Tuesday, July 2, 2013 — Here’s a new addition to the collection I hadn’t planned — a post-Knoxville Vibroplex Original in standard finish in perfect, like-new condition. The reason I say that I hadn’t planned on acquiring it was exactly that — the auction was a Buy It Now or Make Offer type of listing.
Me being a ham (and a cheap one at that!), I sent the guy what I considered a low-ball offer. “He’ll never take that,” I told myself. “It’s nearly 1/3 off his Buy It Now price.”
Apparently, I misjudged the seller’s desire to make a sale. He accepted my offer, though I must confess, I didn’t realize I had won the key for several days (I never pay attention to eBay e-mails) when I logged on to eBay and saw something new added under “Purchases” … WTH? (What The Heck?)
I can’t tell the exact or approximate vintage of the key, just that its a Knoxville key. The serial number of the nameplate is 400,734. I’m not sure where this fits in the Vibroplex serial number system … I can’t help but believe they chose a number out of the air and said that was the first serial number for the virst Knoxville-built CW Anything.
What can I say about the key? Its in pristine condition. I almost hate handling a key this new looking for fear of a damaging it. The standard black base looks great, but the one complaint I have is that they collect dust quickly and are hard to clean and keep dust-free. Some collectors very lightly oil the bases, apparently for that reason. I haven’t tried it … yet.
The notable thing about this key to me is the fact it is my first Knoxville-built key. Readers of this blog may recall the debate over the creation of a new non-brass nameplate. I still like the stamped brass nameplates better; however, I can’t say the Knoxville plate is unattractive. And frankly, if I had purchased the company, I too would have changed the nameplate to reflect the company’s new home. Can’t blame the owner for wanting to add his mark to the 100-plus years of company history.
After taking these photos, I wrapped the key back in its protective bubble wrap and reboxed it. Right now I don’t have a place to display the key and keep it reasonably dust-free. So for now, the key will stay safe in its box until I have a way to display it.
OH, AND ONE MORE THING … It is ironic that my last post was about an Electro Bug key — I won an auction for one today. No, it isn’t what you might think … the key I won is less complete than any Electro Bug I already own. The one I won has had the pendulum chopped off. I bought it mostly as a parts key, though it apparently will function now as a single-lever keyer. This Electro Bug has nickel plated top parts, which is different from the my key mentioned in an earlier post. The base looks like it was nickel as well, but it has significant surface rust. I would probably finish it with a painted finish if I used the base again. The serial number of this key is lower than the other key I wrote about — 10,001 vs. 10,295. Unfortunately, it is missing any parts that might help me “complete” my existing Electro Bug (it may donate parts to the earlier one I bought, we’ll see). The “dot” contact post on the modified key looks to have had the “springiness” taken out of that contact screw. As a keyer, it would not be necessary for the contact to have “give” as it would if it was a pendulum. It might be worthwhile to rebuild this chopped up key … add a new pendulum, mount a Vibroplex-style contact point on a leaf spring, and run the key like a traditional bug. Sounds like a fun project.
73 es CUL de KY4Z …. dit dit