Are HEWES reels THAT much better?

Sirius Glass · Nov 9, 2023

Hewes reels are stronger and thus resistant to getting bent or out of shape. Also both 135 and 120 reels have a good way to hold the end of the film to the center. Much better than the other brand reels.

MattKing · Nov 9, 2023

Bill Burk said:
I also dream of having 12 sets of silverware for Thanksgiving

Our local thrift store can easily fulfil your dreams

J N · Nov 9, 2023

Old-N-Feeble said:
I never had any trouble with any SS reels unless they were bent.

Bill Burk said:
100% of the difficulties I have spooling film on reels is a crooked start. Hewes reels don’t start crooked.

I live with the old reels but dream of having a full set of eight Hewes reels.

Just can’t justify the expense because I can make the old ones work. When I do have a problem I just unreel and start over.

I also dream of having 12 sets of silverware for Thanksgiving but at fifty bucks a set I am going to just piecemeal a couple extra forks and spoons.

On crappy reels (which mercifully are no longer in my 35mm process) I skip clipping the film to the hub, which fixes the not centered problem but does nothing to help with the uneven spacing problem.

I'm not sure why people think attaching the film to the hub is important. It's not going anywhere and if you're pulling hard enough on the film to pull it out once you've got more than the first revolution, you're doing it wrong (imo). You're "placing" the film "in" the reel not "pulling" it "from" the roll.

I have two 35mm Hewes reels. It's rare that I have more than 2 reels of B+W or color to process on any given occasion.

mshchem · Nov 9, 2023

Bill Burk said:
100% of the difficulties I have spooling film on reels is a crooked start. Hewes reels don’t start crooked.

I live with the old reels but dream of having a full set of eight Hewes reels.

Just can’t justify the expense because I can make the old ones work. When I do have a problem I just unreel and start over.

I also dream of having 12 sets of silverware for Thanksgiving but at fifty bucks a set I am going to just piecemeal a couple extra forks and spoons.

I went to Wal-Mart a few years ago on orders from my wife to buy a bunch of plastic forks etc for a party we were throwing. I found some really cheap stainless forks that were less than 50 cents a piece. She was really upset, apparently she was afraid that people would think this was our regular tableware. I use it daily .

Hewes reels are a joy to use.

Bill Burk · Nov 9, 2023

mshchem said:
I went to Wal-Mart a few years ago on orders from my wife to buy a bunch of plastic forks etc for a party we were throwing. I found some really cheap stainless forks that were less than 50 cents a piece. She was really upset, apparently she was afraid that people would think this was our regular tableware. I use it daily .

Hewes reels are a joy to use.

We were going to go to Wal-Mart last Sunday for exactly that reason. Then I figured… you know we never had enough of “our” set and I found plenty on eBay.

My wife was a bit taken aback that they were “used” but I was happier they fit right in and you can’t tell them apart.

Chuck1 · Nov 9, 2023

I saw some ilford hp5 reels that were on ebay recently, they looked like hewes(the center stamped metal thing) they were apparently for 72exp rolls from the late seventies and were probably too big to fit in a "standard" tank any one ever used those?
Yes hewes reels are worth it

mshchem · Nov 9, 2023

Bill Burk said:
We were going to go to Wal-Mart last Sunday for exactly that reason. Then I figured… you know we never had enough of “our” set and I found plenty on eBay.

My wife was a bit taken aback that they were “used” but I was happier they fit right in and you can’t tell them apart.

Genius!

mshchem · Nov 9, 2023

Chuck1 said:
I saw some ilford hp5 reels that were on ebay recently, they looked like hewes(the center stamped metal thing) they were apparently for 72exp rolls from the late seventies and were probably too big to fit in a "standard" tank any one ever used those?
Yes hewes reels are worth it

I can't remember. I had some of these reels at one time. I got them in a box of junk at a sale.I always wondered how people managed 10 feet of wet film in their darkroom on the first go.

J N · Nov 9, 2023

Chuck1 said:
I saw some ilford hp5 reels that were on ebay recently, they looked like hewes(the center stamped metal thing) they were apparently for 72exp rolls from the late seventies and were probably too big to fit in a "standard" tank any one ever used those?
Yes hewes reels are worth it

My Pen F's 72 exposure rolls fit just fine on a regular 35mm reel.

Those of you who have shot 72 exposure rolls will know the feeling that they are like 4x not 2x as long as 36 exposures. Will this roll never end?!?

But wait.

What size reel do you need for a Nikon MF-2?

J N · Nov 9, 2023

mshchem said:
I can't remember. I had some of these reels at one time. I got them in a box of junk at a sale.I always wondered how people managed 10 feet of wet film in their darkroom on the first go.

Well you hang it in a "W" for one thing.

AnselMortensen · Nov 9, 2023

Since my loading technique for stainless reels involves a little bit of gentle 'push & pull'.....the 'push' tends to push the film off of the Hewes reel 'prongs'....
(which makes me ululate my plight in an unseemly, churlish manner after the third time).
So no...not a fan.
But I do appreciate the build quality.

mshchem · Nov 9, 2023

If you really want to go all out for Hewes 35mm, get one of their loaders. One needs to not rewind the film back into the cassette, then in room light you trim the tail off the film, insert the metal cassette into the cradle of the loader, put the very end of the film on the teeth of the reel, extinguish the lights, crank the little crank, the film spins onto the reel, 95% of the time, then you snip the film off the cassette, drop the reel into the tank, close the lid and repeat.

Of course it takes 3 times as much time but it's great fun to watch on IR goggles (which you need in case something really goes wrong

GregY · Nov 9, 2023

chip j said:
Than the Nikor & Kindermann I already have??

