Heavy-duty, antique door hinges made by, "Stanley Works," of New
Britain, CT during the first quarter of the previous century. Each hinge is made of solid, heavy,
thick steel.Originally, the hinges were copper
plated and coated with a black lacquer finish ("Japanned"). Some of the plating
and lacquer wore off over the years leaving them with a nice, distressed finish.
At the point of salvage, the hinges were painted and dirty (see last photo). Since then, we removed the paint, and cleaned them to the best of our ability.
There are still tiny spots of rust here and there, but that just adds to their
distressed look.
Considering their age, the hinges are in great condition. They have the typical nicks,
small dents, and scratches that you would expect to find on old, used hinges.
The worst blemishes are circled in yellow and shown in a single photo. However,
there are no breaks, cracks, bends, or any other serious flaws. Both hinges
are perfectly straight and open and close easily.
The only "flaw" is that the pins don't insert all the way through
and stick out about 1/4". This is because the inside of the bottom knuckle has
filled up with dirt and build up and won't allow the pin to pass through
completely. The only way to get rid of this blockage is by twisting off the ball
finials on the bottom and pounding out the dirt with a long, thin rod. The only
reason we didn't do this is because we would need to use vice-grip pliers, which
would dig into and leave marks on the ball finials. If you don't mind, let us
know after you checkout and we'll take care of it before shipping.