You will remember this old drawer I found in an old chest, in the Old Woodshed store in Intercourse, Pennsylvania:
In that earlier article I requested feedback, as I did not know what this joint is called. I received excellent feedback from several readers (I included links in the earlier article). Today I received an e-mail from another Al, who read that article, and wrote:
Those pin & crescent half moon joints are actually called Knapp joints. Charles Knapp of Waterloo Wisconsin patented the machine in 1867 and then sold it to a group of investors that formed a company called the Knapp Dovetail Company of Northampton Mass. The company sold machines to furniture manufacturers for a little over 20 years. The machines were widely used from about 1870 to 1900 until the first machine that cut more traditional looking dovetails came out. I’ve been looking for info on furniture built with Knapp joints because I have a gorgeous solid maple dresser that has them. However a previous owner replaced all the pulls with really cheap Chippendale style reproductions … I’d like to get back to original looking pulls. And, I’ve built a pair of nightstands that match the dresser (minus the Knapp Joints – I used traditional dovetails) and need pulls for my drawers.
I regret to say that I did not take any photos of the pulls. However, if you read this, and can provide a good source for the pulls, please let us know – Al needs pulls for his drawers. Thanks!
And my thanks to Al for writing with additional information!
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— Al Navas