Now that the weather is warming up in full, I can bring out some of the oldest bikes I have. The 1940 Westfield is a fairly primitive roadster: single speed coaster brake, bell, and Philco handbrake unit on the front. The Philco is actually an upgrade the original owner made back in the day.
The Philco unit is interesting because it lets you add a front hand brake to almost any bike. It is something of a hybrid between a center pull caliper and cantilever brakes. It actually functions smoother and better than it looks.However, it is quite heavy and has peculiar means of adjusting pad spacing and angle. I did put fresh pads in: modified Kool Stop pads. I used a Dremel to get the correct dovetail for the pad holders. It's an interesting part from the days when you could just add a handbrake to a bike that otherwise might not be able to take one because of a lack of brake bolt hole in the fork.
