Bear Belt Buckle??

[Shane Reed]

the head is not crimped..

[Pack animal]

Yes The buckle is cool.  My intent is not to detract from that.  I stated look at the vents because as far as I am aware the Bear "bubblehead" was only from 1956 which had the rounded vents.  Yes the head could be an "uncrimped" production head from a year after the change in the vents.  But the Von West buckles are still being advertised as "vintage Bear Razorhead Bubblehead"...  the broadhead in the buckle is clearly not a vintage Bear "Bubblehead".

[TonyW]

"Vintage" does not mean 1956. Vintage is a vague term used when you just know something is old, but don't know how old. The vintage Bear razorhead on the buckle is gold-plated, embalmed in acrylic, and has what looks like converta-point threads. I don't think anybody, including the seller, plans on excavating it from its tomb, scraping off the gold plate, removing the threaded adaptor, and passing it off as a item made in 1956.

Now look at the vintage razorhead on the buckle. It is not a 1956. Yet it clearly has what people call a "bubblehead," not a crimp, and it sure looks like the 1964 razorheads made by Bear. Anybody ever see another 1964 bubblehead?  Because the term "bubblehead" is a description used to describe uncrimped broadheads, this clearly is a "bubblehead."

This got me wondering. Which collector coined the term "bubblehead?" Can you find this description used in the 1956 or 1964 Bear archery catalog? Did Bear Archery ever make gold-plated broadheads for other companies besides Von West? If Bear Archery supplied Von West with uncrimped vintage 1964 "bubbleheads," are there some others waiting to be found?

Check out the topic "Antique vs. Vintage. Definition and differences?" that has been running on the big E website.

Ummm, this cool buckle is vintage, and it sure has me on the lookout for 1964 or newer Bear bubbleheads.

I did spot a vintage Bear bobblehead:

 

[TonyW]

       

BINGO - 1964 Chrome Razorhead given to Bear dealers and vistors to Bear museum as a presentation head.

(Still looking for one of these 1964 Razorheads that has a "bubblehead," because the presentation 1964 chrome plated heads had crimped ferrules. Just passed on a typical 1956 "bubblehead" Razorhead for $13 on the big E. Another one of the typical 1956 uncrimped Razorheads is going for $9.99 right now.)

[wadde]

The buckle is quite common and not rare by any means. I have one and would not sell it as a rare 56 bubblehead buckle. It is just an archery broadhead belt buckle and as far as I am concerned may not even have any vintage ties to Bear at all.