About Our Bells

Safety caution
Sound
Acceptable defects

All of our antique bells are inspected for damage, thoroughly cleaned inside and out, gently polished, and lacquered. Our new golden solid-brass bells are buffed to a soft luster and lacquered.

The lacquer we use is non-toxic when dry.

The rivets in antique rivet-style bells are completely removed from the bells, and these bells are tapped for machine screw fasteners.

Our new chrome-plated solid-brass bells and steel "jingle" bells do not require any special preparation before use.

Safety caution

If you plan to give a loose bell as a gift to a child, please keep in mind that small bells are a choking hazard for infants, toddlers and younger children.

The U.S. Child Safety Protection Act (CSPA) bans any ball with a diameter of 1.75 inches (45 mm) or smaller for use by children under 3 years old.

Sound

Each of our antique and new bells will ring clearly, although the quality of the sound varies depending on the style, size, and condition of the bell.

If you are looking for a sleigh bell that has a bright, ringing musical tone similar to an open (liberty) bell, we recommend any of our new solid-brass bells or our smaller antique bells (1 3/4" diameter or smaller).

New petal bells of all sizes tend to have a loud, clear ring. The pitch of these bells is closely related to their size -- smaller bells have a high pitch; larger bells have a lower pitch.

The sound of antique sleigh bells varies more than the sound of new bells. In general, big bells sound deeper and "clangier", and little bells sound higher and brighter. Sometimes, however, a larger bell will actually ring at a higher note than a somewhat smaller bell.

Smaller antique "round ridge" and petal bells usually have a bright, clear, musical tone. Round ridge bells are often a bit louder than the petal bells.

Antique petal bells bigger than 1 3/4" diameter (golf ball size) tend to have a deeper, duller, slightly "clangy" quality to their ring -- generally not quite as musical or bright as the smaller bells.

Swedish bells sound quite different than other sleigh bells. These bells have a distinctive resonant, chiming clang.

Acceptable defects

Most antiques often have flaws from age and use, and our antique sleigh bells are no exception. Most of our bells are well over 100 years old, and many show the minor cracks, dings or scrapes from decades of normal use.

We want to make all of our customers happy by providing the nicest antique sleigh bells we can find, but we also want our customers to have realistic expectations about our bells.

We do not sell badly damaged bells -- they go into our recycle bin. The antique bells we do sell are sturdy and typical for their age, and most also have some minor defects. In addition to variations in tone (see the previous section), you can expect to find the following characteristics and imperfections in the sleigh bells we sell:

Some antique bells are bright gold, some are brownish gold with dark spots, most are in-between.

Some antique bells have a smooth surface; most have a slightly textured exterior. A few have a very pebbly, almost rough surface.

Many small bells have no defects, but some will have small cracks or small casting blemishes (holes or pits.)

Most medium to large bells and early 1800s bells have one or more small to moderate defects, including hairline cracks, stable open cracks, or casting blemishes.

It is not possible for us to supply only defect-free antique bells -- we appreciate your understanding in this matter.