Mustad Planning to Discontiue the Standard Hooks
Hi All,
Very bad news.
Mustad has advised the retailers that they are discontinuing their standard fly tying hooks before the end of this year such as: 9672, 9671, 94840, 3906b, etc.
This is not a rumor. I spoke with Hook and Hackle and Cabelas yesterday. Cabelas is out of many sizes of the standard Mustad hooks and advised that they will not buy any more....when they are gone they are gone. The standard Mustad hooks are not in this years Hook and Hackle catalog.
Mustad sent out a letter advising that their standard hooks were not made to consistent size change specifications (or something like that), and that hook size changes were varied from model to model.
To fix that supposed problem, Mustad has brought out a new product line of replacement models. The "signature" series, and it has the new model number combined with the old model number so that we will know what model has the same shape as the standard hooks that we have been using for years. Example: old 94840, new R50-94840.
If anyone knows how to contact Mustad please post it.
I have edited the title on this post and deleted much of it to reflect the current knowledge on this item. (1/13/09 Gandolf)
Thanks and regards,
Gandolf
Surprised it took this long...
My real job is in the Building Materials Business...the price on wire (steel) over the last 12 months has been ALL OVER THE BOARD...there have been 100% increases realized in nails. Granted nails are a little heavier gauge than a#18 dry fly hook, but they are made from steel wire regardless...and the basic issue remains in the volitility of the commodity market for steel and steel related products. Mustad can cloak it anyway they want to, but a price increase is a price increase...
Though I appreciate the sentiment behind not being shafted...we have to face the fact that we, as Americans, forged the Shaft ourselves by pricing ourselves out of the steel industry, selling our factories to offshore interests, and deciding to become a society of consumers rather than producers. Buy other hooks...sure! how long before they raise prices too?
BTW, any thoughts on how much a single, 100% American Hook (from ore to sharpening) would actually cost? and how much extra would we be willing to pay for that hook...or reel...or rod...or car...or tv...
we have no-one to blame but ourselves...heck I work for a company that manufactures a completely domestic product from ground to truck, and I'm not innocent....we use foreign energy to make it and deliver it!:confused:
Economics for the 21st Century...thik I'll go fishing, this makes my head hurt:(