For the most part, we have not discontinued a mold in about 15 years. There are some molds that have been taken out of our print catalog that can still be found on our website. In those cases, we just were not selling enough to warrant the space and money to put them in print.
The earliest patterns were actually designed out of plaster. Over time and with the advances in technology, some of the older models were replace with computer design and cnc machined patterns. Many of these molds were replaced with exact replicas, so they were never really discontinued. Some of the jig molds were replaced with what was considered an updated version. Those old plaster versions are no longer available. Over the years, there were some molds that were replaced by a new version to provide better performance and ease of use for the customer. Most certainly, there were also molds that just fell out of favor and it was decided to take them out of production.
Nowadays, there really is not a reason to discontinue a mold. With our production methods, we can produce relatively small runs and we have plenty of room to store them. Everything will stay on our website, but it might fall out of the catalog.
It is also cool to see the trends over the years and to see a jig or lure regain popularity. The football jig head has been around forever, but has had such a major resurgence over the last several years. For that reason, it makes sense to keep things around because you never know what the next popular jig trend will be.
I know for sure, that there were some older molds that were replaced by a newer version that certain people were not happy about. There are designs with a different collars or a different assortment that people covet.
So, to answer your other question. Yes we do have some inventory of older molds in our shop. If there is anything specific that you are looking for, we are happy to see if we might have it available. Give us a call in the office. If it was and old plaster design, once they were gone, they are gone forever.
Ryan
