Shown in one of his catalogs in the late 1890's, this was described by vom Hofe as an "automatic tension" device was only to be used with reels he made that were equipped with the "Universal Tension, Pat. July 14, 1896". The device produced a tension of 5 pounds and increasing to 12 pounds as the line was drawn out of the reel. The mechanism inside was released when the angler would reel the line back into the reel. The Joker would attach to the rod about 12 inches from the reel and the line would slide through. A clever little device and the only known example to have survived. Speculation is that it was only on the market for a couple of years. There was no mention of this item in his 1902 catalog. This example is a finer example of the only two known to exist, the other example being sold through Crossroads Angling Auction in 2013.