celluloid fishing floats

i`m after some old/vintage/collectable celluloid fishing floats.has anyone got any that they would care to sell me???

Thirty/forties floats those are mate I remember my dad using them and I wouldn't have thought there were that many left, blooming great white things with red tops they were. When my dad died in 1986 I threw a whole tinful of them in the bin, no eye for antiques me, I did keep some of his porcupine quills though and still use them now and again.

graham,i`ve got well over 300 porcupine quills,all in various condition.i also have a number of perch/grayling bobs,avon crow quills,half porcupine quill/half cane stick floats,goose quills and a few pike bungs/gazette floatsas well.
its my intention to refurbish these floats...new paint,eyes and whippings etc...and use them myself,also sell some and pass some on to friends and family.
every now and then i get the old floats out and use them,its something i really enjoy doing.infact,i was using an old porcupine quill float on sunday just gone.i think its proving a point,that you dont need all new modern tackle to catch fish....the old stuff works just as well,if not better!!!
celluloid floats seem to be a bit of a stumbling block for me....i just cant seem to find them anywhere,infact i only own one float.
so if any one has any they want to sell,please let me know...many thanks.

What are your tips for modern day float collectables of the future Nick? I have some Stan Bennet floats that were hand made and they really are the dogs wotsits in terms of craftmasnhip and the way they react in the water. Also have a few 'Toppers' crow quill Avons and the like.Not that I'd consider parting with them.Often see adds asking for Drennan floats and Pete Warren sticks of which I have plenty.I doubt theyd fetch a high price so maybe its guys like you who just appreciate the fun of restoring them to their former glory.

don,i`m no expert believe me,i just enjoy seeing the old style floats being used for what they were made for...catching fish.
if i had to pick some makes to become collectors items in the future,i`d plump for early drennan floats (of which i have some)and perhaps some of the early topper haskins floats,any complete sets of ivan marks floats should do well also.
at the moment,porcupine quills are two a`penny,i think folk are paying well over the odds for them.its just as cheap to buy unused plain quills as it is to buy second hand ones now to be honest.
cork bodied floats eg...perch/grayling bobbers,cork bodied chubber/avon style floats esp harcork ones seem to be in demand among collectors and buyers on e-bay,as are the old style pike bungs/gazettes.

Does anyone know if Porcupine Quills are still available for purchase?

I think the smaller ones, that take one or 2 no. 8's, still have a use for close in ultra light fishing. Certainly they are fun and a nice throwback to the times the little Perch used to bob them under on my local pond.

The bigger ones were and still are, totally useless. Cast like pigs and hold very little shot.

Thanks Nick, I have just a couple of perch and grayling bobbers, not really old ones but they certainly are well made.

Nick, "half porcupine quill/half cane stick floats".

When I lived in Birmingham a guy who made these superb floats used to bring them into Clissets shop and sell them for 75p each to the counter loungers. I, being a counter lounger at the time, bought 3 or 4 of these but sadly they've long gone now, I suppose these are in the 'rarity' class now as well. They were great floats to use on the Trent with caster.

I've managed to find a few early Drennan floats circa 1970 which is when I first saw his floats. The finish is superb. I did see some of Peter Stone's floats a while back that had been hand made by Drennan, highly collectable. I have early Ivan Marks floats as well but only ones made by Ivan are really worth having (I have a set of sticks made by him). I don't think that celluloid floats are collectable though some would disagree, they seem crude and nasty to me. Zephyr floats are something else though. I have some Stan Bennett floats that are very good.

I make crow quill Avons to use to varying standards, the best ones work perfectly and look good.

I'd say that you'd be better off making really good floats for your own use using crow, geese, peacock quill, and balsa to whatever design takes your fancy rather than refurbishing old floats. Once you have revarnished floats a lot they don't work that well.

i found a couple of celluloid floats at a car boot sale today....couldnt get me money out of my pocket quick enough!!!


come on gents,dont be shy!!!