IMO The Nikor, Kinderman & Hewes are top of the heap.....the others vary wildly.

mshchem · Nov 10, 2023

J N said:
What size reel do you need for a Nikon MF-2?

Hewes and Nikor made them. And a loader, they're about 10 inches across, I use a Nikor tank that will hold a 70mm reel or 2 35mm reels. I have used it for 70mm , works fine, not daylight tank you put the solution in in the dark.
These long reels are designed to have the film dry on the reel. Nikor even made a motorized version that would spin the reel to allow for uniform rapid drying.

Nitroplait · Nov 10, 2023

J N said:
I'm not sure why people think attaching the film to the hub is important. It's not going anywhere and if you're pulling hard enough on the film to pull it out once you've got more than the first revolution, you're doing it wrong (imo). You're "placing" the film "in" the reel not "pulling" it "from" the roll.

Agree.

Especially for 120 in my experience.

I find good steel 120 reels (like Hewes, Nikor and Kinderman) much easier to load than plastic reels especially if you avoid the clip.
I never clip it to the inner core, just hold it with my thumb for the first rotation, and "place" the film in the rails, as J N says.

I find starting with the taped end of 120 towards the core makes things smoother for me when employing above method.

guangong · Nov 10, 2023

Can’t speak about Hewes, but I use a gizmo that attaches to center of steel reel and easily guides 35mm film; for 120 I use a steel guide that fits into palm for problem free loading. However, From comments, Hewes seem to be more practical and would try them if I were just beginning.

Dusty Negative · Nov 10, 2023

Give me that cold British Steel any day. I know it's a personal thing, but that wretched, hard-to-clean-and-dry, ball-bearing-blighted 'other' reel is for masochists.

[Said with respect and philia for all diverse opinions, peoples, and companies.]

Vaughn · Nov 10, 2023

GregY · Nov 10, 2023

Dusty Negative said:
Give me that cold British Steel any day. I know it's a personal thing, but that wretched, hard-to-clean-and-dry, ball-bearing-blighted 'other' reel is for masochists.

[Said with respect and philia for all diverse opinions, peoples, and companies.]

Like great cameras, great reels were made in many places.... Kinderman in Germany & Nikor in Japan.....but i agree about the wretched plastic ones....

mrosenlof · Nov 10, 2023

For 35mm, definitely worth it. For 120, I think much less of a difference. To me, all 120 reels with with their thick wire and wide spacing are easy to load. I have a couple of Hewes 120 reels, bit others also.

GregY · Nov 10, 2023

My favourite Hewes, albeit that they sit idle these days, are the 220 reels.

Sirius Glass · Nov 10, 2023

As will all reels, plastic or stainless steel, trim the corners of the film to make the loading easier if one is pushing the film on the reel.

Philippe-Georges · Nov 11, 2023

Why is nobody mentioning the fantastic LPL/120 reels?

BTW, anybody interested in the famous ILFORD Hp5 72 exposure system?
I happen to have a set of hardly used and boxed ILFORD SS tank, two dito SS 35mm 72 exp. reels and the indispensable ILFORD loader, which I am willing to sell.
I think these were made by Hewes, in the UK as ILFORD is...

This was a very popular system among press photographers using motor driven cameras in the '80s.
ILFORD's Hp5 was poured on a special thin filmbase (roll film base?) so a double lengt (72 exp.) could fit in a standard 35mm cartridge.

The advantage was that one could go on shooting for double the time without reloading, and could carry twice the amount of film in the same number of cartridges.
The disadvantage was that you needed that dedicated developing tank system, the film was so thin that some cameras would'n take op the leader while loading (the famous automatic film loading system) and some cameras had a such 'wild' motordrive that the film's perforations got damaged and transportation blocked!
So ILFORD stoped the production, but still, the idea was interesting.

But, if you load your own cartridges, you can go beyond the 36 exposures, till the cartridge's completion (around 50 exp. depending the brand), and still develop that length as these reels are large enough!

guangong · Nov 11, 2023

The absolute worst of plastic reels are those made by Jobo with a piece of plastic that blocks film from advancing into reel.

GregY · Nov 11, 2023

Philippe-Georges said:
Why is nobody mentioning the fantastic LPL/120 reels?

BTW, anybody interested in the famous ILFORD Hp5 72 exposure system?
I happen to have a set of hardly used and boxed ILFORD SS tank, two dito SS 35mm 72 exp. reels and the indispensable ILFORD loader, which I am willing to sell.
I think these were made by Hewes, in the UK as ILFORD is...

This was a very popular system among press photographers using motor driven cameras in the '80s.
ILFORD's Hp5 was poured on a special thin filmbase (roll film base?) so a double lengt (72 exp.) could fit in a standard 35mm cartridge.

The advantage was that one could go on shooting for double the time without reloading, and could carry twice the amount of film in the same number of cartridges.
The disadvantage was that you needed that dedicated developing tank system, the film was so thin that some cameras would'n take op the leader while loading (the famous automatic film loading system) and some cameras had a such 'wild' motordrive that the film's perforations got damaged and transportation blocked!
So ILFORD stoped the production, but still, the idea was interesting.

But, if you load your own cartridges, you can go beyond the 36 exposures, till the cartridge's completion (around 50 exp. depending the brand), and still develop that length as these reels are large enough!

Philippe, I see that LPL products are still available new, but more than 30 yrs ago when i bought my assortment of tanks (Kinderman & Nikor) they weren't readily on the shelves in Canada. & I've never had to replace any. The best thing i did was to give away the first Paterson tank i had.

Are HEWES reels THAT much better?

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