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Chris2
Trad climber
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Oct 21, 2008 - 12:30pm PT
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Thanks Tomcat. My mind is still intact!
(very pleased I never took a fall on one of those things, as I recall, they would only be a last resort placement)
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nutstory
climber
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Oct 21, 2008 - 01:13pm PT
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I am sincerely sorry but I have very little knowledge about ice climbing equipment. My main field of research has always been artificial chockstones and I must confess that, believe it or not, I have never climbed ice faces. Nevertheless, I do have some treasures at home: among them, a Peck Terrordactyl (axe hammer) and old home made ice screws, made in Great Britain the early sixties…!
The blacksmith John Brailsford used the long bolts that hold the chairs to the sleepers of the railways to make his ice screws. He cut off the heads and made a special, thin, oval punch which he used to pierce the bolt. He then drilled the small hole until it would take a single karabiner. They were cadmium plated at Rolls Royce by his engineer friend and were highly successful, if a bit heavy. They were considerably stronger than Pete Crew’s screws which had a welded eye to take several karabiners.
The pic is coming soon… On the top, the ice screws made by John Brailsford (who created the first purpose designed nut) and, on the bottom, the ones made by Pete Crew.
Stéphane / Nuts Museum
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steelmnkey
climber
Vision man...ya gotta have vision...
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Oct 21, 2008 - 01:27pm PT
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On the ice gear above... not sure what the left end one is, but second from the left looks like a Coonyard ice screw, then an old US Army Ice Pition. The one on the right end is a Snarg (made by Lowe?).
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scuffy b
climber
On the dock in the dark
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Oct 21, 2008 - 01:36pm PT
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Did it seem to take forever to place a Snarg?
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Clint Cummins
Trad climber
SF Bay area, CA
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Oct 21, 2008 - 01:41pm PT
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Basilisk,
> I also came across a Fish ad. Anyone know if there's a relation to the board favorite gear-maker?
Yes, Russ Walling = Fish.
http://fishproducts.com/
He has done some really cool ads over the years, and lots of really good gear as well. Plus he's a master of the too-true critique with great humor, climbing, and other stuff. Most of us would just like to be good at one of those things!
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Ain't no flatlander
climber
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Oct 21, 2008 - 01:46pm PT
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"Did it seem to take forever to place a Snarg?"
Place? no. Remove? Yes. About the same as Warthogs but they held better (though I hear the latter is better in chalk).
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steelmnkey
climber
Vision man...ya gotta have vision...
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Oct 21, 2008 - 02:03pm PT
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That was my experience on the Snarg as well...not that bad to place, took a while to take out.
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scuffy b
climber
On the dock in the dark
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Oct 21, 2008 - 02:05pm PT
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How were they placed? I assumed they went in and out as a screw.
It appears that the pitch of the threads would mean a lot more
turning of the screw than with a Salewa screw.
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Chiloe
Trad climber
Lee, NH
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Oct 21, 2008 - 02:13pm PT
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The leftmost ice screw I believe is a Marwa "coathanger" type, an untrustworthy design which (unless I'm mixing up old stories) was implicated in the death of Dan Doody in Huntington Ravine.
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Chris2
Trad climber
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Oct 21, 2008 - 02:15pm PT
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The snarg was hammered in. Obviously not used on water ice.
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Basilisk
Ice climber
New Hampshire
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Oct 21, 2008 - 02:17pm PT
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Here's the pic Stephane promised, as well as his quoted post for ease of reading:
"The blacksmith John Brailsford used the long bolts that hold the chairs to the sleepers of the railways to make his ice screws. He cut off the heads and made a special, thin, oval punch which he used to pierce the bolt. He then drilled the small hole until it would take a single karabiner. They were cadmium plated at Rolls Royce by his engineer friend and were highly successful, if a bit heavy. They were considerably stronger than Pete Crew’s screws which had a welded eye to take several karabiners.
The pic is coming soon… On the top, the ice screws made by John Brailsford (who created the first purpose designed nut) and, on the bottom, the ones made by Pete Crew."
Those screws are pretty trippy. Looks like they're just lag bolts with a holes
Edit: This goes a little upstream, but if anyone has any Clog Cogs they'd be willing to sell, I've got a buddy looking to buy. Thanks!
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Chris2
Trad climber
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Oct 21, 2008 - 02:30pm PT
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damn, that top (blue colored) eye screw isn't even drop forged
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steelmnkey
climber
Vision man...ya gotta have vision...
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Oct 21, 2008 - 02:39pm PT
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Dig that photo above... I have one of those Terrordactyl knucklebuster axes and a couple of that general type of ice screw. Can't even imagine trusting one of those eyebolts with your life.
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Russ S.
climber
Seattle, WA
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Oct 21, 2008 - 02:59pm PT
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Not to side track the thread, but help me with the climbing shoes in Basilisk's photos of gear spread on the red floor and in the display case.
Those were my first climbing shoes bought in San Diego in '78, which I've always remembered as labeled "RR's". This confused me because why use the same name as the earlier generation Blue/red RR's. When I had them resoled once, the guy in the shop insisted they were PA's. Clearly a strong resemblance to the bright green shoe, but I'm sure they were labeled RR's. What does the leather pack logo say on the side of the shoe?
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Basilisk
Ice climber
New Hampshire
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Oct 21, 2008 - 03:10pm PT
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I'm not sure myself, Russ. Here's a better shot to jog some memories:
Closeup:
Edit: Better closeup
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duncan
Trad climber
London, UK
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Oct 21, 2008 - 05:32pm PT
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Basilisk, I'll have a look for Clog Cogs. I'm sure I have some somewhere. Alternatively, a post on a UK website might be productive.
Any ideas about this? It says BI-CAPS on it.
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Mighty Hiker
Social climber
Vancouver, B.C.
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Oct 21, 2008 - 06:37pm PT
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The left-hand ice screw of those posted by Stephane is almost certainly a Marwa "coat hanger". Some tests were done on them in the 1970s, which showed that they were virtually useless as anchors.
They weren't bad for opening wine bottles, though.
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scuffy b
climber
On the dock in the dark
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Oct 21, 2008 - 07:22pm PT
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Russ S
The two shoes were the same.
Galibier PAs (the red/black ones) had lost market share to EBs,
and they had stopped making the Robbins Boot.
The green PAs were stickier than the red/black ones, but most
people seemed to think they still didn't work as well as EBs.
Robbins and Galibier had connections at the time, RR had name
recognition, why not crank out two shoe models for the price
of one?
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Basilisk
Ice climber
New Hampshire
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Oct 29, 2008 - 05:06pm PT
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I miss this thread, so I'm bringing it back.
It's not exactly pro, but I'm curious if anyone can ID this shoe:
There are no visible markings on it, and it's built like a ton of bricks. Its stiffer than any shoe I've seen nowadays, I can barely put a bend in the sole. Definitely board lasted. Any clues?
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Clint Cummins
Trad climber
SF Bay area, CA
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Oct 29, 2008 - 05:10pm PT
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Basilisk,
That shoe is an EB, with blue leather added by the user.
aka EB Super Gratton, the shoe which ushered in the climbing of many 5.11s in Yosemite starting in 1971.
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SuperTopo on the Web
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Let us know!