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Welllp figured y'all my enjoy one if my wall hangers. Pretty sure is a Victor sure grip  

Fenn 'Loop' Mole Traps Here you go, Katch. I got the box down again. Couple of angles for you to get the best idea. Four different Types. It's all in the trigger design, see? Wire loop thing, on

This is the last Rabbit i caught in a Sawyer ! it was in my neighbours  back garden under a shed , i put a sequence of  pictures showing how they worked then the Internet  trap Police pounced . A stup

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Just sitting here, bad humouredly visualising them boxes. (Plastic 'Pirates Chests', actually. Fair old fukking size then) And I thought I might mention, to Katch, how the one full of Juby's is absolute fukking Murder! Because they're such heavy old lumps of traps.

Then, it struck me: Katch - and this question's just for you - how may Types (Models. Variations on the theme. What ever) of Juby Trap do you reckon there are?

See; A Trap Collector won't just say, like, " Oh, I have a Juby, an Imbra, a Sawyer and a Fenn Rabbit trap. I've got them all now. " Good god, no!!! A Collector needs All the Juby's. All the Imbra's. So on.

 

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I honestly don't know, for sure, mate ? Strictly speaking ~ or speaking as Trap Collectors ~ we have to know there'll be Prototypes. The bloke might get, maybe, three variants of 'pre production' try outs made, for example.

 But, then? Yeah. I guess most tweaks will be aimed at improving the trap. Actually, the basic and probably best known, Fenn Vermin Trap would likely be a better working example.

Look at that Fenn Vermin Mk 1 I show. His first ever attempt at coming up with a new trap, to replace the gin. And it's fukking woeful! Practically made out of old coat hangers.

My old mentor was the man actually charged with field testing the first Mk 1's. He absolutely fukking Roasted the things! Criminally, all I can now remember, from his verbal description to me, was that they " Set too high. " But, he had a shopping list of glaring faults with them though.

But, Fenn wasn't going to be put off That easily. And the rest is history and extremely Collectable! But, yeah, one can easily see the 'improvements'. Pans getting bigger. Springs made stronger, with more coils. Jaws going from wire, to wire and flat steel. So on.

Fenn must never have slept. I think that man must have had the metabolism of a shrew! Constantly thinking, thinking, Thinking about bloody traps, and how to make them better. Or just a whole new concept for what ever job.

  Again, look at that 'Big Pan' (As it's generally known to Collectors) Rabbit trap. WTF is That all about?! But, he Tried! There's even one out there, we call the " Toggle Trap ". Has a single, upright wire for a triggering mechanism. That was considered the Prototype 'A' of his rabbit traps.

He did however first come up with some mutant conglomeration of a gin trap (wire) spring and a couple of pairs of jaws more comparable to what Juby later used.

Mention the " Fenn Mk 1 " and how many people say, " Oh, I've got a few of them. " ? No you haven't, you fukking lunatic! That's the So Called " Fenn Mk 1 Rabbit Trap ".

And That thing (The one with the round topped jaws) was preceded by two or three earlier Types with 'octagonal' looking jaws to them.

Anyway, I did warn you about what could happen if you got me started about 'Collector Traps'! I'll force myself to STFU now, or I'll still be going at dawn.

  OTC's the man. Certainly one of the Top Ten of British Trap Collectors of all time. I taught him everything I know. Then, he carried on from there, like a fukking express train!

As said; I don't know what he's up to, now. His business is his own. He was researching material for 'a book'. But, as I've also said; The interest in old traps comes and goes. Right now, it's definitely on the low tide. Who the hell would buy such a book?

Another of the Top Boys summed it up rather 'nicely' to me a few years ago, when he said:

" I must be sitting on the most expensive pile of scrap metal ever!!! "

Must certainly have the biggest pile. He's never been a cheap skate. He wanted it? He'd Pay for it! And, I understand he bought out at least two or three other Top Five Collections, as their owners retired or died :icon_eek: Not a lot he Hasn't got then.

