Vintage cymbal with crack still valuable?

[stickmakeboom]

Hello! New to the place around here. Also relatively new drummer. A buddy of mine gave me a stack of what he called cheap cymbals. Well most of them were cheap but then I found this guy in there... From my understanding it is a 1949 to 1950 k zildjian Istanbul 17 (EDIT- 18) inch,which appears to be somewhat rare.Does anyone have an idea of what it might be worth?

 

[Tama CW]

The value of that depends on the actual tone and weight since that is a major influence in the value of undamaged ones. It's an early 1950's example Type 3a.
If the diameter is 17.5" or more....it's an 18". 17's would cover the range from 16.5 to 17.4. 17 is an oddball size and might be worth more than an 18" to some. Again, it's important to know the weight/tone.

But if a medium to medium thin or lighter with decent K-like tone still left it could be worth $150-$300 depending on the person looking. I'd say $175-$225.

Without the crack that was probably a $750-$900 cymbal. So it HAS to have some significant value even if it's only 20-30% of the original value. Everyone has a different level of "acceptance" for cracks. Some just don't.
But, it's the 5-10% of people who do accept and buy them that determine their value.

 

[JDA]

It's on it's way out; I wouldn't touch it even with a thumb; until every end of cracks are drilled; then it's about an $80- $70 crash splash cymbal to me;

 

[stickmakeboom]

The value of that depends on the actual tone and weight since that is a major influence in the value of undamaged ones. It's an early 1950's example Type 3a.
If the diameter is 17.5" or more....it's an 18". 17's would cover the range from 16.5 to 17.4. 17 is an oddball size and might be worth more than an 18" to some. Again, it's important to know the weight/tone.

But if a medium to medium thin or lighter with decent K-like tone still left it could be worth $150-$300 depending on the person looking. I'd say $175-$225.

Ah, interesting. I didn't know that about the sizing. Its pretty thin and light but Im not sure the weight as I don't have a scale. Its a bit trashy and very dark, but the crash opens up super easy with a nice shimmer with quick decay. It's not really my taste but some people may like it? Thanks for the input!

It's on it's way out; I wouldn't touch it even with a thumb; until every end of cracks are drilled; then it's about an $80- $70 crash splash cymbal to me;

My other thought was to make it into a clock lol

 

[Skinsmannn]

Sadly THAT crack looks pretty forboding to me.
There are a handful of guys around that lathe and re hammer but I dont know of any that braze or fix something like that.
Despite it being a K. Personally I wouldnt touch it, but I wouldnt if it was a perfect cymbal. Not a K guy at all.

 

[ThomasL]

If that's the only crack and the cymbal cymbals good, it's definitely not worthless. The downside is that 17" is a bit small for even as a left side ride, and not that many old K players use dedicated crashes.

A few years ago I repaired a 20" old K that had a similar crack (+ a number of others):

For this crack I made the cutout at 12 o'clock here:

If you're interested, you can hear the repaired cymbal here:

 

[jptrickster]

I'd take it off your hands right now for $100

 

[JDA]

Ah, interesting. I didn't know that about the sizing. Its pretty thin and light but Im not sure the weight as I don't have a scale. Its a bit trashy and very dark, but the crash opens up super easy with a nice shimmer with quick decay. It's not really my taste but some people may like it? Thanks for the input!

My other thought was to make it into a clock lol

(no)
kidding.

 

[trashman]

Shame about the crack, and it's going to have significantly decreased value (I'm not going to pretend to know what it would be) no matter what it sounds like.
Personally, I'd have that crack area notched-out with a clean and smooth cut (like what @ThomasL showed above), to remove any rattling/deadening of sound, and to help prevent further spreading of the crack, and see what it sounds like.
That cymbal was made during an exceptionally great era for K. Zildjian. If it ends up sounding good with a repair, then you have that to work with, whether you keep or sell it.

 

[stickmakeboom]

I'd take it off your hands right now for $100

Im interested...dm me

If that's the only crack and the cymbal cymbals good, it's definitely not worthless. The downside is that 17" is a bit small for even as a left side ride, and not that many old K players use dedicated crashes.

A few years ago I repaired a 20" old K that had a similar crack (+ a number of others):
View attachment 566566

For this crack I made the cutout at 12 o'clock here:
View attachment 566567

If you're interested, you can hear the repaired cymbal here:

That's a lot of surgery on that cymbal! But it still sounds great! I'm not sure I'm willing to go to those lengths for this particular cymbal. But I'm curious what did you make those cuts with?

 

[rikkrebs]

That’s a pretty significant crack. Without the crack that would be a $700+ cymbal. However, with a crack like that maybe $100.

This being said I don’t believe modifications would hurt the value of this particular cymbal even though it’s very collectible

 

[premierplayer]

Im interested...dm me


That's a lot of surgery on that cymbal! But it still sounds great! I'm not sure I'm willing to go to those lengths for this particular cymbal. But I'm curious what did you make those cuts with?

Lot of sugery, nah, don't be scared.
It's a piece of metal, cut with hacksaw, jig saw, metal band saw, dremil tool with reinforced cut off wheel, angle grinder with cut off wheel, jewlers saw, a whole lot of choices. Heat is the enemy, got to keep things cool.

 

[ThomasL]

That's a lot of surgery on that cymbal! But it still sounds great! I'm not sure I'm willing to go to those lengths for this particular cymbal. But I'm curious what did you make those cuts with?

Yeah, only a few of the cracks were visible in the for sale ad. It was a fun experiment, but I prefer to buy my cymbals in better condition in the future, even though this one was really cheap.

I used Dremel-like tool (actually Ryoby) with a cutting wheel. And yes, I used cutting oil and coolant.