On an earlier thread we thought it might be a good idea for members to post photos of any old, antique, or unique traps that they might have hanging around. We can then hear from the veterans (old timers) on the pros & cons of these traps. These old Jump are all I have to post, but maybe it will start things rolling.
Moderator Note: It is a little hard to tell the size of these Victor Jump traps, but my guess is that they are #1's. Another name for this type of trap is "Under Spring", which IMO is a better name, since these traps don't really do any jumping. The main problem encountered in using this type of trap, however is that when it fires, it does tend to flip slightly in the direction that the spring is traveling. Therefore, it is important to have the animal coming to the trap from the side where the chain is attached.
The smaller sized Victor Jump Traps (smaller than #4), for the above reason never seemed to be as effective as a long spring trap. Also, once coilspring traps became popular, then this Jump (Underspring) design was discontinued, because a coilspring trap is just as compact and doesn't have the directional problem inheritant in a Jump trap.
Also, you can see that the pan is just too large for the jaw spread and this also contributed to a lot of empty sprung traps.
I have taken some liberty in adding a Moderator's Note to your postings containing photos of old traps. I felt that it might be easier for the readers to enjoy this thread, if the feedback was along side the photos.
From time to time I will be doing some House Keeping to eliminate clutter, but please feel free to make Reply Postings, especially if you have some pertient information on these traps. I will try to incorporate your information into the posting containing the photo of the trap.
Here is DIAMOND BRAND # 21 SINGLE LONGSPRING TRAP WITH FRAME JAWS.
This is basically a #1 longspring trap, with the exception that the jaws have been modified to make it more difficult for those furbearers like skunks, mink and raccoon to chew on their toes below the jaws. Therefore, I would imagine that it was advertised as an outstanding Skunk Trap.
The Collector's price listed for this trap is $20, so it must not be a very rare trap. It was a well made trap and no doubt a very popular trap back in the 1930's or 1940's, until the Norwich Wire Works company that manufactured them stopped production.
Notice the small diamond shaped hole that is cut into the pan. Also notice the small metal wedge shaped nail attached to the trap chain ring. The purpose of this wedge shaped nail was to allow the trapper to easily attach the trap to a small log used as a drag or to solidly anchor the trap to a tree.
You gotta love those old trap pics! I was at my parents last weekend I wish I would have taken a picture of the old newhouse my dad has it is a double longsrpring with about an 8" jaw spread it says wolf on the pan and that is all I remember I haven't looked at it in many years! I have a bunch of those old victor jumps in # 3's and 4's and I still use them I love them for beaver and otter. I also have some of the old triumph longspring in size #3. Great pics guys!
Moderator's Note: It would be very interesting to see a photo of the Newhouse trap with the 8" jaw spread. My guess would be that it is # 4 1/2 trap and if it does have "Wolf" on the pan, then it could be valued at from $800 to $1,000.
I'm not sure why this bothers me, But- when you guys set your traps for the pics would you please level your pans!!
Hey Dave, Is there any rule of thumb for cast traps? Do Cast jaws and/or pans make them any more valuable? I have several with cast jaws and one newhouse with cast jaws and pan. I also have several with hand forged swivels and rivets. I have two like the one NC posted with chains and one has a ring on it about 2 1/2" diameter and about a 1/4 to 5/16 " thick.
I'm not a "collector" and don't want to be. I use my traps, but if these traps could be traded for even more traps. Wow, that would be cool! Thanks JJ
Yes, as a rule of thumb traps with cast iron jaws will normally be the older traps and therefore could be a rare trap. Really rare traps can be valued at several thousand dollars.
Thanks for the insight Dave. I was wondering where a fellow could get a book on old traps for reference. What are you using as your guide? And where could I get one? Thanks JJ
Moderator's Note: I have several books on old traps, which are all written by a Robert Vance. They are fairly easy to find if you do an online search of the internet using "Antique Trap Books".
The one book that I use the most is "Price Guide to Collector Antique Traps 2003 Edition ".
Here is a 3 1/2 oneida Newhouse I trapped my first beaver with. It now hangs on my family room wall. The old guy showing me how to beaver trap thought the trap was over 80 years old. That was in 1980.
Griffondog
It looks like I can see the two holes in the pan of the 3 1/2. There is a humped plate that fits into those holes. I think it was called an otter trap. You might be able to find one of the plates on ebay or from a collector
I had 6 of those traps at one time. The only problem was that someone knocked the teeth off the traps making them worth only a portion of what they should have been. Multibeard
I think that this is just what they called it. The breast plate, humped piece, may have had somthing to do with the name. I think that the Oneida 14 jump which also had teeth was considered a beaver trap.
I have a bunch of old traps in the fur shed. My problem is my photo program is giving me fits and I can't even email photos out of the folders that I store my photos in. It is heck to be so old that the calculator you had in school was a slide rule. Multibeard
Moderator's Note: This trap was first made in # 2 1/2 size called Otter Trap with Teeth.