Float making used to be part of the "angling apprenticeship" once upon a time Mark as youre probably aware. I made some Trent Trotters,various wagglers and sliders and enjoyed the experience. I beleive youre correct too about refurbishing some of the older floats,even some of the not so old ones behave entirely differently when coated with modern paints and varnish. Some of these floats would look lovely in one of those deep picture frames,I'm surprised no ones marketed such an idea,unless they have and I missed it lol. I suppose with the advent of the pole a lot of newcomers couldnt even contemplate making their own floats although I have made a few 'specials' and adapted(butchered in some cases lol) pole floats to my own preference. Someone once asked where I got a certain float that was doing the biz during a session,it was spot on and I was catching when others couldnt get a bite. When I told him I'd made it for the venue he just said "why bother"? There didnt seem much point in trying to explain! My Stan Bennet floats I would risk a dip in the Trent for if I snapped off they are that good.Mr Bennet was also a good angler in his day but someone told me he had passed away,which,if true,is a sad loss of a decent angler and crafstman.

Like you Don I've purpose made floats for many years, possibly slightly more than I've catching fish! I've probably made the lot over years from pole floats, sliders, wagglers, balsas, trotters, Trent trotters, sticks, Avons, and a few more besides. Still use my own floats a lot though not always. Like you I've sometimes perfected a float that couldn't be bought.

One little stick made from fibreglass and balsa was the best I ever used for light roach fishing, almost cried when I lost it playing a big chub.

I have made goose quill floats to Victorian specification with the whipped over quill and ring at the base using shellac, linen thread and old colour paints rather than fluorescents, and these were framed and sold by a local dealer though not claimed as old.

Once had a long conversation with Topper about his Avons. his are designed for very specific use, and to be used in a special way. From that I gleaned that changes to design could be advantageous for other conditions. I see a lot of Avons that are based on his design being used locally when a change to the shape of the body and length of tip would result in a better float for the conditions. His float was designed for deep slow water with upstream wind and only shotted to base of the tip. It is also a big float for long range mostly 10BB plus. Used one myself (home made) yesterday on lower Stour for bream.

Foe holding back, shallow water, or boily water you need a shorter tip and more of a shoulder to the float; goose quill is useful for really heavy water.

mark,i have a carrier bag with a load of goose quills in it that your more than welcome to have if you want???
you would have to strip the feather from them etc....
i`d be very much intrested in the victorian specifications for the goose quills as well.
ref re varnishing floats etc....and not peforming too well,wherever possible i plan to strip the paint and varnish from them and then re-paint and varnish etc...
i`ve donr this with a few porcupine quills already,with no detriment to the actual quills themselves.

Nick,

I've also got a carrier full of goose quills - our pits are covered with them in summer. For the victorian spec I checked out J W Martin books etc to get the detail right as well as seeing some of Chris Sandford's floats. I used a postbox red, shellac with whipping on the float. At the ring end the quill is shaved to a fine piece that is bent back to the stem and whipped on, after putting a rig ring on. Float caps are made of quill sections.

As you say porcupines can be successfully stripped to the base quill but other floats like balsas etc are more difficult.

One problem I've had with early Ivan Marks floats is the float splitting.

Just been having a read of your last offerings and it makes me quite nostalgic. At the moment I'm making my own leads so I guess its from one extreme to the other lol.Again it's purely that I have a specific need and shop purchased leads dont cater for what I require.
There havent been many bad float designs really, I suppose the main problem years back was buying consistently decent made floats with correct shotting patterns. One I can recall being a bit daft was 'sarkandas' reed floats which were,in my opinion the most ill informed material to make floats from. There was of course the famous 'needle float' dont know if it was Nottm or Newark needle float. A bit weird and wonderful and I would say,from what I have read about them,they were either loved or hated with no real middle ground. Now we have these huge 'bagging wagglers' which are not the prettiest of designs but they serve a purpose and function well. Dave Thomas should really get some credit for the initial idea as years ago he designed the float feeder which was along similar lines albeit somewhat smaller. Dave was also responsible for the 'locslide' floats which were the forerunner of the 'polaris' although both floats are still in production I beleive by seperate companies. I must admit that I have not used(in decades) and indeed dont even have a porky quill float in my collection. I think it harks back to when they were almost all that was available to a young (mostly skint) angler lol. I can well understand your thinking on the Toppers,it makes sense to me. I have some of the 'fluted' Avons which,in the right conditions,are superb. Its often said that floats catch more anglers than fish but to be honest its not something thats ever worried me lol. Floats,as well as being functional can indeed be things of sublime beauty.Its refreshing to know that other anglers are still making floats.

The needle float has far as I can remember was the newark needle float ,and for some unknown reason I had a set of them ,maybe a free offer from the A.T.or A.M. ?

Did you ever use them Les?