The 2nd Hand Warehouse / Pawn Shop / Second Hand Dealer in George focuses exclusively on Antique pieces & Vintage Goods – If you have an eye for one-of-a-kind items, then you’ll definitely be in heaven when visiting our store!
We go out of our way to find amazing treasures so that you don’t have to, just visit our store and give one of our pieces a new home! We stock beautiful furniture pieces, paintings, books, vehicles, collectables, musical instruments, dinnerware, and more…
You’re going to spend some money on furniture and accessories, so you may as well buy something that can hold its value after you use it. Antiques often have a greater chance of retaining value than new machine-made furniture. Plus, antiques add a sense of warmth, history, and character to your house.
We receive new stock regularly, so be sure to pop by often to spot the best finds first!! And if you have pieces you’d like to sell, bring them in-store for us to have a look at.
OUR BRANCHES:
– The 2nd Hand Warehouse – Household, Sport & Tools
– The 2nd Hand Clothing Warehouse
FIND US HERE
8 tips for buying antique furniture:
Look closely to see how the piece was made
Does the piece you’re looking at have drawers? If so, pull them out and look at how they were constructed. That will reveal if the piece was handmade or not. “Look at the side of the drawer—you should see dovetails,” says Holter. “And on the inside of the drawer front, where it meets with the sides, there there should also be larger cut marks. Those are called kerf marks. They indicate where the cabinet maker was cutting out the dovetails in the drawer face to be attached
with the drawer sides. It’s sort of the leftover marks that the saw created. You want to see those. They are tell-tale signs of hand craftsmanship.”
Check out the hardware
While you have the drawer out looking for dovetails, don’t forget to inspect the hardware, too. “When you pull a drawer out and look at the back of the handle, you should expect to see a threaded post and a nut securing that brass to the drawer front,” says Holter. “If you don’t see that nut and just see what looks to be the top of a slotted or flathead screw going towards the face of the drawer, then that is an indication that the hardware is newer. It’s also a good indication that the piece is not old as well.”
Try to find a signature, a label, or a stamp
While signatures are rare on pieces from the 17th and 18th centuries, Holter says to check on the backs and undersides of drawers (which, as we have come to realize, hold a lot of information about the age and authenticity of a piece of furniture!) to potentially find pencil marks or chalk signatures that may indicate who made the piece and where it was produced. Does the piece you’re looking at not have a drawer? Check either its back or its bottom.
Visit The 2nd Hand Warehouse to find one-of-a-kind pieces – We’re situated on the cnr of 4th & Akasia Street, George East, 4th Street Mall in George.
Rate us and Write a Review
Closed Now!08:00 - 17:00
- Monday08:00 - 17:00
- Tuesday08:00 - 17:00
- Wednesday08:00 - 17:00
- Thursday08:00 - 17:00
- Friday08:00 - 17:00
- Saturday08:00 - 13:00
Own or work here?
