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Fake Bramah ?

I've just acquired (from the Auction Site of the Beast) a "Bramah box lock". I'm wondering if it's genuine. Compared to other Bramah locks I have, both old and brand new, it just looks "wrong".

It's an unplated brass finish, a box lock. The strike plate has loops (a Bramah feature) rather than the more easily forced open hooks on most other box locks. The top plate is stamped "BRAMAH" and "SECURE". I've seen other Bramahs on '20s / '30s jewellery boxes that were marked in this style rather than the script Bramah signature, but they had "BRAMAH" and "LONDON" - I've not seen "SECURE" before.

The key is 5mm in diameter and has four unevenly spaced levers. Right for a simpler box lock. The nozzle is conical brass, with a slight cove to the surface and milled rings.

Internally though, it looks crude. The casting surface is rough, then snail cam on the bolt appears to have been cut with a knife and fork. It just doesn't have the quality feel that other Bramahs have had. Action is OK, but feels a little stiff with age.

Any thoughts ? Can anyone suggest a reference for age variations to Bramah locks ?

Reply to
Andy Dingley
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With no address or signature it's probably a fake/copy. I have a little info on bramah on my site :

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Paul

Reply to
Paul A Prescott

Hi Paul, thanks for your comments.

In the Edwardian - '20s jewellery box trade, how common were fake Bramahs ? I've seen a lot of these on similar good quality boxes, all marked BRAMAH LONDON (no script, no address). They seemed fair enough quality, and I wouldn't think they were fakes for any obvious reason. The key is 5mm diameter with 4 unevenly spaced levers. They're either genuine, or there were a lot of them about!

Did Bramah genuinely make a small four lever ?

Reply to
Andy Dingley

In article snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com, Andy Dingley snipped-for-privacy@codesmiths.com writes

Apologies for the obvious answer, but how about sending a couple of pics to Bramah. When I got a couple of brochures a while back I got the impression they were still a family run outfit with a good sense of history and would be likely to try & help you out.

Please tell me they haven't gone bust, or worse still been bought out by assa-abloy . . .

Reply to
fred

Copy (fakes) are very common. I used to make keys for Bramah locks for the antique trade on a regular basis and probably less than 5% of the locks I saw were genuine ones.

4 slider bramahs are usually very early (if genuine).

I think there were three different companies making copies in the 20's of varying quality.

Paul

Reply to
oldlock

My dealings with Bramah have been such that I never particularly want to deal with them again - that's why I'm working with antique ones (I'm a furniture maker, not a locksmith). When they can't even quote you a correct price, and they stick 30% increases on between quotation and (late) shipping, then I don't much care what happens to the company.

Reply to
Andy Dingley

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