A few years ago, I set out on one of my usual obsessive missions to find the best of a particular tool category. I was looking for a chalk line reel, but wasn’t going to settle for junk that spilled more chalk than it did apply it in a straight line. I checked out several of the usual suspects from some of the major tool brands, and frankly just wasn’t impressed. Some reeled slowly, others were prone to spilling chalk excessively, while some had poorly designed anchors (including models that offer only a round ring). I wanted precision, solid build quality, good chalk control and reeling so fast it would make fishing show hosts jealous. That search ultimately led me to Tajima, a Japanese company that focuses on a very narrow range of quality tools. Read More