How Much is Old Plug Cutter Worth?

johnbarleycorn · May 1, 2016

I know the standard answer to my question is whatever someone is willing to pay...but I found this old plug cutter in a local antique shop this weekend. I nearly bought it but didn't know if the asking price was reasonable or not. The price tag was $90 but could probably be negotiated. What is something like this worth? I thought it was really cool and actually in very good condition.

drwatson · May 1, 2016

Well I have to break the news to you, but it's not a plug cutter. It's actually a 19th century circumcision machine. Very popular in the West!!! :nana:

johnbarleycorn · May 1, 2016

Yikes!!

jpmcwjr · May 1, 2016

Not in the field of that sort of antique, but I bet it's worth more than $90 to a collector.

mcitinner1 · May 2, 2016

That particular item looks like it's in pretty good condition compared to others I've seen. There are several like it on Ebay. Some asking less and others are much more.

xrundog · May 2, 2016

Yeah, nice condition. $90 seems okay. I guess I'd offer $75 and anything lower than $90 would feel pretty good.

cosmicfolklore · May 2, 2016

Where can I get this? I'd drop a mere $90 on it in a heartbeat.

jitterbugdude · May 2, 2016

That's a pretty good price. I have one just like it. The "STAR" brand seems to be one of the more popular ones. Expect to pay a lot more for the rarer ones. If you plan to use it to cut plug check the blade to see if it is smooth. A lot of them look like someone tried to cut rocks, leaving chips in the sharpened edge. Check too if the 2 screws that hold the blade in place are OK. The screws are slotted. Mine were all booger-ed up so I had to drill them out to resharpen the blade. I use mine to cut plug so I wanted a functional cutter, not something to set on the shelf and look pretty.

johnbarleycorn · May 2, 2016

Thanks for the input. I do believe I will go ahead and get it. The blade appeared to be in pretty decent shape and I didn't notice any damage to the screws but didn't look that closely. It will definitely look pretty on a shelf but I agree that I would like it to be functional as well.

mcitinner1 · May 2, 2016

Jitterbug is right about the possibly 100+ year old screws. Mine came out of the blade alright, but one of the two height adjusting screws had a burr on the end that was very difficult to get out safely. The top edge of the blade had two divots in it where those two screws had worn material away over the years. I didn't paint mine. I just cleaned in real well with some canola oil. I used a 1" belt sander to clean/sharpen the blade. The sides of the blade didn't clean up perfectly shiny because some rust pits were too deep. Looking at this picture makes me want to put the original screws back in it.

johnbarleycorn · May 2, 2016

Cool thanks.

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