The Daiichi 1550 is a wet fly hook that the maker lists as the Standard Wet Fly Hook, in sizes 2 through 18 V. The entry covers one size 16 box and one size 16 hook.
The maker’s descriptions found are current ones, and no source dates this box. The photographed hook reads as heavier wire than those descriptions give I.
Photographic record
2 photographs · Hold Ctrl and scroll to zoom · drag to pan · double-click for 100%
IMG-1Daiichi — New entry — image 1 Size 16 box lid for the Daiichi 1550, with handwritten notes beside the number and a handwritten 40 over the printed quantity.
2How to identify it
The size 16 box documented here carries a white lid label. A ruled panel at the top holds a black slab-serif DAIICHI wordmark with the D drawn as a hook outline, above a red line reading HIGH CARBON FISHING HOOKS. The number 1550 and the size are on two ruled lines below, and MADE IN JAPAN is at the lower right P.
The label shows no date, address or catalog code, and no source found dates its style.
No markings are visible on the hook’s shank, so the packaging carries the identification for this specimen P.
Closed ring eye turned down toward the point side P. A small seam shows where the eye wire meets the shank. The wire is not visibly thinner near the eye.
Bright gold-brown to olive-bronze P. The maker's listings give a bronze finish V. Apparent colour depends on lighting.
OBS-6SRC-1
The shank is straight and plain, with no ridges, kinks or markings, and the wire looks even in thickness from bend to eye P. Only one side is photographed, so wire profile and forging cannot be judged.
The point is a long, slender taper that appears to lie in the same plane as the shank P. Current listings describe a ground needle point V.
The maker’s listings give standard wire and standard length V. Measured against the site’s catalog, the photographed hook reads as standard in shank length and extra-heavy in wire I. Size 16 caliper readings are in the size table E.
No visible bending or distortion. A fine fibre lies across the point leg. Tiny dark specks and pits show along the shank, with one small orange-brown spot of unknown cause (P).
Packaging condition
Good — moderate wear, legible
Wear
lid left edge and left margin of the label: Yellow-brown staining along the lid's left edge near the top, a few loose fibres stuck to that edge, a small dark smudge in the label margin beside the SIZE line, and faint scratch lines on the upper-left of the label. LBL-10
Wear
lid edges and corners, overall: Cream-yellow toning overall, light rubbing along the lid edges, and a slightly crumpled or lifted upper-right corner. LBL-11
Cream-yellow toning on the lid. Yellow-brown staining along the left edge near the top, a few loose fibres stuck to that edge, a small dark smudge in the label margin beside the size line, faint scratch lines on the upper left of the label, light rubbing along the lid edges and a crumpled upper-right corner. The label is intact. The hook shown is presumed to come from this box; the hook photograph carries no label.
What the label says
LBL-1 trademark · lid label, boxed panel, top fromIMG-1
DAIICHI
LBL-2 printed · lid label, boxed panel, below the wordmark, red lettering fromIMG-1
HIGH CARBON FISHING HOOKS
LBL-3 printed · lid label, first ruled line (number line) fromIMG-1
No. 1550
LBL-4 printed · lid label, second ruled line (size line), left and centre fromIMG-1
SIZE: 16
LBL-5 printed · lid label, size line, right end, partly covered by handwriting fromIMG-1
LBL-7 handwritten · lid label, right of No. 1550; the second line sits below and the trailing dash runs past the label edge onto the lid fromIMG-1
NY + WET—
FLY
LBL-8 handwritten · lid label, size line, between 16 and the printed 100pcs, blue-grey ink fromIMG-1
40
LBL-9 handwritten · lid label, size line, over the printed quantity digits fromIMG-1
scribbled overstrike, no legible characters
Trademark
Black slab-serif 'DAIICHI' wordmark inside a thin ruled rectangle. The D's left stem is drawn as a hook outline, with a long pointed spike running left from the top and a small ring at the lower left.
As entered on the specimen record
DAIICHI
HIGH CARBON FISHING HOOKS
No. 1550
SIZE: 16 100pcs
MADE IN JAPAN
Layout
White paper label on the lid. The wordmark and the red line sit in a thin ruled rectangle at the top. Two ruled lines below carry the number and the size, with the quantity at the right end of the size line. MADE IN JAPAN is at the lower right. The digits of the quantity are partly covered by handwriting, and 100 is the reading that fits the visible outlines.
Typeface
Wordmark in black slab-serif capitals. HIGH CARBON FISHING HOOKS is in red capitals.
Later marks
NY + WET—
FLY (right of No. 1550; the trailing dash runs onto the lid)
40 (blue-grey ink, between 16 and the printed quantity)
Scribbled overstrike across the printed quantity digits
Matches: Shank, Wire, Eye, Eye Orient., Forging +4 moreDiffers: Bend: Sproat vs Round / Kendal; Gap: Standard vs Wide; Point: Needle vs Standard / Spear +4 more
Matches: Shank, Gap, Eye, Eye Orient., Point +5 moreDiffers: Bend: Sproat vs Perfect; Wire: Extra-Heavy (2X+) vs Heavy (1X Heavy); Forging: Round vs Forged +3 more
Matches: Bend, Shank, Wire, Eye Orient., Finish +4 moreDiffers: Gap: Standard vs Wide; Eye: Tapered Eye vs Ball Eye; Point: Needle vs Standard / Spear +4 more
When was this Daiichi box style made?The lid label shows no date, address or catalog code, and no source found dates the label style or the hook-outline wordmark.Can you help? Send dated Daiichi catalogs, price lists or advertisements that show this label, or a dated receipt for a box like it.
Entry last updated October 27, 2026. Entries are updated as new specimens, measurements, or documents come to light.
