I have two fillet-brazed Schwinn frames from the late \u201870s, a Superior and a Super Sport. The Superior is smooth as silk, fillet brazing at its best. The Super Sport is just the opposite, as if squeezed from a toothpaste tube. However, both of these hand-built frames were indistinguishable from the welded Varsity for all but the enthusiast. Schwinn eventually dropped them since they were generally thought of as \u201cinferior\u201d to lugged frames. My point is that the relative beauty, individuality, and quality of a fillet-brazed (or a TIG welded) frame is not as apparent as a lugged frame because there is a limit to the detectable quality of the non-lugged joint. I mean, how smooth can you get? I know there are some really bad lugged frames out there, but IMHO it\u2019s really hard to make a bad lug job look acceptable, even with the best of paint.
John Wilson
Greensburg, PA