if they were mine, I wouldn't polish them. a mild wipe down with a damp rag might make them look a bit better if desired. make sure you don't remove that "heavy bottom" ink stamp in any way. always nice to see the stamps still visible.

mike

Nice ink. HEAVY BOTTOM. I've added that to my list of ink seen on 50s and earlier cymbals.

I'm not sure exactly what clangy means to you George_H, but from my perspective it is unlikely that polishing them will reduce higher (possibly harsh) frequencies. If it does anything it would make them less "mellow". And in my lexicon that means polishing them might well make them more clangy. But I'm not really hearing any clang in your recording. I'm hearing nice mellow hats with nice sizzle and strong (but not excessive) foot close chick. At those weighs they are in the New Beat range, but before New Beats appeared (1963-ish) on current sources:

http://black.net.nz/avedis/new-beats.html#NBtop

The stamp looks 50s on yours, but is that one stamp picture the top or the bottom? The bottom certainly does have the look of 1950s hammering from that bottom shot showing the ink.

As Mike suggests you might want to clean them. Cleaning is not polishing.

Disclaimer: Some people love polished cymbals. I have some which came to me bright and shiny. I also have some which are dark with patina. I seldom polish cymbals which came to me dark with patina.

Thanks for the helpful replies,

I have changed the first pic to show both stamps.

You guys put forward a persuasive opinion. I think I will follow your advice.

I tried to sell them for AU$190 on ebay but no takers. Maybe it's their loss, I think I will keep them for a while.

kind regards,

George.

zen-i was gonna send you a link to this for the heavy bottom reference. I was correct in assuming that it wouldn't get past you though!

nice set of hats George. enjoy them! 50's hats and in that size are very desirable.

mike

George,

I didn't notice you were an Aussi. Apologies, fellow ANZAC.

No takers might just reflect the fact that there isn't such a large market for vintage cymbals. Not enough knowledge, so the potential market is small. The kids just know shiny and new. We certainly suffer from that here in NZ. Not that there aren't a few really clued up people who are members here (or on similar forums). But 5 or 10 of us sprinkled across Australia and New Zealand is pretty thin on the ground!

Were you trying Gumtree (or similar) or did you go for Aussie eBay? eBay charges like a wounded bull, but they may get the viewers for a specialty item.

Enjoy keeping and playing them in the meantime.

Hi Zenstat,

you didn't notice because I changed my profile after I noticed that you had yours listed. Yes you are right there aren't that many vintage collectors but certainly more than a small handful here in aussieland. I managed to sell quite a few vintage cymbals through ebay (which is where I advertised the hats) for the very reason that you mention.

I also have some 15" K Zildjian hats from the same era and I have an older thread on them. They sound much better in my opinion and unlike these hats the top cymbal is slightly smaller to create a more percussive chick (as I understand it).

In any case I am pleased to have met someone with as much interest and knowledge as yourself,

regards,

George.

15" hats are hard to let go of..........marko

right you are marko.

mike

Do not clean. They are more valuable, and probably sound better, with the patina.