Kum Apart Cufflinks

[Jaxenro]

Anyone familier with these? I very recently purchased a few different vintage pairs my understanding is they were made by Swank and widely copied by others starting in the early 1920's?

 

[Jaxenro]

This is a representative example but they were making at their heyday something like 1,000,000 plus a year so I imagine there are thousands of patterns

 

[viclip]

Over time & with use, the snap springs can weaken, depending of course on the quality standards adhered to by the manufacturer. These weakened snaps have the habit of coming undone as one's arms are moved about however, the good news is that the cufflink halves shouldn't fall off because of the sleeve material being nestled within.

I guess what I'm saying is that if you intend to wear them, make sure that the snaps are still secure to avoid the irritation of having to re-fasten this style of cufflinks every few minutes.

 

[Jaxenro]

Ay way to tighten them up? Wonder if I can augment the snap portion with miniature rare earth magnets I have some truly tiny ones from a different project. Hide some modern 21st century tech inside some early 20th century craftmanship

 

[viclip]

Ay way to tighten them up? Wonder if I can augment the snap portion with miniature rare earth magnets I have some truly tiny ones from a different project. Hide some modern 21st century tech inside some early 20th century craftmanship

I hope that your snap cufflinks aren't too weak to wear. If so, I don't know whether the small springs nestled within the female halves of this design, can be replaced, perhaps a jeweller could assist. Your magnet idea is intriguing. Another fix might be to increase the diameter of the protuberance on the male half, maybe enlargement via a few coats of shellac or something would compensate for the weakened spring ~ the coating would have to be repeated every so often as it's scraped off by contact with the spring.

 

[Jaxenro]

I bid on an odd single one to use as a test subject hate to mess up a pair will let you know how it workd

 

[Jaxenro]

These are the two pair I purchased simple classic designs

 

[viclip]

I knew I had a set of this type of snapper cufflink somewhere. Mine are simply marked "Snap Link". I have no idea where I got them from nor to the best of my recollection have I ever sported them:

I probably acquired this set from my father (1924-1995) at some point. I don't recall seeing him wearing them. He preferred to don his pink elephant set of folding cufflinks, primarily I believe just to antagonize my mother. I still remember when he brought his pink elephants home in the late 1950s, for some reason mother dear wasn't overly enthused with his taste in men's accessories.

Anyways the snaps on my minty "Snap Link" set remain quite strong. Maybe too strong, it could be difficult removing them with one hand. Maybe that's another reason that the snapper type fell out of favor, if too weak they came undone & if too strong you couldn't remove them without help.

 

[Jaxenro]

Nice pair

 

[Jaxenro]

Bugsy Siegel’s personal pair left with George Raft shortly before he was killed

 

[Bruce Wayne]

I have 8 or 9 pairs. I really enjoy them. I will try to post a pic in a day or so.

 

[Jaxenro]

Picked up this Kum-A-Part belt buckle patent 1921

 

[scotrace]

See also:


http://www.thefedoralounge.com/threads/snap-cufflinks.12395/

http://www.thefedoralounge.com/threads/unsnapping-snap-cufflinks.29291/