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donini
Trad climber
Ouray, Colorado
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Sep 12, 2011 - 09:01pm PT
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I'll bring a forklift, see you there.
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Sep 12, 2011 - 09:36pm PT
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One Shoulder-Bruising Load To Go! Steel bongs for Jim.
And here I thought that one shining Blue Camalot satisfied...
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BooDawg
Social climber
Butterfly Town
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Sep 12, 2011 - 09:45pm PT
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Yes, Steve, exactly, except yours is pristine and mine is somewhat used. I DO have some steel bongs (sans lightening holes!) to go with the Cassin biners!!
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Fritz
Trad climber
Choss Creek, ID
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Topic Author's Reply - Sep 12, 2011 - 10:36pm PT
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BOODAWG! RE your very, very kind offer:
Fritz: I appreciate this thread and your interest in these biners. If you are coming to Facelift and if you still have not acquired one already, I have a pre-1967 for you if you don't mind a "KB" stamped into the gate. Thank you for your positive attitude and the generousity of your spirit. Please advise me on the best way to get this biner to you.
I am embarked on day one of a two-week outdoor sales-rep tour of Montana & North Idaho.
I will miss Facelift.
I am also missing Donini climbing at City of Rocks on his way to Facelift.
I am however hoping to make Facelift next year.
Thank you so much for the Chouinard biner offer. PM into you.
Heidi and I are looking forward to meeting you.
Facelift next year, or Idaho anytime.
Best Wishes,
Fritz.
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Sep 12, 2011 - 10:57pm PT
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A maroon Scotchbrite pad and a little light work and you would be impressed with the results.
Details, details...
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Fritz
Trad climber
Choss Creek, ID
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Topic Author's Reply - Sep 25, 2011 - 09:47pm PT
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WOOHOO!
Received my gift of an original Chouinard Alcoa D from BooDawg!
I am most grateful, and I will try to use this carabiner: only to promote good, and to offer an alternative to “Polititard” threads on SuperTopo.
In the Chouinard 1968 catalog: a new version of the original D carabiner is introduced. Per the attached copy from the Chouinard 1968 catalog: it was lighter, stronger, larger, and would reduce “etrier shift” with the wider area at the bottom.
Here are photos of the original 1957-67 Chouinard D: BooDawg gifted me, next to a 1968-71 Chouinard D. Obviously there are some slight differences in the shape of the two D’s.
The 1957-67 D is faintly marked “CHOUINARD”, then on the other side is marked “820 R ALCOA 7075.
The 68-71 D is only marked: “CHOUINARD” in much larger letters than the 57-67 D.
Weight!
1957-67 D weighs 2.4 oz./69 grams.
1968-71 D weighs 2.3 oz./65 grams.
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Fritz
Trad climber
Choss Creek, ID
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Topic Author's Reply - Oct 10, 2011 - 12:08am PT
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The Boodawg gift of a original Chouinard Alcoa D cleaned up pretty well with:
Scotchbrite pad, elbow grease, and a little "Bar Keepers Friend" cleaning powder.
The carabiner still shows the deeper wear of climbing use, but the oxidation has been cleaned up.
I do believe power tools or tumbling cleaning: might well eliminate the raised lettering on these biners.
Much thanks again to Boodawg for his gift of an original Chouinard/Alcoa D, for my research and photos.
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bvb
Social climber
flagstaff arizona
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Oct 10, 2011 - 12:50am PT
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At one point or another I've owned pretty much every carabiner that GPIW/Chouinard ever manufactured. Those hollow ones were the sketchiest, but we thought they were proud at the time.
Lost a bunch of them to Alan Nelson in a pool game. Friggen' Shark.
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Banquo
climber
Amerricka
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Oct 18, 2012 - 04:24pm PT
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I went through this Thread and didn't see a photo of this one. The spine isn't flattened like most <C> carabiners.
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Fritz
Trad climber
Choss Creek, ID
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Topic Author's Reply - Oct 18, 2012 - 04:57pm PT
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Banquo: Yours look like the original Light D, except for the round spine on yours. (I will admit to not having a fine eye to note minor variations within carabiner models)
Edit note: Thanks to Clint's post, I now note yours is likely an early variation of the Light D in the 1980 Chouinard catalog.
It is discussed toward the bottom of the first page of this thread. That version was manufactured from about 1980-83.
Unfortuantely I can't add it to the timeline on the first page of this thread, since my "edit" function has expired on that part of the page.
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Clint Cummins
Trad climber
SF Bay area, CA
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Oct 18, 2012 - 05:43pm PT
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Banquo,
I agree yours is different from the 1980 catalog photo, due to the non flattened spine cross section.