But, yeah, must be a bit of a pisser, when you've spent at least hundreds of thousands on a life times Collection. Only to find you're practically the last man alive who values the fukking things!

The tide will turn, again, though.

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The " Sara " Rabbit Trap. Lane loved those things (Irony) Though, I don't really think he was completely wrong about them, in honesty.

Basically saying they were an impractical, over engineered piece of junk that would smash and rattle themselves to bits in short order.

They probably did. And that's why they're as rare as hens teeth now ;)

Must admit; I never had one. Nor did I particularly want one, if I'm being brutally honest ? Each to their own. It's like that Duncan Rabbit Trap. Fukking metal box with a pair of tongs on top! Never saw the fascination.

 I guess I just had more of my own views on what constituted an appealing trap.

Fair play though. You're holding a Sara? You're obviously Very serious then. Good to see! How is the Trap Collecting world, these days? I expect we know some of the lads in common.

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Fenn 'Loop' Mole Traps

Here you go, Katch. I got the box down again. Couple of angles for you to get the best idea. Four different Types. It's all in the trigger design, see? Wire loop thing, on top?

The one front, left in the shots is the Mk 1. Fukking labels have fallen off the rest! ? I'm bound to have their every little detail written out, meticulously, in my files though.

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Now; Some would say, " That's bullshit! 'Four Types'? Well, Three of those are the identical trap, just with the bit of wire bent differently! "

Like; Yes! That's the fukking point!!! Fenn, as said above, never seemed to rest. He was always tweaking his designs. My Collection and records preserve and reflect this.

Start arguing over the degree of difference in traps, to make them worthy of mention? Then you'd may as well grab a chink made Mk IV. Call it a " Fenn Trap " and yourself a " Trap Collector ". I mean, is we're going down That road .....

 

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4 hours ago, Ken's Deputy said:

Fenn Pincer Mole Trap

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Just to prove your point about Mr Fenn never sleeping that trap in the picture is very similar to the ones l have somewhere ,but not the same.  Damn,l'm going to have to tip the boxes onto the lawn; they are bound ,of course ,to be right at the bottom .

In the meantime....as opposed to Tinsley , a Tildesley?20210403_204646.jpg.2721358fb49946d78025a07967c82423.jpg

 

Edited by comanche
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Tildesley! Christ, yeah! I'd forgotten that name even existed! I Think I found it most often on small 'Run' traps and such?

My Fenn Pincer, by the way, has " A. FENN " stamped along the top of one of the 'handles' (For lack of a better term)

Aaah, fukk it! Fukk You, Comanche, stimulating me! The gloves are off now!! :D

Get those Fenn Pincers out and let's have a look at them! I've just dug out my records ~ Christ, look what you have me doing, already! ~ and it appears I must have a shit ton of Other traps, salted away in all those boxes? Damned if I remember.

But, yeah, it seems Fenn produced Six Types of his Scissor Mole Trap! (Fukk Me!!!) And, according to my records? I managed to get Five of them?! Must be here, somewhere then?

(Again, just to be clear; 'Type' differences can be miniscule. In these cases, it's mostly the type or shape of the triggers that vary. But, my mentor and I noted all such. Spring coils on a vermin trap could vary too. But, ignore that and where are you? Might as well call the entire range just " Fenn Traps ")

Just trying to decide whether to bother labelling the rest of those Loop's now.

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I bought a few fenn scissor traps and used them for years successfully, not a bad trap.

The Sara I picked up at an antiques fair , I knew it was a trap but had never seen one like it before.  Sent pictures to a mate and within a few days got an offer I couldn't refuse. So I let it go for a lanes egg trap, a pole trap and a bundle of cash.

Whilst I'm not a serious collector I do have a fascination for traps and always on the hunt around old farm buildings ( handy on my job)

If anyone's got any swaps or selling any let me know.

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