Back in 2024 I posted about a nice vintage Kruspe single F. Around that time I purchased one of these too, of a bit different design. It was not playable, but looked like it had potential as a project.
In the spring of 2025 I got it to the point seen here.
From the front it has nice proportions, a real nice bell (if rather thin), and overall the high level of construction you would expect from a major maker of horns like Kruspe. It feels good in the hands.
One more brief aside — the mouthpiece that came with the horn, it’s not marked but I’m inclined to think it is a Kruspe mouthpiece. It has a deep “double cup” and is turned from solid nickel silver.
The big problems to fix to play the horn at all were on the back.
This horn is in F, and the main slide has two coils. The slide had come apart, and a ferrule was actually missing. I had to replace that and gently worked out the biggest dents before reassembly. At that point, the horn played pretty promisingly! The valves still have a bit of pop.
Also I could see an interesting design feature. If you replaced that main slide with one that is just a straight slide (which I don’t have), plus changed the valve slides, the horn would be in Bb. It’s convertible! That all got me more excited.
So I got to cleaning it more and then things got all wonky in the leadpipe. I don’t clean aggressively, no heavy chemicals! But the leadpipe opened up with multiple cracks and holes. I could tell you how many patches there are on that pipe (most put on by me), but it’s an absurd number.
As a result, the horn played only so-so, and I never posted about it here.
Getting the horn out again, when I put a different pipe on it for testing the horn does perk up. So I’ll be on the hunt for a new pipe for this horn.
How old is it?
As I mentioned in the previous Kruspe article, there are a few ways to estimate age on Kruspe horns. In the case of this one, the engraving on the bell includes the word “Hoflieferant.” This is a reference to Kruspe being purveyors to the court. This then means the horn has to date to before 1918, as Kaiser Wilhelm II abdicated in 1918.
It’s a simpler engraving, either somewhat older than the other one or perhaps from a cheaper model.
As to later Kruspe horns, I can offer this very general guide. If there are no “numbers” in the engraving, it is post WWII, and if there are DRGM numbers (they are German patent numbers, not serial numbers) it is from the era between the world wars. But of course it’s likely more complicated than that, this is only very general guidance.
To be continued…
In any case, I’ve got a project here still, as I want to get a new pipe on it and work out Bb horn slides. Plus work out more dents. Hopefully something I get to before the summer.
