Saturday, June 18, 2011 — Another elderly gent graced my door today when I went out to check the mail … a 1927 Vibroplex Original. This venerable old key has worked for a living; however its in pretty good shape — better than most, actually.
The key appears to have been refinished at some point in the past; I suspect Vibroplex was the refinisher — the black crackle finish looks as good as a factory job (Vibroplex moved to black crackle finishes about 1939 and switched to gray in the early 1950s).
From the looks of it, this key spent most of its time either at work or secure in its case. There’s not the kind of dust and grime you find in keys that spent the last 40 years in an attic.
The finger and thumb pieces are unique; the finger piece is either handmade or aftermarket; the key is fitted with not one but two thumbpieces that are layered together. Not sure why, but perhaps the user liked to switch to a dual-paddle setup once in a while?
HOW’S SHE WORK? The key suffered some minor damage while en route (this is getting WAY too common!); the keying lever took a hit, and it bent the pivot shaft (it bent the lower end). The bend changed the geometry of the keying lever, putting the damper end of it way higher than normal. It could have played ok like this, but it just flat looked weird. I took matters (and pliers) into my own hands and decided to straighten the pivot pin (if I could). Fortunately I had some luck, and got it just about straight — the remaining curve doesn’t matter and doesn’t mess with the geometry of the key. After cleaning the contacts, I hooked up a pigtail to it and put i on the air. Very fast, very sharp, very precise — and not bad for an 84-year-old mechanical device!
I’ve added this key and its information to my collection page, along with a photo. I love buying a key with the original Vibroplex case, too!
G’night and pleasant, bug-filled slumbers …
ADDENDUM – Sunday, June 19, 2011 — One thing I forgot to mention was a bit of humor that struck me as I unpacked this key yesterday.
As you can see in this photo at right of the interior of the average vintage Vibroplex carrying case, the case as a set of rails on each side that the key base is designed to slide under when you insert it into the box. On the door, you can’t see it, but there’s a wooden block (shows up at whitish beige in photo) that originally was covered with velour and a light padding. With the key in the box, the door secures the base inside the box (you can see the horizontal block at the very back of the case). The case design is an excellent one, and it keeps the key as safe as you could hope to keep it.
Unfortunately, the seller apparently had no clue how the key properly was supposed to go into the cae — he wrapped the key in a piece of small bubble bubble wrap and put the key upside down in the case! To his credit, he tried to pad the inside fo the case door with a wad of bubble wrap, but it didn’t stop the key from taking a hard hit that bent the pivot pin. Not the worse damage, of course, but had the key been properly put in the case, it would have arrived without any damage.
Vibroplex offers cases today that are no longer of this style. They are larger and use shaped foam to pad the key. I have toyed with the idea of trying to disassemble one of these cases and seeing if I could get some panels cut; I think there’s a market for these original style cases. Anyway, a great idea that’s not yet really been pushed, lol! I might be surprised to find there about fewer than a hundred hardcore bug collectors, and none interested in a repop case. I would love to have reproduction cases for all my keys, used ones sell for $50 or so, depending on condition and who sees it for sale, lol!
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