Hewes Reels

My goal this year is the mix up my 1-gallon batch of Diafine powder I bought years ago and shoot some 135 and 120 B&W and start developing at home.

I purchased most equipment years ago but never got around to begin developing.

Going through my boxes, I have a 135 Hewes reel but I swear I bought a 120 but I cannot locate it. I may need to buy one.

I will buy one soon but I cannot believe the prices now. (I bought the 135 back in 2011)

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These reels saved me from outright quitting photography. I couldn't use the plastic reels for some inexplicable reason and the cheap metal reels I had were a PITA even when new. By chance I bought a couple Hewes 35mm reels new around 1996 and was 'holy sh*t' what a difference. Still my main two reels to this day...haven't dropped them...knock on wood.
 
They do have a good reputation. Found the 120 reel for $52.99 at Freestyle. That’s a bit better price. :)

Hewes Pro Stainless Steel Reel - 120 Reel

Hewes Pro Stainless Steel Reel - 120 Reel - Made in England out of thick gauge stainless steel, Hewes film developing reels are manufactured to professional quality standards. Designed to withstand the rigors of school darkrooms longer than less expensive…
www.freestylephoto.com www.freestylephoto.com
 
My Hewes 35 mm and 120 reels are going on 30 years old and still work like new. Don't drop them on concrete floors and they will last several lifetimes.
 
I have read you can order direct from Hewes for some savings but the web site seems very old. Sort of a mid-90's Microsoft FrontPage design vibe.

I sent an email to Nigel at Hewes to see if I can order directly. Waiting for a response.
 
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That price is nuts!!! Sorry but you can buy some clean unwarped Nikkor or Kinderman for a tiny fraction of that price. You can not get better than Nikkor or Kinderman period. I probably have 30 120 reels and 40 or more 35mm and most are Nikkor or Kinderman that I’ve used for 60 years and some are ones my dad used that go back farther than that.

Check around with camera stores that date back to the film days and many will have a box full of them you can probably pickup for $5 each. See if there’s a photo finishing lab that used to do film and there are places that broker used commercial darkroom equipment. You can usually find tanks and reels if you look a little.

the cheap Chinese reels you find on eBay and at B&H and Freestyle are pretty much junk. I bought some a few years ago and just threw them away. I was running a lot of film at the time and thought I’d like a few more but decided after buying a dozen junk reels that what I had was enough. ( I was running my film in a 3.5 gal deep tank in a basket )
I may be living in a dream world but that seems like robbery.
 
I heard from Nigel and he is going to send me a quote once he returns from his travels. I hope there is a bit of savings even though it will be shipped from the UK to USA; unless they have a distributor here. 🤞
 
x-ray said:
That price is nuts!!! Sorry but you can buy some clean unwarped Nikkor or Kinderman for a tiny fraction of that price. You can not get better than Nikkor or Kinderman period. I probably have 30 120 reels and 40 or more 35mm and most are Nikkor or Kinderman that I’ve used for 60 years and some are ones my dad used that go back farther than that.

Check around with camera stores that date back to the film days and many will have a box full of them you can probably pickup for $5 each. See if there’s a photo finishing lab that used to do film and there are places that broker used commercial darkroom equipment. You can usually find tanks and reels if you look a little.

the cheap Chinese reels you find on eBay and at B&H and Freestyle are pretty much junk. I bought some a few years ago and just threw them away. I was running a lot of film at the time and thought I’d like a few more but decided after buying a dozen junk reels that what I had was enough. ( I was running my film in a 3.5 gal deep tank in a basket )
I may be living in a dream world but that seems like robbery.
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I just checked the auction site. Many choices there. I may go this route depending on the quote I get. Thanks @x-ray for the advice.

I like this Nikor 120 SS tank and reel. The tank construction seems to be all metal with metal baffle. No plastic. Nice. And, Made in West Springfield, Mass. right in my backyard. :)
www.ebay.com

Nikor Stainless Steel Developing tank with 120m steel reel - CLEAN | eBay

As always "Everything's better inBlack & White". SPECIFICS: (see photos) If you need it, I may have it.
www.ebay.com
 
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The Nikkor tanks are nice -- mine, which I picked up on eBay long ago, is the larger (4 x 135 rolls) size, but the lid+cap doesn't seal quite as well as the plastic lids+caps do. Most times it drips a little bit if I do inversion agitation. Sometimes it doesn't, which leads me to suspect that either the lid or the cap, or both, is just slightly out of round and so in most orientations there is a slight gap, but every once in a while I get it lined up and it seals well. The plastic ones never leak, but the lids do eventually wear out from the flexing stress of being put on and removed.
 
