Mustad Hooks
An old company that continues to be new
This year Mustad (pronounced roughly mew-stah) celebrates 175 years of production and 130 years of hook making. The company formed in 1832, when Hans Skikkelstad began making nails and wire. Hans’s son in law, Ole Mustad, acquired [corrected: commissioned his chief engineer, Mathias Topp, to construct the first fully automatic hook machine, which he did in 1877] a hook-making machine and, as they say the rest is history.
Mustad has not rested on its heritage, though. It has continuously and creatively upgraded its hook line. Throughout the 20th century Mustad expanded its operations across Europe and around the world. Ernest Schwiebert, in Trout (1978) noted its influence: “Mustad rapidly filled the vacuum in the post-war fishing world, and now thoroughly dominates the trade, in spite of hook manufacturing in Japan, France, and the United States.” And in Africa, the word “Mustad” was a native word for “hook”. In 1996, Mustad bought England’s Partridge of Redditch, whose hooks continue to be sold under the Partridge label.
If there is only one fly hook for which Mustad is best known it is the 94840, in sizes 4 to 28. For decades it was the world’s ubiquitous hook, and its proportions and grace still influence modern fly-tying. Such traditional axioms as “wing length equals shank length” and “begin the body directly above the rear of the barb” came from the 94840.
In the modern market, hook styles are numerous and competitive, yet Mustad stands out. Mustad, the only manufacturer to draw its own hook wire, produces more than 213 Mustad Classic hooks, including the 94840 and the 94845 barbless. The Mustad Signature Series, with models designed with tier input, includes saltwater poppers (CK74S), the innovative circle streamer (C71S), and the stinger (C52S). The Partridge hooks, with 58 models, include the Bartleet traditional blind eye (CS10/3), the 10X-long Carrie Stevens Limerick Streamer (CS15), the Maraniaro Midge (K1A), and the Czech Nymph (CZ). There are also innovative bends like the 1979 Swedish dry fly (K3A) and the 1970s Yorshire fly body (K10).
Marvin Nolte, master tier and angling historian, favors – as I do – the newer R50 hook with chemically sharpened “signature point” and micro barb. He also likes the R90 with micro-barb. The popular R30 (dry), R48 (caddis), R52S (universal) and R72 (long nymph) form the basic kit for any fly tier. As a side note, I would like to see the 94840 with a micro-barb and “signature point”, as well as the return of Partridge’s discontinued J1A Limerick wetfly hook.
Finally, in recognition of over a century of excellence and innovation, this Kudos goes to an old company that continues to be new.
-- Darrel Martin
MUSTAD NEWS - USA 