I have one which has the (slightly) flattened cross section:
There is also a similar REI version which does not have the flattened cross section, but has a wider nose and a different shaped indent in the body near the hinge:
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Fritz
Trad climber
Choss Creek, ID
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Topic Author's Reply - Dec 25, 2012 - 04:00pm PT
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Chouinard Mini-Biners first show up in his 1984 catalog. By the 1988 & 89 catalogs, they are featured with anodized gates.
Two Mini-biners I bought on E-Bay last summer. From the seller's listing, I couldn't tell what size they were, but he mentioned Chouinard and they were cheap.
Stamped on one side Chouinard-Italy and on reverse: K USE 300KG
I also see plastic carabiners in the 1986 and later Chouinard catalogs. Unconditionaly Guaranteed to be their weakerst carabiner!
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whitemeat
Trad climber
San Luis Obispo, CA
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Dec 25, 2012 - 05:53pm PT
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I found this at the bottem of el cap. it looks like it was hand forged
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Fritz
Trad climber
Choss Creek, ID
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Topic Author's Reply - Dec 25, 2012 - 06:59pm PT
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Whitemeat. What do you think? Looks like a rusted steel carabiner from the photo? Maybe an old cleaning-biner, since steel biners last better when you are hitting on them with a hammer?
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Dec 25, 2012 - 07:39pm PT
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Looks like an army issue (no markings) or possibly a Cassin by the gate detail.
Is the biner smaller than normal by your eye? Army steel biners tend to be. Army aluminimum ovals on the other hand tend to be larger than average.
If you take a Scotchbrite pad to the spine you will likely see the makers mark.
A consistently round cross section steel carabiner like the one that you seem to have is probably formed starting with rod stock rather than forged.
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Fritz
Trad climber
Choss Creek, ID
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Topic Author's Reply - Dec 26, 2012 - 04:16pm PT
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My slumber has been restless of late. Carabiners flit through my dreams, as my subconscious tries to remind me of tasks needing work on this thread.
Yesterday, I dug out old Chouinard biners, and my pile of catalogs, then researched the subject. (Heidi noticed and wickedly inquired if I was "playing with my toys."
The result is "revisionist" information! The only older post I can edit on this thread is the very first, but it is now edited.
I posted a photo of the Chouinard Alcoa carabiner BooDawg gifted me at the start of the timeline.
I updated the list of Chouinard catalogs I own. (I would pay for those I don’t have.)
I revised the Oval carabiner history timeline to reflect information from Chouinard catalogs I didn't possess when I started this project.
Hopefully I will sleep better now.
Here's the change in Oval history.
The Chouinard Oval with a 2,000 lb. breaking strength shows up in the 1978 catalog, and remained in the carabiner lineup until 1989.
However, there were at least 4 design changes to the Oval over a 10 year period.
In the 1978 catalog the whole carabiner is round aluminum rod, with Chouinard stamped on one side of the body and 2000 KG-USA on the opposite side.
By the 1980 catalog, the Oval’s body had been slightly flattened, but the gate still used round rod. It is now also stamped on the gate, rather than the body.
Brian from SLC owns a better example of the 1980 Oval that is stamped on its gate, per these two photos.
By the 1983 catalog, the Oval’s body has been flattened more, while the gate still has round rod. It now has raised lettering on the body, with Chouinard on one side and 2000KG-USA on the reverse. The 1985 catalog shows the changes better than the 1983 catalog.
Heres a photo of the 3 styles mentioned above. Note the $4.00 price sticker on the 1978 Oval at top.
The 1988 & 1989 catalogs show a slightly rounder rod oval, with a different treatment on the raised lettering.
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turd
climber
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Dec 27, 2012 - 12:35am PT
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Awesome thread!
Kinda inspired me to go see what I still had lying around.
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Fritz
Trad climber
Choss Creek, ID
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Topic Author's Reply - Dec 27, 2012 - 12:43am PT
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Turd-Dude! If the biner on the upper right with the anodized blue-gate, has lettering on it that says Chounard?
It is worthy!
Close-up please!
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turd
climber
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Dec 27, 2012 - 12:55am PT
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Unfortunately, it's a just a REI clone like the one pictured further up thread.
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climber bob
Social climber
maine
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Dec 27, 2012 - 08:23am PT
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great thread..ive got to go to the attic to look through my old biners..in the 80s my buddy found a few light ds that had hairline cracks radiating out fron the gate pins.i found a couple also..i think he wrote a letter and got a reply.ill ask and let you know what the reply was...to long ago..
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