The later Nikor tanks with the round pouring spout are nice. There was an older version that had a straight baffle that poured really slow. I have both and use a plastic lid on the older version.

With the tanks, make certain the lid fits right. I know they weren’t custom fitted but there’s a wide variation in lids and tanks and lids don’t always interchange and seal properly.

Just make sure your reels aren’t damaged.

Funny but a couple years ago you couldn’t give darkroom equipment away. Still I think it’s hard to sell.

If you’re in the US check Craig’s list photo section and join the large format forum. Great and very knowledgeable group of excellent photographers there. Put a want ad in and you’ll most likely get a number of people that will sell or give you good reels. Often I see expensive darkroom equipment including expensive enlargers for give away. Just last week an 8x10 Elwood (old but excellent) enlarger was listed for giveaway.

I have a great darkroom and don’t need any more equipment and had a full darkroom given to me with a mint Beseler 23CII enlarger not long ago. I wound up passing it on to a school system teaching photography.

Good luck!
 
x-ray said:
That price is nuts!!! Sorry but you can buy some clean unwarped Nikkor or Kinderman for a tiny fraction of that price. You can not get better than Nikkor or Kinderman period. I probably have 30 120 reels and 40 or more 35mm and most are Nikkor or Kinderman that I’ve used for 60 years and some are ones my dad used that go back farther than that.

Check around with camera stores that date back to the film days and many will have a box full of them you can probably pickup for $5 each. See if there’s a photo finishing lab that used to do film and there are places that broker used commercial darkroom equipment. You can usually find tanks and reels if you look a little.

the cheap Chinese reels you find on eBay and at B&H and Freestyle are pretty much junk. I bought some a few years ago and just threw them away. I was running a lot of film at the time and thought I’d like a few more but decided after buying a dozen junk reels that what I had was enough. ( I was running my film in a 3.5 gal deep tank in a basket )
I may be living in a dream world but that seems like robbery.
Click to expand...
I had some Kinderman 35 mm reels that I got rid of because I managed to get a puncture wound on my index finger 4 times out of 5 when loading film with their spring loaded sharp clamp. They were extremely well made and part of a well thought out system including a film washer and dryer that worked well, but the Hewes reels worked much better for me. (no more bleeding on my film...)
 
I bought my Hewes reels when they were expensive at +- 25 USD, to see if they lived up to the hype. I haven’t even slightly regretted it. I’ve loaded thousands of rolls on Nikor et al stainless reels. The Hewes are much easier to work with.
 
pixelated said:
I bought my Hewes reels when they were expensive at +- 25 USD, to see if they lived up to the hype. I haven’t even slightly regretted it. I’ve loaded thousands of rolls on Nikor et al stainless reels. The Hewes are much easier to work with.
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I don’t know how they could be any easier than loading a Nikor or Kinderman. I used to demonstrate loading 120 by putting the end of the film in the clip, laying the reel on a table so it could roll, cupping the film with my hand and pushing the reel with the film. It loads itself as it rolls on the table. Same with 35mm.
 
When we moved I kept the Hewes reels and gave away the metal tanks. After that I used Paterson tanks for 20 years. I kept the Hewes after another move and after going digital and now want to use them again.

Which tanks do you recommend to use with Hewes reels in 120 and 135? I recall reading somewhere a lot of them leaked during inversion.
 
Rayt said:
When we moved I kept the Hewes reels and gave away the metal tanks. After that I used Paterson tanks for 20 years. I kept the Hewes after another move and after going digital and now want to use them again.

Which tanks do you recommend to use with Hewes reels in 120 and 135? I recall reading somewhere a lot of them leaked during inversion.
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Kinderman stainless tanks with plastic lid don't leak when inverted.
 
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