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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Feb 19, 2015 - 08:57am PT
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I agree
NG-Does the pin material on your carabiner look like steel to you (as it is on Banquo's biner) or aluminum?
I recall that there was an issue with the gates having cracks form from the peening process right in the direction of loading around this time.
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Ney Grant
Trad climber
Pollock Pines
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Feb 19, 2015 - 10:08am PT
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I think steel. Interesting thing is that the pins are clearly two piece like a rivet. Are they all like that and this was worn down? I thought they were just pins.
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Ney Grant
Trad climber
Pollock Pines
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Feb 19, 2015 - 03:12pm PT
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BTW, this is where these old carabiners live, in a glass topped coffee table in my living room. You know you are getting kind of old when you realize some of your gear should not only be retired, it should be behind glass (although I never used the googles or the iron ice pitons - I bought those in a climbing shop in Katmandu in the 80s and they were being sold as good equipment).
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Feb 19, 2015 - 06:51pm PT
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I am curious about the pin detail too obviously at this point in production.
What does the other side look like?
Plenty of nostalgia in hardware to be sure. Very nice display!
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Ney Grant
Trad climber
Pollock Pines
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Feb 19, 2015 - 07:19pm PT
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The other end of that pin looks like one material. The other pin is reversed. It also (although harder to see) has one end that has a concentric ring that shows it is actually two pieces. A pop-rivet would look something like that.
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Banquo
climber
Amerricka
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Feb 19, 2015 - 07:28pm PT
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I think there has been a conclusion without foundation.
Does the pin material on your carabiner look like steel to you (as it is on Banquo's biner) or aluminum?
Using a rare earth magnet extracted from an old hard drive, I have decided that the the pin is not steel. The magnet has no attraction to the pin but is attracted to the spring hidden in the gate.
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Feb 19, 2015 - 07:54pm PT
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Could be stainless as it should be.
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Clint Cummins
Trad climber
SF Bay area, CA
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Feb 19, 2015 - 08:06pm PT
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Steve Grossman wrote in 7/2014:
The way this sort of business was conducted is that Alcoa invested in the dies to make the carabiner bodies and Yvon would then place an order for them. My reading of an excerpt from Yvon's autobiography "Let My People Go Surfing" is:
"1957 - borrowed $825.35 from parents for drop forging die at ALCOA".
I.e. Yvon paid for the die.
Is this incorrect, and the $ was to pay for the first run from the die?
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Banquo
climber
Amerricka
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Feb 19, 2015 - 08:27pm PT
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Could be stainless as it should be.
True and I admit I didn't think of that.
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Gunks Jesse
Trad climber
Shawangunk, NY
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Aug 25, 2015 - 06:36pm PT
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Thought I'd post a pic of a 1972 "T" stamped first round tested carabiner in awesome shape.
Also a Royal Robbins Salewa tested carabiner. Can anyone help with the year on this? I assume it was tested in the factory in West Germany?
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Fritz
Trad climber
Choss Creek, ID
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Topic Author's Reply - Nov 5, 2015 - 04:43pm PT
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Gunks Jessee: That Robbins/Salewa biner dates to around 1978, per this ad.
Yesterday, I discovered one of my Chouinard Featherweight biners is incised 1700 KG-U.S.A. In the 3 catalogs I have for the history of this carabiner, 1978, 80, & 81, it is described as 1600 KG-U.S.A. So another varient that is not in a catalog?
Marty/Karabin Museum posted another one on this thread on 5/27/14.
I have now added this to the first page of this thread. It does appear to be a fairly rare varient of the Featherweight. These two are the first I've noticed.
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Fritz
Trad climber
Choss Creek, ID
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Topic Author's Reply - Nov 7, 2015 - 12:22pm PT
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Back on 12/2/2010 Marty/Karabin Museum posted some pages out of the 1990 Black Diamond catalog. That was their first catalog after their employee buyout of Chouinard Equipment.
It was also mentioned that for the first year or two Black Diamond still sold a lot of gear marked Chouinard.
On 12/1/2010 Chiloe posted a Chouinard Anodized Bent Gate carabiner that first apppears in the 1990 Black Diamond catalog, and also a Black Diamond Anodized Quicksilver.
I have also found some Chouinard Anodized Quicksilvers & a full color range of Anodized Chouinard Bentgate Quicksilvers. I suspect the two Anodized models with Chouinard were sold in 1990, until the original stock ran out, then changed to being marked, first with a Black Diamond-diamond logo at the right of Chouinard, then fully marked with the Black Diamond name & logo.
Does anyone have a blue Anodized Chouinard Quicksilver biner they would like to sell, or trade other Chouinard biners or pitons for? Let me know if you do?
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Fritz
Trad climber
Choss Creek, ID
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Topic Author's Reply - Nov 21, 2015 - 02:10pm PT
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Tad! Thanks & thanks for posting up. Do you have any of those Chouinard-Salewa biners that are not stamped Tested? That's what I called about.
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Nov 21, 2015 - 03:29pm PT
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Here is a rarity.
I suspect that this was a prototype ahead of die production as it is simply stamped. The interesting thing about this biner is that it came to me with a bunch of gear from a donor that didn't seem to have any direct connection with Chouinard Equipment so this may have been the first generation of this particular design and hence something that may have a place in the Timeline.
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Fritz
Trad climber
Choss Creek, ID
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Topic Author's Reply - Nov 22, 2015 - 07:00am PT
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Steve: That's an unusual one for sure. I've never seen one like it. Tad: Thank you for looking, but I had a memory of you posting last summer that you had Chouinard/Salewa biners that weren't stamped tested. But then, I'm planning on hiding my own Easter eggs next spring. I owe you some fine wine when you visit.
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donini
Trad climber
Ouray, Colorado
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Nov 22, 2015 - 07:19am PT
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Nice pics....did someone just steal Cosmic's rack?
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Nov 22, 2015 - 11:44am PT
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Hey Fritz,
Do you know about the incident that prompted the testing procedures in the first place? You may have already posted that information but I have always been curious about the actual failure event.
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Fritz
Trad climber
Choss Creek, ID
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Topic Author's Reply - Nov 22, 2015 - 11:59am PT
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Steve: Here's the stuff. It's also on the first page of this thread.
In June 1972 Chouinard issued a recall on the Chouinard/Salewa carabiners. All recalled carabiners were tested and first the body of the carabiner was stamped T for tested, then later gates were stamped tested. All subsequent production of the Chouinard/Salewa carabiner had the gate stamped tested.
Advertisement in Off Belay Magazine, June 1972.
Tad: Average price for Chouinard/Salewa biners on E-Bay for the last month or so is around $16.00 each + shipping. Clean those guys up with some elbow grease & Bartenders Friend powder, and make some easy money. Thanks again.
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Nov 22, 2015 - 02:15pm PT
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Thanks Fritz- Presumably these were failing at the thinnest point in the carabiner body just above the top of the gate contact point opposite the hinge. I am still curious about the actual incidents where these biners failed.
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