP5 with a little bend in it.

interesting stuff here. love this old history.

thats a slick looking job steve, almost want to have it just for the legacy it has in texas.