Does anyone know what vintage Graflex Red Button this is?

[swprops]

So I'm stumped on this one. The outside rim is duller than an INC red button, and so I am 99% sure it's an early Folmer with long knurling because of the shape and because this knurling pattern is only seen on a short knurled early Folmer, but I've never seen an early Folmer with long knurling before and I also have never seen this type of assembly on the rear before. Does anyone know what this is? Have you ever seen one like it before? Thanks!

As of now, I'm calling it an early Folmer red button with long knurling which I've never seen before

 

[JoeG]

This thread may be of some help

Graflex Variations: Facts and vs. Replica

In my quest to build my near screen accurate Luke ANH, and Luke ESB, I've learned a lot about Graflex Flashes and the replicas over the past couple of months. I posted all of this on the fx-sabers forums, but I thought it might be useful and helpful here too. When I started I got my hands on...

www.therpf.com

 

[Ridire Firean]

Hey swprops ! It's weird that it has the same damage marks on the top bevel and the bottom of the threads. I've never seen a GRAFLEX RED-BUTTON with marks like those on it.

Unless you have irrefutable evidence of its lineage, I'd guess it's homemade, or a reproduction reject.

Good Luck on your quest to find its origins!

 

[swprops]

This thread may be of some help

Graflex Variations: Facts and vs. Replica

In my quest to build my near screen accurate Luke ANH, and Luke ESB, I've learned a lot about Graflex Flashes and the replicas over the past couple of months. I posted all of this on the fx-sabers forums, but I thought it might be useful and helpful here too. When I started I got my hands on...

www.therpf.com

Thanks, that was helpful but I don't see this red button version on there

 

[swprops]

Hey swprops ! It's weird that it has the same damage marks on the top bevel and the bottom of the threads. I've never seen a GRAFLEX RED-BUTTON with marks like those on it.

Unless you have irrefutable evidence of its lineage, I'd guess it's homemade, or a reproduction reject.

Good Luck on your quest to find its origins!

It looks like someone tried to pry it open with some tools and damaged both sides, but it's 100% a vintage, so you think someone was able to make a homemade or reproduction of the real vintage back in the day?

 

[THX1138]

Looks like an early "Non C-clip" swedged red button that didn't get placed in the fixture that holds the button properly before it was swedged. I've had a few of those.

- Jim

 

[swprops]

Looks like an early "Non C-clip" swedged red button that didn't get placed in the fixture that holds the button properly before it was swedged. I've had a few of those.

- Jim

Can you please explain to me what "non c-clip" swedged red button means? I've never seen an early folmer with long knurling before

 

[THX1138]

The base of the button where the threads start is swedged or dimpled so the inner part of the button stays inside. Regular red buttons have a receiver groove to accept a c-clip to hold everything in place. Can't explain it any simpler.

Graflex must have stopped doing that early on in production. I may even still have one that is swedged properly. The quality of those buttons never looked quite as good as the regular buttons that accept a c-clip. I usually would just sell those.

Looks like yours was partially out of the fixture when swedged, that's why it has some damage on the top side, as well. You see coins hit like that sometimes when they don't fall in the fixture properly, too.

- Jim

 

[THX1138]

Basically, you have an original Graflex early, full knurl, "damaged" swedged red button.

- Jim

 

[swprops]

Okay thanks, is it worth keeping? Since there aren't that many I see of these? Or get a regular vintage INC red button?

 

[thd9791]

Of course it's worth keeping! It's a unique piece of photo equipment AND it would make a cool lightsaber part. don't forget 100% accuracy can be impossible with vintage parts that come from old factories, I find more joy in creating vintage builds and writing off small inaccuracies as charm and a mark of it being "my own"