Originally Posted by Bennett

Playing catchup today with the threads. And now Charlee's got me excited to see what's coming up!

Saw a Gritzner handcrank today at an antique shop, decals gone, some problems with the base. It moved sluggishly, but it was still pretty neat. The bobbin setup was interesting. Too pricey for me at $132, especially for the wear to the finish. What was interesting too was that the base had 2 holes in it, just where a belt would go for a treadle. I wonder if these bases were made to be dropped into a treadle as well as to be portable? The base had a coffin top with it.

On the way out, I saw a couple of FWs close to the counter, one the older style and one newer. The older one was in rough shape, no bobbin, shredded case, no attachments, and was corroding along the bottom. They had it marked at $200. No price yet on the newer one in better shape. Oh, and the shop guy told me exactly why FWs were so expensive. (Drum roll) It's because all the sweat shops buy them so that their illegal workers can literally pick up the machines and run away when Immigration comes by. He was totally convinced that all the online auctions are bid up by sweat shop owners. I was astounded, had no idea of the power of my cute, clacky little FW.