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johnreid
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Another Jensen Question, this time handlesI notice three basic shapes of wooden handles in Jensens. Some are a fat "coke bottle" shape, some are a skinny "coke bottle" shape, and some are straight dowels. Is there a time frame for the respective shapes or did they just vary by whatever source that Jensen bought them from?
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Mister Occlusion
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I know there's a time frame, but I don't know what it is. Straight handles seem to have gone out of style shortly after the brass line models came in.
Another question might be, when did they transition from the sticker, to the brass ID plate, to the simple Al ID plate, to the red sticker, and then to the don't-sue-us-if-you-do-something-stupid ID plate?
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johnreid
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| Quote: | | don't-sue-us-if-you-do-something-stupid ID plate |
Times have changed, disclaimers are now a part of life, just like the warnings on a Lawn Mower that says "Keep Hands Out From Underneath When The Mower Is Running" it doesnt take a Rocket Scientist to know that would be a fast way to lose fingers.
I do see the decal on earlier models, I bet the metal tags came after WWII as metal was in short supply at that time. Another observation though, the decals seem to stay intact better than decals on other things. I think that all of the decals fell off of my American Flyer Electric Trains ( S or 027 gauge two rail ) and they were made in the fifties.
I am sure that there is a time frame for this stuff, plus many other details that change from year to year. Such as the transition from Solid Wood To Plywood bases. I think that WWII brought Plywood into the forefront, and the quality was better back then.
Lots to learn.
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flywheel61
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I'm pretty sure Rog has set out this time frame on the forum before. I think he refered to the early very fat hadles as Father Christmas handles. It's the sort of interesting detail that shoulsd be put in the library.
Cheers 
Chris
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steamyman
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four candles  sorry thinking of a Ronnie Barker sketch.
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Griffin
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John, I am pretty sure there are five different versions of handle, and are relevant to the age of the engine, but Rog will better answer the question than I.
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IndianaRog
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Re: Another Jensen Question, this time handles | johnreid wrote: | | I notice three basic shapes of wooden handles in Jensens. Some are a fat "coke bottle" shape, some are a skinny "coke bottle" shape, and some are straight dowels. Is there a time frame for the respective shapes or did they just vary by whatever source that Jensen bought them from? |
John, I know the general answer to this, but happy if CEDGE jumps in to clarify:
- early 1930's: straight white, referred to as bone (not sure if actually bone)
- late 1930's: straight black, simple wooden dowel
- 1940's-late 1950's straight red, simple wooden dowel
- early 1960's-mid 1980's: skinny red snowman, turned wood
- late 1980's-present: fat red snowman, turned wood
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Dates are approximate and in true Jensen fashion, Mr. J was not one to waste anything...you can find original Jensens with black whistle handles and red steam regulator handles or vice versa. Meaning he had a batch of whistles or regulators already made up with the specific handle color and only migrated to both handles being the same when that component was used up. I'm not aware of straights and snowman types being mixed however...just amongst the straight handle type.
In general I think the snowman style handle migrated in concurrent with the hobby line of metal based engines in the very early 1960's. Skinny vs. fat snowmen were probably just a function of what one supplier could provide vs. another.
Cheers,
Rog
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Cranko
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Interesting piece of information rog, thanks
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johnreid
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We are tuly lucky to have such a wealth of knowledge here, I bet Cedge has some other info too. IMHO if a small FAQ of Jensen info was ever made, it would be Sticky worthy, Mamod FAQ too.
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