I'm catching up with stuff since Blurty up and died last weekend; I wasn't sure it would be back, but I think I'm going to have to move my blog elsewhere.
I noted this week that Vibroplex has changed their web site to note they have a 50th anniversary Vibrokeyer available, using the same japanned-type with gold pinstriping as is used on the 100th anniversary Vibroplex Original bug.
Apparently the Dayton article I read wasn't quite correct; Vibroplex is only adding the old-style base to the Vibrokeyer and not any of its other keys.
It's interesting to me that they chose to go with the rather 1920s-period style base, especially when you consider that the Vibrokeyer was never manufactured with this type of antique base. So … to mark the Golden anniversary, the company is offering a key that was never in production?? It's a unique piece, for sure, and attractive too.
The Vibrokeyer was introduced in 1960 with a beige base. The one Vibrokeyer I own is a 1964 model. After Vibroplex was sold and moved to Maine about 1979, the color was changed to the standard gray finish. When the company was sold in 1990 and moved to Alabama, the standard base color was changed to black wrinkle, which in my book, was the better choice.
Vibroplex is promoting the new Vibrokeyer on its web site, stating they'll only make 250 of them. The description of the black finish is interesting, as it is described as having a base that features “black powder coating with a Japanese-style pinstriping.”
From what I know of the finish and the history, that's incorrect.
The black finish on the original old bugs was known as a “japanned” finish. The finish is supposed to look like a black lacquer finish as found on Japanese furniture. The paint used was not lacquer, but a much more durable material that created a black, smooth surface that was more durable than paint.
A lot of old tools (planes, levels, cast and wrought iron) use have a black “japanned” finish using an asphaltic base with naptha as a solvent. Henry Ford made good use of japan black on the Model T.
So the reference to “japan” is the black finish, not the pinstriping. The gold pinstriping on the key was known at the time as “carriage striping.” Bet you didn't know you could get a history lesson when discussing Morse code keys, eh??
The updated home page of the Vibroplex site also shows the special ID plate that will go on each key, giving it a special serial number. I'm sorry, but I still think the new plate looks like crap compared to the timelessness of the one they've used the last 90 or so years.
Am I going to buy a 50th anniversary Vibrokeyer? Probably not. At $199.99, its a lot of money for a key I'm only going to keep in the box … though frankly, that hasn't stopped me before — I have the new 100th Anniversary bug that I've never opened that I bought last December.
Actually, I've wondered about buying yet another 100th Anniversary Vibroplex, believe it or not. I would like to get one with the jeweled pivots, and they give you that as an option now. While I don't love the new nameplate, it is the future of the company, and a key with one of the first true Knoxville keys may someday (probably when I'm long dead and gone) have some value or interest to collectors.
I have to get through the next month or so before I would do that … I have vacation and an ARES conference to survive first. Besides, I just bought a new key!
That's right, I wouldn't be posting an entry here if I didn't have something to report from the eBay front lines. I submitted the winning bid on a very nearly mint 1941 T.R. McElroy P500 Mac Key.
The P500 model came after the T-bar style Mac Keys, and right before the S600 Superstream key McElroy built that had the teardrop shaped base. The P500 action was the same as the S600, just different packaging. By the time the P500 arrived, Mac's keys were essentially knock-offs of the Vibroplex key — though they were constructed like tanks compared to the lighter Vibroplexes.
The P500 I won is still in its original wooden box it was shipped in. The guy had a very high buy it now on it, though he was open to offers. I submitted an offer that was well below his Buy It Now; he sent me a counter-offer which I turned down. He lowered the Buy It Now price at least twice, the final time he was well below the earlier offer I made! I sent him an even lower offer, and to my surprise, he took it!
I don't have the key yet, but it'll be here soon enough.
In other eBay news, I've missed several excellent bargains on eBay in the key department, one I truly regret.
A fellow listed a Japanese-made GHD bug. New, the key is right at $400 including shipping. This guy had it listed with a Buy It Now of $295. While that's a stiff price, the truth was the key was purchased but hardly used. It was mint. The seller accepted offers, so I sent him an offer; he countered, I sent another offer. Before I heard back, someone clicked the Buy It Now. As you might expect, while I was away from the house, I decided to go ahead and buy the key. That's when I came home to find it gone. Go figure.
I'm sure I'm kicking myself the same as the guy who could have sold me his key earlier for a lot more money if he had taken my offer, lol! Live and learn.
Right now my main keys on my operating desk are Mac Keys … I have the 1936 Mac Key I'm using presently, as well as the McElroy S-600 Superstream Key. There's no shortage of Vibroplex keys around either.
I'm just sorry I missed the chance at the GHD. You don't see them come up on eBay very often at all. Maybe next time.
73 de KY4Z … dit dit ….