But trappers wanted a stronger trap, so the # 3 1/2 Extra Strong Otter Trap was manufactured.
Quoting from "Steel Traps by A. R. Harding", "The jaws are equipped with teeth to keep the otter from getting free when once caught. The pan is also furnished with a raised plate, which can be taken off if desired.
This trap is for otter, but is used more especially for catching them on their "slides". For this purpose a thin raised plate of steel is adjusted to the pan so that when the trap is set, the plate will be a trifle higher than the teethon the jaws. The spring is very powerful, being the same as used on the No. 4 Newhouse trap. If desired the raised plate can be detached, making the trap one of general utitity."
The prices shown for this trap range from $150 to $300, depending on whether it has a large or small pan. If the pan has 3 1/2 stamped over the 4, then it is very rare.
This trap doesn't look that unusual, but it is one that I was not familar with prior to it being shown to me by my friend Larry.
Kompakt traps with cast iron jaws were patented on May 28, 1907. The trap below has steel jaws, so I don't really know the approximate date when it was in production. My guess would be in the 1930's or 1940"s.
The collector's price shown for this trap is only $10. So it must not be all that rare of a trap.
Here's a few pics of some of the traps I've picked up over the years. Trap collecting has been a hobby of mine for quite some time now and it's become almost a disease I think. A word of caution to new collectors; the only recent price guide available is highly inflated price wise as are the prices you see being paid on eBay. Buy the best you can afford and avoid "upgrading" as much as possible.
811/2 Newhouse good cond.
Thank you.
Always willing to talk old traps or trapping and you know where I live Dave. Don't want to bore you guys but here's a few more of the toothy type.
Triumph 315x- tough to find
Victor #13- harder to find than the #14 and I have an extra to trade.
21/2 Newhouse with the breast plate off.Great otter trap
#2 Alligator Game trap with pan and bait hook. Hard to find with both because one or the other was usually thrown away
The condition of these traps is out of this world, compared to the few old traps that I have in my possession.
Sure wish I had a high speed computer connection, because now I don't even think I can open this thread any more :sad: . At least in a timely fashion .
Dave, the 40 Victors were for ****. Back in the 30's there was a big push on for "humane" traps so a lot of innovative ideas came about. Kind of like the BMPs now without the trap ban issue hanging over trappers heads. I'd post more but don't want to cause anyone computer frustration with big posts. Sorry about that guys. Please delete the pics if they're a problem
The Victor wire bail stoploss was made from 1939 to 1949 and was considered a failure by trappers. It all depends on the pan stamp on the 0 B&L but the latest it could have been made is 1974. Hard to say on the 11/2 also. Can't remember when they quit making them exactly, maybe 20 yrears ago is a guess, but the first steel jawed Victors came out in the early 30's.
I bought a few traps from an old-timer today. This one looks really old, and is quite large as you can see by the beaver scull in the pictures. Can anyone tell me anything about it? How about an approx. value?
Thanks!
The cross looks like it was forge welded. The dog and pan notch looks like Newhouse.
Newhouse bolted jaw pivot stands to the base like this one looks like it is done.
I can't see the jaw pivots clearly. It only looks like I can only see one jaw pivot rivet on each side???? Thjat would be weird. It might just be the pictures.
That's not only a trap but also artwork. Dave's right on the money. An old hand forged trap for sure. The way the jaws pivit on a single rivit is pretty common on the handforged traps.They sort of nestle in to each other where Newhouse figured out that if the jaws pivoted seperatley the trap would lay flatter when set.
The value on handforged traps is tough to call unless stamped by a known trap maker like Standish or a few others. $20-35 unless you know who and when it was made. Some collectors of those types traps pay pretty well but not in the same range as Sargent and Newhouse. Yours is really nice and is truly a wallhanger. The spring eyes and jaws are well done and it looks like it started out as a double spring or was designed to be able to be one later.The original chain was probably handforged also and would add value if you were to sell it. Great trap.
You could find a chain that would look original somewhere but matching a spring would be next to impossible. These are custom made traps so both springs were made at the same time for just this trap typically.
This is a home made trap by Rusty Johnston of Ruby creek. Rusty trapped the big south of the PM river. He had trouble holding the monster bachelor beaver he ran across. They made pretzels out of 330's. He built these traps to do the job. It has a jaw spread of 8X9 inches. The only thing he bought was the spring and a couple of nuts to hold the newhouse style jaw pivots on.
This photo shows a #3 BL jump trap for comparison. Rusty did use a short piece of factory made chain. The rest of the chain was made by Rusty by twisting heavy wire into links. He dead staked the trap into the bottom of the river.
Can you give us any more details about Rusty and when this trap was made?
Thanks,
Dave
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