Fritz
Trad climber
Choss Creek, ID
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Jan 30, 2013 - 09:19pm PT
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Brian! I am truly----not just impressed, but astounded by that:
MacInnes Massey
WOOD-SHAFT!!
ice axe
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Blakey
Trad climber
Sierra Vista
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Jan 31, 2013 - 04:55am PT
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One of my first ice tools was a metal shafted (coated with red rubber) McInnes Massey North Wall Hammer.
While undoubedly strong, it weighed half a tonne, the pick was as thick as your finger and stuck in nothing. Clumsey and heavy, it was truely useless as an ice climbing tool.
I used it once, on a disintergrating Grade 3 waterfall in the Winter Corries of Driesh. There wasn't much of it left (the waterfall) when I finished!
I don't know what I did with it, but it probably had considerable scrap metal value, given how much metal there was.
Steve
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Jan 31, 2013 - 08:21am PT
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Fritz and Brian- Now that is a treasure!
I wonder how many of those left the shop before the revolution?
Defintely not a water ice head shape!
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Blakey
Trad climber
Sierra Vista
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Those interested might find the Scottish Mountain Heritage Collection site a useful resource....... Some really interesting stuff has been acquired.
http://www.smhc.co.uk/
Steve
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abrams
Sport climber
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Feb 25, 2013 - 02:17pm PT
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Don't pee-o-lay in the US. We ass ask up mountains.
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Mar 13, 2013 - 08:52am PT
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On a more recent note...I am trying to identify the first X15 tools put out by Chouinard. The red shafted ones stand out in my memory but I would like to confirm that hunch.
Show and tell anyone?!?
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Sierra Ledge Rat
Mountain climber
Old and Broken Down in Appalachia
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Mar 13, 2013 - 10:08am PT
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RK,
Sorry to burst your bubble - but that ice axe is worthless piece of sh#t.
Being the nice guy that I am, and can take that axe off your hands and make sure that it gets recycled properly. I will even send you a postage-paid label to make it easy for you.
Harry
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Brian in SLC
Social climber
Salt Lake City, UT
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Mar 13, 2013 - 12:35pm PT
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I am trying to identify the first X15 tools put out by Chouinard. The red shafted ones stand out in my memory but I would like to confirm that hunch.
Steve, I think the red shafted models were BD tools.
Chouinard made, I dimly recall, two or three versions of the X-15. Blue shaft and black shaft. BD picked up at the black shaft then put out the fat BRS (bonded rubber shaft) version, then, onto red with the jet logos? Then they changed the tool name.
I recall in the Chouinard catalog, the original photo's of the X-15's show a two bolt design holding the pick to the tool. I'm not sure they actually produced that commercially? Anyone know?
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Dingus Milktoast
Gym climber
And every fool knows, a dog needs a home, and...
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Mar 13, 2013 - 12:44pm PT
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Hey T Hocking, dunno if its too late but I recommend you do not take steel wool or anything else for that matter, to those tools. Leave em be, they're more valuable that way.
DMT
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survival
Big Wall climber
Terrapin Station
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Mar 13, 2013 - 12:53pm PT
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I thought by 75/76, the axes were just marked "Chouinard" and had dropped "Frost" since he was no longer with the them?
Wonder if he ever had cause to wish he'd stayed?
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Mar 15, 2013 - 11:07am PT
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By my conversations with Tom, the break was inevitable as he didn't see any role for himself once the company emphasis shifted towards clothing.
I think the red axes stand out in my memory due to Chouinard's famous quip about "dayglow metal monsters" during his organic phase. Yvon was referencing MSR, of course, but the red certainly met the standard. LOL
You folks that have comprehensive catalogs for Chouinard, please take a look for the first X-15, if you would be so kind. A nice pair of red axes just floated through ebay and caught my eye but I try to land the first offering in any tool design, if I can.
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eco-g
Social climber
Lyons, CO
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Mar 24, 2013 - 03:46pm PT
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Hey All - I've got an old ice axe, and was wondering if anyone might know of how to find what it's worth?
It's a steel shaft, and the imprint on it says "MacInnes Massey/ Made in Great Britain/ Patent Pending"
I found one online so far at the Scottish Mountain Heritage Collection. Same one. But just not sure how much it would be worth or where I could put it up for sale. Any help is appreciated!
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Fritz
Trad climber
Choss Creek, ID
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Mar 25, 2013 - 07:14am PT
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Steve: Sorry for a slow response on your request for X-15 info, but I have been a busy old guy.
The X tools, with replaceable picks, show up in Chouinard catalogs by 1983, but are not in my Chouinard 1980 catalog. I think they were always made with blue shafts per this photo from Chouinard's 1987 catalog.
I have a Chouinard catalog for each year from 1983-to their last catalog in 1989, and the X-15 does not show.
The X-15 is introduced in the first Black Diamond catalog, in 1990----in black.
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Mar 25, 2013 - 08:54am PT
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Thanks Fritz!
It turns out that I have an early run Xtool already and will post a shot at some point.
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BASE104
Social climber
An Oil Field
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Mar 25, 2013 - 09:42am PT
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I bet you can clean up that originally posted axe by polishing with some jeweler's rouge. It is very fine and if you just take off the oxidation, it will be a beauty.
You can get it here:
http://www.riogrande.com/Search/rouge
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Branscomb
Trad climber
Lander, WY
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Mar 25, 2013 - 02:09pm PT
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I bought my C-F piolet (which I still have) out of the now famous and apparently hard to get 1976 (?) catalog with the Chinese painting on the front (looking at it right now---Chouinard rope.....11x165.....$49.50
Yosemite hammer.......$14.00/Chouinard Piolet...$33.50))
It says in the catalog, "these shafts are made of laminated bamboo..."
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Fritz
Trad climber
Choss Creek, ID
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Mar 25, 2013 - 05:22pm PT
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Branscomb. That Chouinard catalog you have is a classic! I cherish the one I have from back then.
It has been worked out on ST (with a lot of input from Marty) that it was published 1972-74 with different price-lists every 6 months or so.
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Todd Eastman
climber
Bellingham, WA
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Mar 25, 2013 - 06:00pm PT
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Blue shafted "Zero" tools with the heads still made by Camp followed the bamboo, with the replaceable heads and replaceable picks made stateside soon after that.
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Brian in SLC
Social climber
Salt Lake City, UT
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Mar 25, 2013 - 10:12pm PT
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Something interesting...I call this, the "Piolet X"...
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SuperTopo on the Web
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Let us know!