Lamp cord for PH5 Pendant  

Third option
An old ratty Hoover upright vacuum cleaner from a thrift store will have the nice cream patina and will cost about 10 bucks.

A timely thread . . .
While I have my share of good deals on craigslist postings and eBay auctions, I had never stumbled across a "steal" in a garage sale or thrift store before this weekend. As I was doing a quick drop-in at a nearby thrift store, I walked through the lamp section and saw a familiar-looking concentric nesting shade fixture in a tangled Frankenstein-spliced wire mess in a box. Upon extracting the fixture from the mess, I thought it might be a Poulsen PH4/3 but wasn't sure. I do have a PH5 in my dining room, but the bracket details of this one was different, and I had never seen a PH4/3 firsthand before.
There was no price tag on it, so I took it to the clerk to inquire. After a brief examination, he said something like "oh, how about five bucks?". Needless to say, five bucks would have been quite fine with me even if it were a knockoff.
After getting it home and verifying through online photos that it is indeed a real Poulsen, I started dis-assembling it for cleaning/repair. The fabric cord was quite old and brittle and was disintegrating as I removed it. A quick test of the porcelain socket with a cut extension cord showed that it worked fine. And a quick sponge cleaning to the shades with just hot water removed about 2/3 of the grime and dirt.
There are some very small scratches and nicks to the finish, but I am pleased to see nary a dent; remarkable considering the heap it was lying in when I found it. The remaining two steps is to 1) due a more thorough cleaning of the shades to remove the tape residue and remaining grime, and 2) install a new suspension cord. Luckily I just happened to keep a few leftover feet of cord I cut from when I hung the PH5.
After it is all back together, I'll hang it over my stair intermediate landing, which has had an open ceiling junction box with two wires sticking out of it since I moved in a couple of years ago.
(images before cleaning)

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Really nice, cd.
Love the red. Sweet deal, too.

Fantastic find!
Good to know a fellow DAer has found a great piece!

Cleaned, rewired, and...
Cleaned, rewired, and successfully tested in the basement. I'll probably hang next week after Christmas.
When shopping for a PH5 for the dining room, I was pretty much set on the traditional white. However, the orange-red color of this one has grown quickly on me. It works well with a warm colored light (I'm using a low color-temp CFL).

Looks awesome.
Aside from the square-section shafts, those Craftsman screwdrivers are among the worst designed I've ever used. Who decided chrome on screwdriver tips was a good idea?
I own a complete set.

Yeah, I'm not too sure where...
Yeah, I'm not too sure where I even got the screwdriver from (don't get to Sears very often). Good for opening paint cans, though.
Oh, and I just got a quote of $48 for a replacement anti-glare disk that was missing at the bottom. I think I'll take a pass on that. I'll probably make a translucent disk myself, which is the standard piece for a PH50 plus these days, as it allows more diffuse light below than the original metal disk.