Ice Cream Mould Hinges

I. Hinge Parts
II. Leaf
            Cross Section of Leaf
            Leaf Attachment to Mould
            Lateral View
            Shoulder of Leaf
            Thick Hinge
III. Pins
            Pin Replacements
IV. Rounds
            Even Hinge Rounds
            Slightly Narrow End Hinge Rounds
            Very Narrow End Hinge Rounds
            Special Hinge rounds
V. Tabs
VI. Reinohl Hinges
VII.JB Hinges
VIII. Piano Hinges
IX. Hinge Marks

I. Hinge Parts

            A hinge has two leaves each attached by one edge to one half of the mold. The opposite edge attaches to alternate rounds. A pin runs through a hole in the rounds binding them together but able to rotate around the pin to open the mould parts yet retain their alignment.. The two unattached edges are the ends of the hinge. The surfaces of the apposing leaves are the interior faces. The outer surfaces are the exterior surfaces. The Rounds are the top of the hinge. The mould wall is at the bottom.
            The attachment of the rounds to the top of the leaf sometimes leaves a narrow shoulder. When the leaf is thin there may be no shoulder. When the leaf is thick there may be a wide shoulder. The height of the shoulder relative to the round also varies even to the top of the rounds, limiting the opening of the mould . This has been supplemented by soldering tabs to the tops of one or two of the rounds.
            On the other hand some maker filed a bevel at the shoulder or even produced a sloping shoulder for wider opening of the mould.
Still others concealed the shoulder

II. Leaf

            Early makers beveled the ends of the leaves from the rounds toward the mould wall and from the inside toward the outside.(Ostensibly to make the hinge opening easier.) Later only the outer edge was slightly beveled and finally the ends were flat.

Cross Section of Leaf

            Hinges were often wedge shaped due to a wedge of pewter or solder under the leaf of the hinge to provide a larger area of attachment to the mold. Later the outer surface of the leaves were slightly beveled Then the leaves ran in parallel . Some to the naked eye clearly taper slightly in or out as they run from the rounds to the mould and measurement of the thickness of the hinge at the rounds and at the mould confirm this.
            Mr Stallings noted that moulds from the Vienna area had leaves that diverged from the rounds and then below had a converging surface of solder producing a distinctive rhomboid shape in cross section
            Leaves vary in thickness. Occasionally a leaf is found with a convex outer surface

Thick Hinge

Leaf Attachment to Mould

Mr. Stallings classified the attachments of the hinge to the body of ice cream moulds as:
            “A”. .Edge of the leaf butt soldered directly to the surface of the mould. Since soldering is from the outside, the cleft is best seen from the inside, If the surface is flat the cleft is a straight line ,“s”. If the surface is curved , the edge of the leaf is cut in a curve, “c”
            “B”. A lug with a straight edge is cast at the appropriate site on the mould and the hinge leaf is soldered to that.
            “C”. The hinge is cast as part of the mould at the edge of the mould or slightly below the edge. This was patented in 1872 for 15 years by Charles Revillon and D. Martin at Rue St.Martin 188 and on the basis of a flimsy application by Cadot at Rue St Martin 88 in 1876. Krauss a recent maker used C hinges. Epplesheimer successor , Frank Friedwald , and Jacob Ernst of NY, the other major American maker did not.
            A few makers soldered the side “S” of the leaf to the mould.

Lateral View

Shoulder of Leaf

III. Pins

Pin Replacements

IV. Rounds

            Forging vs Casting: Early hinges were forged. Two pieces of metal were cut the size of the hinge leaf plus rounds. Along one edge of each fingers were cut the width of the rounds and the length of the circumference of the hinge pin. On one the even and on the other the odd fingers were removed. The fingers were bent around a rod the size of the pin to touch the leaf, laving a slit at the junction .
Later the rounds were cast with the leaf and there is no slit.

Even Hinge Rounds

Slightly Narrow End Hinge Rounds

Very Narrow End Hinge Rounds

Odd Hinge Rounds Narrow

Special Hinge Rounds

(JB, GN, Mu, S)

V. Tabs

VI. Reinohl Hinges

            Characteristically Reinöhl of Uhlm made 3-round hines of Tin or Brass and covered hem with a thin or thick layer of pewter. It appears that the rounds did not attach to a rectangular or trapezoid leaf but each rounds continued onto the mold as a narrow strip of ten or brass.

VII. JB Hinges

Typical JB hinge: like an R hinge it is 3 rounds of tin continuing as strips as wide as the round out over the mould to be side soldered . But unlike R the JB mould leaf is raised 3mm parallel to the mould surface and the pewter then slopes down to the mould surface. The outer surface of the round and leaf are bare.

VIII. Piano Hinges

            As far as I know these were not made by the mould makers but were purchased from hinge makers when longer hinges were needed, rarely for ice cream moulds but often for chocolate moulds. They are of tin or brass . The rounds are uniform and short.

IX. Hinge Marks

            Makers marks are rare on hinges except for Georg Lieb and Georg Norman. Most of the names and initials on hinges are those of dealers or owners, which I have in in a table.