I am looking at this auction right now, and i am blown away. I have never seen any handles, ever coming even half way. And the auction isn't even over, there's 11 hours left.
https://auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/u1226539280

I don't know how DRT did it, but their products are out of this world when it comes to price. No joke, if they were able to produce their own swimbait reels, i see them being sold for $3-5k a pop. If they've gotten this much swagger on the socials, and that's the reason why people are ready to pay a mega premium, i am impressed.

If that's what people want to spend their money on I guess? Far be it from me to question purchases. Bad financial decisions is my middle name.😂

No one is going to fish that example. It's a complete as-new package, of a discontinued and limited quality part. Livre makes DRT as their limited edition upgrade. There's a collector, even investor-speculator market for items like this in Japan. In this case, don't look at it as a reel handle, but a rare curio that's going into a glass cabinet.

If you want to fish a DRT handle, watch for the next (different) limited run, and buy early because it will sell out in days to weeks. If you want to improve your reel, skip DRT, buy Livre, Studio Composite, or Avail, match the handle to your reel and niche

I am willing to sell the handles from my old, beat-up reels for $999. Yep, you can save a buck when you buy from ol' Swampy!

One thing I’ve learned from doing a lot of tax returns, there are some people that make a TON of money.

Although it seems ridiculous and foolish to drop a grand on a reel handle, to some it’s “nothing”.

Crazy where the fishing industry is going.

I blame Covid and social media.

Certainly, you guys are wiser than those silly Japanese Yahoo bidders.

The guy who spent $150 and stashed that handle has a pretty good ROI. It's kinda like getting $850 in tackle for free.

In November 2025, a high-grade copy of Superman No. 1 (1939) sold for a record-breaking $9.12 million, making it one of the most valuable comic books ever sold. The comic, which was discovered in a California attic, was graded 9.0 by the Certified Guaranty Company (CGC).

If you don't like their market, it's easy to stay out. (Who wants to buy insurance for a comic book)

I upgraded the finesse performance of all my Shimano spinners using Livre Union handles.

When I was searching for a '77 Ambassadeur 4500C to bench-race, a friend had one to trade for all my out-of-use stock Shimano handles - sure thing.

From that, I built a better BFS reel than you can go out and buy.

I just bought a new handle from Gomexus for $60. I know its not machined as well as others but it functions fine and the knobs are great for cranking baits in.

Is the DRT handle worth its initial retail? Sure, to somebody. The auction price? Probably not but its an auction. Is a new in the box Daiwa TD Ito worth $500 (just guessing) ? No but to the right guy its like finding the holy grail and they will pay anything for it. Its just comes down to how bad you want it and how much you are willing to spend.

Dumb question, what’s the reason for buying a replacement handle? Maybe I should specify “to use”.

Dumber question: how do handle upgrades work? Longer handle arms means more torque but more wrist and hand fatigue? I've realized I like round knobs. How do you replace knobs? Is there a primer on handles somewhere?

Thanks!

2 hours ago, bulldog1935 said:

Certainly, you guys are wiser than those silly Japanese Yahoo bidders.

The guy who spent $150 and stashed that handle has a pretty good ROI. It's kinda like getting $850 in tackle for free.

If you don't like their market, it's easy to stay out. (Who wants to buy insurance for a comic book)

I upgraded the finesse performance of all my Shimano spinners using Livre Union handles.

When I was searching for a '77 Ambassadeur 4500C to bench-race, a friend had one to trade for all my out-of-use stock Shimano handles - sure thing.

From that, I built a better BFS reel than you can go out and buy.

How much are those livre handles?

@MontanaBasser - the 8-geared Super Duty above is on IM6 Crowder jerkbait combo. Between the old-school rod and 60-mm-pitch Livre SB jigging handle, I can count the fish improvement in my presentation.

The counterbalanced Livre Union handle on spinner prevents gravity acting on the offset bail and rotor from pushing against your hand.

Heavy offset handle weight puts torsion on your grip hand, which also affects lure feel.

More here:

Swapping knobs - most of our reels use Shimano A or Daiwa S knobs, which can interchange.

You use sub-mm shim washers (included with knobs) at the bottom to shim out end play in the knob stack.

Abu/ Doyo have 5-mm knob spindles, and SDS Customs in Ukraine sells a good range of knobs.

@Brycecover https://www.hedgehog-studio.co.jp/phone/page/77

6 hours ago, bulldog1935 said:

No one is going to fish that example. It's a complete as-new package, of a discontinued and limited quality part. Livre makes DRT as their limited edition upgrade. There's a collector, even investor-speculator market for items like this in Japan. In this case, don't look at it as a reel handle, but a rare curio that's going into a glass cabinet.

If you want to fish a DRT handle, watch for the next (different) limited run, and buy early because it will sell out in days to weeks. If you want to improve your reel, skip DRT, buy Livre, Studio Composite, or Avail, match the handle to your reel and niche

Livre, SLP, KTF and Studio Composite is all i use.

And limited edition or not, this is just a handle. I would understand a whole fishing reel, it's like a watch, a nice piece of machinery. But a handle is just a piece of metal that LIVRE can CNC the hell out of them. It being anodized in red, and being sold for these kind of prices is ridiculous.

@WetBlanket Given the Japanese bent to perfectionism, it's also somebody's art.

If you look at all pre-order, limited batch production, such as Isuzu reels, a large slice of the buyers don't even want to open the box - don't want a scratch on the box. They want to keep a perfect collectible that will out-pace inflation - even out-pace common sense - in rapid market value increase.

There are many Japanese collectors who want one of each limited batch in their collection.

All the good Yahoo buys I've found on (my few) Isuzu reels were when a new batch opened lottery sale, and the collector sold one of his older reels to fund the lottery sale he just won.

@MontanaBasser @padlin I think I have replaced a total of 6 handles on my reels, each have their own reasons. Short version, I change them to give me an advantage with a particular bait or technique. For instances, the handle I just bought will be for a Steez AII 7.x:1 that is on a MegabassP5 Mark56. The longer length handle will allow me to chop glide baits better and easier and it will help battle bigger fish.

Another I replaced was on a Calcutta Conquest BFS. I throw a lot of small cranks on it and the small handle on this reel made it kind of a pain, especially when you're fighting, again, big fish.

One more was a Daiwa Emeraldas Air. This reel was oddly unbalanced. The dual handle that Gomexus specifically makes to match and fix this problem was a life saver.

5 minutes ago, bulldog1935 said:

@WetBlanket Given the Japanese bent to perfectionism, it's also somebody's art.

If you look at all pre-order, limited batch production, such as Isuzu reels, a large slice of the buyers don't even want to open the box - don't want a scratch on the box. They want to keep a perfect collectible that will out-pace inflation - even out-pace common sense - in rapid market value increase.

There are many Japanese collectors who want one of each limited batch in their collection.

All the good Yahoo buys I've found on (my few) Isuzu reels were when a new batch opened lottery sale, and the collector sold one of his older reels to fund the lottery sale he just won.

I understand that perfectly fine, but as you've mentioned, Isuzu is a reel. Lots goes into one. On the other hand, nothing much goes into a handle. Hell, the shape of this handle isn't even unique. It being anodized in red is the only unique part, which i find crazy.

Like other Japan reel aftermarket parts makers (ZPI Racing, MTCW), reel parts are a sideline, and their bread and butter business is motorcycle racing. Right away, this gives them a mystique in Japan.

Titanium-shell handle knobs are trick.