In 1932, Henze rented a 3rd floor loft on 492 North Third Street in Philadelphia from a general machinist firm, William Schmitz & Company.
The similar Model K added a lever actuated free spool and durable metal reinforced plates.
The choice of coastal Atlantic and Pacific cities for the former K models reinforced their connection to saltwater fishing.
[2] Immediately successful, it led to numerous fishing records being set, and remains popular, known for its high quality and dependability.
[4] It featured high speed stainless pinion gears for taking in line faster and was well adapted to the extra demands of professionally guided charter fishing.
In January 2019, Penn Reels, together with associated companies forming Pure Fishing, was sold by Newell Brands to Sycamore Partners for $1.3 billion.