Dating old hand forged traps can be difficult, as they almost never have a date on them, and if they did, it is usually unledgable. So, one must find a makers stamp somewhere on the trap. Between that and the trap design, are pretty much what you got to go on. A makers mark will give the chance to look up where and between what two periods of time the traps were most likely made. Without a makers mark though, it really makes for a more broad guesstimate. I was fortunate to have Mr. James Hanson of the Museum of the Fur Trade, look at some of mine, and the one without a visible stamp on it, was dated 1790 to the early 1800s. How he figured this, I assume cause he has looked at hundreds of these old "Fur Trade" era traps..... I however, have not. So again, without a makers stamp or having an expert look at them, it's a fairly broad guess I'd say.

Thanks... I figured you took them out to dinner, and maybe a movie...

I inherited this old boy when my wife's grand father passed away in 1968,,,26" long,10 1/2" jaw spread,,,note how the jaw posts are forged onto the base,,,probally my favorite trap,,

The traps you cannot take apart, like PaulB's trap, tend to be earlier. The trapper would have to take to fur post smithy for repairs,unlike the bolted traps, they could be repaired in the field(broken spring,jaws etc.).It seems most traps made after 1800 were the bolted variety.

The cross is also forged into the base,,,does this mean my trap is almost as old as Cascade?

Probably not nearly as old as cascade, however they did forge bases in one piece as late as the 1860's.

Thought I'd resurrect an old thread and get an opinion or two on this trap.

There no marks on it that I can find. Can you date it based on the pics?

Moosetrot

Based on the pics, I'd say January 30, 2018

I haven't looked up "vintage" in the dictionary but I guess that would qualify. Depending on who you ask.

Just guessing but I would say the base and jaws before 1870s and the springs and chain after the 1880s...

Thanks for the input. The uniformity of the springs were throwing me off.