Leather covers on English?

[seanc]

Noticed in the concertina maintenance manual.. there is a section about covering the pinkie rests with leather.

 

i have never seen this in real life. Anybody have this? Anybody with experience making these?

 

 

[Stephen Chambers]

On 12/31/2023 at 6:50 AM, HansQ said:

If having the instrument low for instance the curve of the plate should be at the other end, higher and smoother. This was practised actually by the maker George Jones 100 years ago. 

 

Those Jones finger rests are extremely rare and precious-few people can be aware of them. Both the examples that I'm familiar with were made for the internationally famous musical clowns the Brothers Webb - I have one of them, and Göran Rahm in Sweden has the other.

 

This is mine:

 

[SteveS]

I have this Jones concertina in my possession - it also has the curved finger plates

 

(I have moved the rest of the original discussion to a new thread - Jones EC)

 

Edited January 4 by SteveS

[Oberon]

Just for reference, here's a couple concertinas with leather covers on finger rests that are currently available from Barleycorn:

 

https://concertina.co.uk/stock-selection/english-concertinas/amboyna-wheatstone-48-key-treble-8080/

 

https://concertina.co.uk/stock-selection/english-concertinas/rock-chidley-48-key-baritone-8350/

 

Around 2017 I'd asked cnet for the reason why my lachenal had this uncomfortable metal ridge on the edge of the finger rest, and a few folks suggested it was due to it originally having leather as a covering, with the metal ridge providing some sort of creep preventative or additional point of fixation. 

 

I'd since seen a large number of old concertinas with the leather rest coverings over the years and got to try one with the leather still in tact (or replaced, I couldn't tell) and I found it much more comfortable for my thin skin and bony fingers

[seanc]

4 hours ago, Oberon said:

Just for reference, here's a couple concertinas with leather covers on finger rests that are currently available from Barleycorn:

 

https://concertina.co.uk/stock-selection/english-concertinas/amboyna-wheatstone-48-key-treble-8080/

 

https://concertina.co.uk/stock-selection/english-concertinas/rock-chidley-48-key-baritone-8350/

 

Around 2017 I'd asked cnet for the reason why my lachenal had this uncomfortable metal ridge on the edge of the finger rest, and a few folks suggested it was due to it originally having leather as a covering, with the metal ridge providing some sort of creep preventative or additional point of fixation. 

 

I'd since seen a large number of old concertinas with the leather rest coverings over the years and got to try one with the leather still in tact (or replaced, I couldn't tell) and I found it much more comfortable for my thin skin and bony fingers

 

[seanc]

When I saw the section for "covers" and the little graphic in the book. My assumption was the "cover" covered the entirety of the finger rest (top/ side/bottom).

 

By these pics, I am guessing the leather was on the underside only?

 

If that is the case, it may be worth geting some sort of ultra suede or squishy fabric with a sticky back and giving it a try to see if it makes sense.

 

I do find that the edges of mine are a bit rough/ sharp and tend to get irritating on the pinkie after rubbing for  a while.