| Thumb screw | Post shapes | A theory | Octave patent | Left pinkie clusters | Trill & accessory keys | Front F | Key oddities | «Back to page 3 |
Thumb screw
Prior to Klingsor saxophones #700 and up, Hammerschmidt used conventional, right-pointing, neck fastening screws on its alto and tenor saxophones. Klingsor tenor 07XX is the first Hammerschmidt saxophone that I have seen to date that has the round thumb screw used to tighten the neck. This is the same kind of neck fastening screw we see in Hohner and Dörfla & Jörka (D&J).
Post shapes
Speaking of Dörfla & Jörka, we know that D&J made all the parts for their own saxophones, as well as many parts for Keilwerth. Although D&J’s altos and tenors were copies of JK’s Toneking and The New King, one area where their horns can immediately be differentiated from each other is in post shapes. Keilwerth’s posts are 2 trapezoids stacked on top of each other, while D&J’s are cone-shaped.
I have always described the cone shape of the D&J posts like the game pieces of many German board games, such as Mensch ärgere Dich nicht. Hammerschmidt has similar (identical?) posts for its horns.
Given that we know Hammerschmidt made all the labour-intensive parts of their horns themselves, but did purchase small bits from other manufacturers (Ladwig, p. 177), it would track that D&J could have supplied them with their posts. They certainly look similar enough except for the post feet.
Helen’s crazy theory based on design features
D&J could also have been the supplier for the round thumb screw that fastened the neck. Comparing the thumb screw on my Hammerschmidt alto to D&J horns I honestly don’t see a difference in the mount of the screw itself.
When D&J began winding down its business in 1965, they apparently did sell materials it had in stock to others. Furthermore, there was a 2 year period of time (1966-67) that Josef Dörfler continued working before he officially shuttered the business and went to work at JK. It is conceivable that he was making parts for companies like Hammerschmidt during this time so that they had a stockpile to keep them going.
An octave patent, octave mechanism, and familiar key shapes
In October 2024, I wrote an incredibly long and involved article on the patent that Hammerschmidt received for its octave venting system. Rather than duplicate this material here, I encourage anyone that is interested in the brand to view the original article on the Bassic Sax Blog.
Hammerschmidt is one of only a handful of saxophone manufacturers that used more than 1 octave pip on the body tube. The earliest horn that I have seen with the patented double octave mechanism is Klingsor tenor 0191 (circa 1952-54).
In that article I also reference the shape of the octave mechanism and octave lever. If you’ve ever seen an Olds Super or early Selmer, the shape most definitely should look familiar to you.
Left pinkie clusters
Over the course of their saxophone production, Hammerschmidt’s left pinkie clusters evolved. In total I have documented 5 different pinkie cluster that span the Klingsor/n models and their various stencils.
Trill & accessory keys
Regardless which version of Klingsor/n you ordered, there was a very good chance that it came with at least one trill or accessory key. I don’t know why trill keys never caught on in a bigger way, and I don’t know why even modern European makers stopped putting them on their horns. Personally, I use my C/D and G# trill keys on my mid-century German tenors all the time.
For these images I used my former and current Hammerschmidt horns. I have good quality, detailed photos of the areas in question.
Trill & accessory key overview
It can get very confusing when looking at a mid-century German horn. Not all manufacturers put their keys in exactly the same place. For Hammerschmidt, it is even more confusing since the C/D trill and high F# key are located side by side, but opposite to what makes intuitive sense. The high F# is located below the C/D triller.
Right hand trill keys in detail
Note: Not all of these trill keys are seen on all saxophones.
C/D trill key
According to the 1961 catalogue shown previously, the C/D trill key was standard on Version A of the Klingsor saxophones.
G# trill key
According to the 1961 catalogue shown previously, the G# trill key was standard on Versions A & B of the Klingsor saxophones.
High F# key
According to the 1961 catalogue shown previously, the high F# was available for an upcharge.
High F# key tone hole
The high F# key must always be located higher up on the body tube than the high F key. Including this one, that was mine ATT, I have documented only 5 Klingsor/n saxophones with a high F# key.
Fork Eb key
The fork Eb was an option on the Version A Klingsor alto and tenor saxophones.
No Front F
Like many saxophone companies, the earliest Hammerschmidt saxophones had no Front F key. That said, they started making horns in their Burgau factory in 1952. That is a little late to not have a front F on their horns.
The Version C was a somewhat striped down model of horn and did not have a front F, but still had the other things that made a Hammerschmidt, a Hammerschmidt. Things like: 2 octave vents in the body tube, rolled tone holes, identical hand engraving, the same key guards, etc. were found on the Version C.
Some of these things are not like the other
One thing about Hammerschmidt that you have to remember: there are no absolutes. When it comes to this vintage German brand, due to the relatively small number of saxophones produced, and the customer requested modifications, Hammerschmidt saxophones really need to be viewed as more of a one of kind item, rather than a production series of horns.
Right palm keys Klingsor alto 01913
Look no further than this alto with it clarinet-shaped right palm keys. It’s like whoever designed this was either a clarinet player, or was experimenting with key shapes. My best guess is that this was a custom order from the factory somewhere between 1955-59—according to the serial number—by clarinet player who doubled on sax. Otherwise these keys almost make no sense.
Octave mechanism Klingsor tenor 043XX
Something else that makes no sense is the octave mechanism on this tenor that has 2 octave vents. It is missing the wishbone octave mechanism that is shown in the diagrams for the company’s patent application.
This Klingsor is the only Hammerschmidt-made horn with 2 body octave vents that I have seen to date, that does not have a wishbone-shaped octave mechanism. Why? Don’t know.
If you want to compare it directly to a horn that does have the wishbone-shaped octave mechanism, here is alto 040XX.
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