Evolution of the Juncker EK die :

[Douglas 5]

Hi all ;
I am taken a stab at this mysterious conglomerate of Juncker core and frame variations mainly pertaining EK2's . But parallels to EK1's would be similar .
Just in the last 2 weeks I have come in possession of an very interesting earliest Juncker EK2 , which has lead to this .
I am slow in posting this so if I could ask for patience on replies , and to wait until I have post all 25 pictures or so , which may take an hour or 2 .
Thanks .

1) Juncker is known for quality and precision workmanship , ... to which the Spanish Cross and Juncker Luftbadges will attest to , just to name some .
The company had prided itself in this and is common knowledge .

Well , even Juncker was not perfect as I have discovered , and it is this one problem I now know of now , that the company tried to keep well hidden as not to tarnish their reputation . Be that they may have picked up on this problem very quickly and or detroyed damaged stock , so the existance of these flawed pieces are very rare to find to say the least .

2) Juncker had from the start an early die problem .
To me this is the bases of the multitude of cores and frames .

3) Before going further I shall introduce my -initial run- all hand finished Juncker EK2 : It shows the different stages of early hand finishing .
Stages ; Nickel -silver frame , lose core, magnetic , silver plated and lacquered , and > Hand brush applied frosting acid and added domed paint to the swastika and date .
On this Juncker EK2 the jump ring and ribbon ring are solid nickel and not plated brass which may be a surprise to some .
The pictures.

[Douglas 5]

Pic 2 back

[Douglas 5]

Pic 3
The hand applied frosting acid , ... against the beading creating missed wedges and so , some spot touches on the frame . Rainbow silver under die strips of lacquer show this , so not the dip process .

[Douglas 5]

With Ben's Bijkers permission , many thanks to him > this comparison would not be possible , ... his also early EK2 , but from production finishing , made after mine , do to the frosting dip process , otherwise the same and look like twins .
And then they both harbor an interesting secret .

[Douglas 5]

The date and his core , straight frosting line and no extra added paint to swastika and date .

[Douglas 5]

By this time every one wondering what this is leading up to .
I hope to show the proof for the existence of 2 Juncker made and used EK 2 cores and a reason why cores were contracted out to W&L , that Juncker used .
The die flaws :
First the front of mine , the flaw is small yet, so one may not see it at first .

[Douglas 5]

At the same time going over the characteristics and flaw of the 'First Juncker Core' by using the date only as there are some minor differences in the swastika too , better pictures needed for that and not important for now .
The white lines are for orientation of Juncker unique features on how to identify the first core , important as W&L core is very close , shown later.
A very early example is so important in this case , sharp crisp like die strike , no wear or rust etc to obscure the differences .
Being this early production this has be a true frame and core . without this a guessing game as has been so far .
Features : Flat bottoms in the tops of the 9s .
This early core has a fat short and parallel edge top on the 3 , no hook at all .
Notice the thickest part of the 9's is not in the middle but higher , in the top third !
And the bottom loops join or enter the 'balls' just about in the middle !
Yes the yellow mark is the location of my front die flaw .
Of interest is the form and features of the upstroke and the foot on the 'ONE' .
They have absolutely no flat top surface ', they are sharp !!!
This is the contributing reason the flaws are starting here !

[Douglas 5]

My early EK2 back side , ... the side of massive die cracks , shown without being marked .

[Douglas 5]

Problems marked out in yellow .Chips and cracks are many . The cross-over on the 8 is very fat . As on the front the ones have sharp edged upstrokes and feet . Massive crack between first 1 and 8 is half the length of th 8 and sticks out high than the 8 !!!
Must have been one of the last crosses with the first core front and back .
Blue lines indicate that the edges of where the flanges meet the base are all in line and not the top edges of the numbers .

[Douglas 5]

Once again the later of the early EK2;s Bens cross . front first core ..
Growing blob from a crack beside the 1 .

[Douglas 5]

Sorry this is going so slow .

Bens EK2 has now the 2nd core reverse with the first core front .
The back of his is flawless!!!!!! And made after mine , with the front flaw growing and at some stage is replaced too . An exemplary piece showing both core types mixed . A true progression of the die problem , a serious problem .
Not .....my early EK2 made in 39 and Bens in 40 . Far to early for any normal die ware , ... well this rendered the core useless very quick , orders to be filled .
If Juncker stopped EK2's suddenly , word would have gotten out fast , so continue on as nothing was wrong . Juncker went out side and bought cores , ... W&L cores .
I assotiate this serve and sudden die failure to Juncker buying from others .
They did it with the EK2 , so why not mixed parts for EK1's .

The new back or 2nd core has these new features compared to the first reverse .
1's >now have upstroke and foot surfaces , top of 3 is longer ,and thinner and a bit of a hook at the tip , non intentional, just a new design visual side affect , attributed to new vertical tip - side flange ! Depending how the light hits it , it is the sharp flangs edge runing down to the base .The 8 cross over is thinner and a new ball on the 3 , a tip mounted ball that almost touches the centre of the 3 .!

[Douglas 5]

4)Association between Juncker and W&L grows as W&L helped Juncker in the pinch . Taking this further , ... ties are such that Juncker sell frames to W&L .
Bold statement ; first to bring this up . I have both crosses and many hours comparing them , the hump is identical !
I based this on the frame flaw that both Juncker and W&L show !
One take these two crosses : Frame hump is the same size . W&L left -mid period and early Juncker right .
The misalignment is like a DNA print . Junker in the manufacturing of their frame punch cutter placed the 'hump' just off center . So when placing the frame halfs together some can and some cannot get placed matching , doubling up the error !
The right side overlap one can see on both crosses below ..

[Douglas 5]

The hump may be the same in position and size , but nothing else .
The 2 dates side by side for viewing .

[Douglas 5]

Features pulled out showing differences :
Juncker on top W&L on the bottom .

The one is short on both and a bit more blunt on the W&L .
Shape of the top of the 3 and location of the 'thick' spot on the front of the 9's .
See it is the unfinished picture . Arrows missing . will add verbaly .
Also the gap between the 1 and 9 is almost non existant ,
Slit eye 9's , Top of the 3 is different ... Balls are attached to the curved bottoms on the far left , hard to see. Distinct however is the ball of the last 9 , it has a flat top !!

[Douglas 5]

W&L does have their own frame with a much wider hump .
The I see this in Ben,s 2nd EK2 with the Juncker core . W&l frame with no cruched bead or crosshatching , a variation combo .