jigginpig Posted May 15, 2015 Report Share Posted May 15, 2015 Does anyone know a source of extremely nice spinnerbait blades? By "nice" I mean flawlessly dressed, plated to perfection, and lacquered? I know, I know... Hildebrandt... but GOOD LORD those things are high. The "regal finish" blades from Lure Parts Online should be their mid-line offering, IMO. I have gotten some pretty poor examples from them, for as much as they hype them in the literature. I love LPO, not knocking the company, I'm just picky about blades. SS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Apdriver Posted May 15, 2015 Report Share Posted May 15, 2015 Worth. Lots of options. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smalljaw Posted May 15, 2015 Report Share Posted May 15, 2015 Hildebrandt are expensive because they are exactly what you want. I use Worth blades and you can order directly from them but they do have minimums. Their nickel, polish brass lacquered are very nice as well and they also have gold plated blades which are very nice but anything gold plated is going to be expensive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Braided Line Posted May 15, 2015 Report Share Posted May 15, 2015 (edited) Your first paragraph. Then .......... "I`m just picky about blades." "But good lord those things are high." You want quality? It`s there but you have to pay up. J s/n. Edited May 15, 2015 by Braided Line Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jigginpig Posted May 17, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 17, 2015 Thanks Apdriver, smalljaw. I will look into the Worth blades more closely. Braided Line, I use Hildebrandt blades. They are very nice, but they are stupid expensive. I think it is possible they are priced higher than can be justified by the expenses incurred in the manufacturing process. Like when Trokar hooks came out, they priced them artificially high just to "make a statement" then brought them back in line with reality. Some folks use the "X-Point" hooks, and those were marketed as "too expensive for most anglers" with pride. I understand good stuff costs a lot. Respectfully, making that point to an adult might be interpreted as condescending. Cheers all. SS 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smalljaw Posted May 17, 2015 Report Share Posted May 17, 2015 Hildebrandt blades are expensive because they plate all their blades with nickel, copper, and 24K gold. But after they plate they are polished to a high shine and then lightly lacquered, very labor intensive. If you want to save some money and don't mind putting the time in, buy regular finish blades and strip the lacquer from them, you can do a lot at one time buy letting them soak in some acetone. After they soak for a few hours take them out and use a plastic kitchen scrubby and scour the blades with it, I use those as they won't scratch the finish. Once I have the blades stripped I rinse them in warm water and dry, then take brass polishing compound and load up the polishing wheel for the Dremel, I actually like doing that, but you'll be amazed at what kind of finish you can get. After that you can coat them with lacquer if you want, I don't as it is a pain but I only did this about 5 or 6 years ago to see if I could match the brilliance of the Hildebrandt blades and I found I can but it takes a lot and that is why they are so expensive. Lure Parts Online use to use Worth blades but they switched to Lakeland but Barlows has Worth, look for the "Smooth mirror finish" in the description, they are high quality at a decent price. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jigginpig Posted May 17, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 17, 2015 Good info there, thanks again. I get pretty decent results by hitting the blades with #0000 steel wool. Dip in Dick Nite's afterward, looks great. 'Tis indeed a PITA, so point taken. Cheers. SS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Apdriver Posted May 18, 2015 Report Share Posted May 18, 2015 Recently, I have made a few spinnerbaits and have certainly noticed the price of high quality blades. I ordered some "run of the mill stuff" from Jon B. and it's amazing what a bit of Brasso will do to it. I certainly agree with Smalljaw,that it is labor intensive to produce a high quality blade. The folks that balk at a 6, or 8 buck custom spinnerbait haven't priced the components. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smalljaw Posted May 18, 2015 Report Share Posted May 18, 2015 Apdriver got that right, if you want a custom spinnerbait that is done right, you have to figure between the swivel, blades and hook is almost $3.00. I use only Worth swivels and even in bulk they aren't cheap, but all of us here know the cost of this stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark poulson Posted May 21, 2015 Report Share Posted May 21, 2015 I found a way to add flash to cheap blades. I coat them with Sally Hansen's "In The Spotlight" nail polish. It is thick, so it slows down the blades some, but the mylar bits in it make the blades flash more than any factory fishing. It works on nickel, brass, painted, any blade. If a blade gets dull over time, I just clean it with acetone, and reapply the nail polish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joelhains Posted May 25, 2015 Report Share Posted May 25, 2015 I recently purchased some gold plated blades from worth. I'm very impressed with them. They are beautiful. it took about a month from the time I ordered them to receive them though. but if your not in a hurry for them they are an excellent option. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edgecrusher Posted May 25, 2015 Report Share Posted May 25, 2015 I recently purchased some gold plated blades from worth. I'm very impressed with them. They are beautiful. it took about a month from the time I ordered them to receive them though. but if your not in a hurry for them they are an excellent option. How many did you need to order of a particular size 1000? or did they let you do a lessor amount? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joelhains Posted May 26, 2015 Report Share Posted May 26, 2015 I think I only ordered 50. They don't make you purchase a minimum quantity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Apdriver Posted May 26, 2015 Report Share Posted May 26, 2015 Thanks for the info Joel. When I ordered from them,I noticed there was a "call for quote" price on those blades. With the price of gold, I just thought I didn't need to call. If you don't mind, would you tell us what a gold plated blade cost nowadays? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joelhains Posted May 26, 2015 Report Share Posted May 26, 2015 (edited) Honestly I don't remember exactly and the price will vary by style and size. I think the ones I got were about $1 a piece. I got the turtle back blades Edited May 26, 2015 by joelhains Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joelhains Posted May 26, 2015 Report Share Posted May 26, 2015 (edited) You can see the difference between the gold played blades and the brass lacquered blades and for the price, you should. The ones I bought were size 4 Worth. Edited May 26, 2015 by joelhains Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jigginpig Posted May 26, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 26, 2015 (edited) A buck a p'op is doable. Good call, TU is such a great "place." Edited May 26, 2015 by jigginpig Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edgecrusher Posted May 26, 2015 Report Share Posted May 26, 2015 I think I only ordered 50. They don't make you purchase a minimum quantity. Thanks Joel, Last time I asked they wanted 1000 per type and size to be gold plated, any other finish they were happy to do smaller amounts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joelhains Posted May 26, 2015 Report Share Posted May 26, 2015 Thats why I had to wait for them. They needed to have more for plating before I could have mine done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
