Bob Reid wrote:
>
> This has repro fake stamped all over it - as bad as the gen-u-ine Cinelli
> badge was - I suspect a rip off from the US this time. It looks like a
> modern cast something or other made by the same manufacturers that sell the
> cheap belt buckles, and certainly not the usual lightweight etched or
> stamped brass or alloy items that adorn most British lightweights once
> transfers fell out of fashion.
>
> I may be wrong, and I'm sure some Hetchins expert will jump up in
> indignation, but something smells exceedingly fishy about a half pound head
> badge....
http://www.antiquebikeparts.com/
I'm no Hetchins expert, but this badge looks like it might be the stainless steel version that Hetchins ordered from Art Stump in the U.S.?
The story I heard was that Hetchins asked Art to get them made which he did, and when they found out what they cost, decided they no longer wanted them, sticking Art with a whole lotta stainless Hetchins headbadges.
Chuck Schmidt South Pasadena, CA
.