What can be done with sleigh bells?

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It surprises a lot of people that we can transform their dark grungy bells into shining treasures. The most common options for fixing up sleigh bells, starting with the most popular choice, include:

• Clean the bells inside and out, gently polish them to a soft gold color, and lacquer the exterior to prevent tarnish
• Clean the bells, but do not polish or lacquer
• Leave the bells in their original uncleaned, unpolished condition

Clean, polish and lacquer

Most people have a clear preference for polished sleigh bells, but we often get asked the question, "Will polishing will ruin the antique value of my bells?"

Polishing is a personal choice. Although some people prefer sleigh bells in their original unpolished state, the bottom line is that gentle cleaning and polishing does not reduce the antique value of sleigh bells.

The true patina of a sleigh bell is not the dark oxidation layer -- it is the underlying surface texture and warm color developed by years of handling and use. Just as antique sterling, coins, jewelry and other valuable metal items can be carefully polished without losing value, so too can antique sleigh bells.

Unpolished bells (far right and left) as received from a client and fully polished bells (center)

How we clean, polish and lacquer. We have developed a slow, gentle mechanical process for cleaning and polishing bells. We do not use any shortcuts -- no harsh abrasives, acids, or buffing wheels. There are several stages to this process -- soaking to loosen the grime, cleaning to remove grime and heavy oxidation, and slow, gentle polishing.

The polished bells are clean inside and out, and they have a soft, textured antique-gold luster, exactly as if they have been hand polished with elbow grease and a soft rag. All of the bell's original texture and design details are completely intact.

The gloss lacquer we use on our bells is a tough industrial product formulated for use on musical instruments and interior architectural metalwork. It dries completely clear and does not affect the sound of the bells.

Cleaning-only is an option. If you do not like the look of the bells as they are, but you do not want them fully polished, we can put the bells through the first two stages of our process -- soaking and cleaning.

This will reveal surface texture and patterns obscured by grime. Cleaning will often improve the sound by removing dirt and other deposits from inside the bells. Cleaned bells generally have a medium golden brown color that will gradually darken with time.

Four cleaned bells (left) with a golden brown color and three fully-polished bells (right) with a soft antiqued shine.

Bell repair

Another question we often get asked is, "Can cracked sleigh bells can be repaired?"

We do not recommend repairing small, stable cracks or casting blemishes. These are common cosmetic flaws that do not reduce the antique value or the useful life of your bells. A broken bell with parts missing cannot be repaired.

It is possible to repair a sleigh bell with cracks, although the cosmetic results will vary depending on the location and extent of the damage. It is often more cost effective to replace the bell instead, unless the bell is rare or unusually large.

If you would like to repair a bell, I advise contacting an expert at jewelry-quality silver soldering or laser welding (also called micro welding.) Our local jeweler charges $30 to $80 per bell to repair cracks with laser welding.

A bell worth repairing. Our local jeweler laser welded a serious crack in this rare bell. The crack ran along the upper half of the center circle, through the right side of the letter "H", and down to the center of the throat (slit.)

Steel bells

Sleigh bells made of steel were first made in the mid 1900s. They were an inexpensive alternative to solid-brass bells.

If your bells have a rough, reddish coating on them, they may be steel, rather than solid brass. Do a quick check -- if a magnet "sticks" to the metal, the bells are steel. If the magnet does not stick, the bells are probably brass.

Steel bells do not spruce up as nicely as brass bells do. Cleaned and polished steel bells will range from soft silvery grey to a pitted deep brown, depending on how much they were rusted to begin with.

Steel bells are worth less than $1 each in new condition. Although we certainly can restore your older steel bells and put them on a new strap, we do not recommend restoration unless the bells have a lot of sentimental value to you.

Rivet Bells

The classic type of sleigh bell -- the "shank" bell -- is traditionally fastened onto a strap with a figure-8 bell pin. Shank bells are fairly easy to remove from a bell strap and to replace using a fresh pin.

A second type of sleigh bell -- the "rivet" bell -- was invented in the late 1800s and was produced through the early 1900s. Most rivet bells were fastened onto their strap with a copper or steel rivet. Some rivet bells produced in the late 1800s by William E. Barton were fastened with a small screw.

Bell with its original copper rivet fastener. A steel or copper rivet is the most common type of original fastener for this type of bell.	Bell with its original steel screw and washer. This fastening system was patented by William E. Barton in 1865.	Bell with our choice of replacement fastener -- solid brass screw and washer.

Breakage. The old rivets must be removed from rivet-style bells, so the bells can be securely attached to a new strap with a new fastener. Although we have years of experience working with these bells, we do occasionally break a few bells when we remove the rivets.

Although we cannot predict if a particular bell will break, experience has shown that bells with cracks, very rusty rivets, or a structurally weak design are the most likely to break.

We want our clients to be informed about this risk. We do not offer any guarantees against breakage, other than our promise that we will take reasonable care to avoid unnecessary damage.

Replacement fasteners. We have experimented with using rivets similar to the originals to fasten bells back on to a strap. The results have been unsatisfactory and unreliable -- we do not have the fixtures and tools necessary to rivet bells properly.

Another fastener used by some people for fastening rivet bells are "POP" rivets (blind rivets.) They are unacceptable to us for several reasons. The most important disqualification is that blind rivets are not a historically accurate fastener. Although blind rivets were first patented in 1916 for use in the aircraft industry, they were not used commercially for other purposes until after WWII.

The machine screw is an alternative fastener that does have some historical basis for use with sleigh bells. We like how screws fasten the bells securely and easily, and we use them exclusively to attach rivet-style bells to straps. They do look different than rivets, however, and we want our clients to be fully aware of this issue.

Age and origins

Many folks want to know more about the age and origins of their bells. Please see:

Sleigh Bell Designs: What different kinds of sleigh bells are there?