iadhikari

Hi everyone,
On the old Singers, how can I tell if the hand crank is original, or a reproduction?
Thanks!
Ila

SteveH

the arm that extends out from the machine to the gear box has a prominent casting seam on the reproductions. Some are so visible they look like it was broken and glued.

Macybaby

From what I've seen, the craftsmanship of the new ones leaves a lot to be desired. they also don't have decals to match the machines, and the originals did.

originals may be worn, dirty and rust - but under all that you an tell they had a nice original finish and were sanded smooth. New ones look like they were sand casted and painted with not much in between - very rough metal finish under the paint.

Vridar

Other than cosmetic differences, the original is smoother. Like a Singer! But, I have an after market on my 115 and it does the job the same as my Singer on the 127.

Sewing Joe

The decals on the reproductions is usually garish, a gaudy gold mess. The originals are machined to perfection, but all the repros I've used worked just fine.

ThayerRags

Just as a side note:
Back about 8 years ago when I started buying the reproduction handcranks, they didn’t have any decals on them. Just glossy black. I still have one on my old Singer 66.

Later, it seems like they stared adding a few decals, and then eventually added more decals and the Chinese writing.

CD in Oklahoma

jlhmnj

New HC's have a black plastic handle. One's I've purchased have been fair quality, not bad value compared to originals which are dear.

Jon

J Miller

Wouldn't the original Singer HC's have Singer or Simanco part numbers on them?

Joe

Macybaby

One thing to take away - the new ones do work - are readily available at an affordable price.

Original Singer hand cranks (just that part ) will often sell for $50- $100 on ebay - depending on condition, and they don't come up all that often.

miriam

I've had a few reproduction HCs for the most part they are very good - I got one that squacks a little - the gears don't quite line up.