The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

About two weeks ago I bought some machines at an auction. There were other non-phonograph things there as well. The auctioneer did not know what went with what and so some things were jumbled up.

I've attached a photo of three cranks. The small one is an original crank for a Victor Jr. The middle one is a good reproduction for a Victor E (or an Vic I). Both have the same size diameter of crank. And the slots are located at a right angle to the handle's shaft.

It's the third crank that I have a question about. It was on a Columbia AU, which I bought, but it doesn't look like a Columbia crank to me. I think it's a Victor crank. But note the slots are aligned with the shaft handle, and the diameter of the crank is larger.

Is this a Victor crank? Does it go to a phonograph? And if so, which model?

That looks like the crank on my Victor R, but I can't be sure without dimensions.

The small slotted crank on the bottom looks like my Victor R crank, also. It might be used for a Victor Jr. The middle crank is correct for a Victor I, E, M, or an MS. The top crank is for an Edison DD A or B 80. It looks too big and coarse for a Victor. If that crank is slotted, them probably for an Edison shaver.
Harvey Kravitz

Yes, the little one is for a Victor Jr. It goes to my machine. The middle one I bought from Ron Sitko. It's a quality repro. After looking at some Edison machines and their cranks, I am inclined to think the third one in my photo (it is slotted) is an Edison crank and not a crank for a Victor.

Just a final note on this. My "unknown" crank is definitely an Edison crank. I compared it with a known Edison crank that I have. They were identical in all respects, from the shape and color of the wood handle, the diameter of the crank, and all other dimensions as well. The only difference is one is slotted, the other internally threaded. Without a doubt, the slotted crank is an Edison product. Case closed.