When a buyer questions a seller about solder or glue, some sellers attempt to explain them as 'repairs' or 'reinforcements' while maintaining the parts are old. The finding on the authentic Kewpie shows, like many other original findings, the gentle marks of a crimping tool. The authentic Kewpie has an original finding which finishes off the joint and provides additional support to keep the Kewpie at a perfect right angle to the shank. The forgery on the left is attached to the shank with a blob of solder and is at an angle to the shank. Compare the new and old Kewpie pins in Fig. Original findings give old hatpins their finished look. Use a black light to detect the glue in more carefully prepared fakes. Sloppily glued pins are easily detected with your eye or a magnifying glass. Here, they don't contribute to the strength of the joint, they just hide more glue and solder typically used to fasten the head to the shank. Many new findings are simply glued to the bottom of the head in an attempt to appear legitimate. 9) that have more than one finding.Īuthentic findings are almost always fastened to the shank by crimping you should never see any signs of glue or solder. Genuine hatpins should only have one neatly fitted finding. In some hatpins the finding is built into the head but most findings are separate distinct pieces. 6 and 6-A.Īuthentic old findings were carefully matched to the heads to give strength and conceal the shank to head joint. Typical old original findings are shown in Figs. There are two basic things to look for in judging hatpins: How is the head mounted to the shank and what kind of finding is used. A finding is a small piece of metal used to hide the joint where the head is mounted on the shaft. The shank is the pointed metal shaft the head is mounted on. The head, also called the ornament, is the decorative part of the hatpin.

The faked pin, left, is made from a modern Kewpie-like charm an original Kewpie hatpin is shown on the rightĪn authentic hatpin has three distinct parts: 1) the head, 2) the shank, and 3) the finding. Anything small enough to fit on a shank seems to eventually be destined to be offered as a hatpin.

Making hat pins