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Post by DavidRitchieWilson on Aug 31, 2022 9:15:18 GMT -8
I have a certain amount of classic American basic gear in my collection, including the Oceanways Cressi Rondine lookalikes above resplendent in their original azure hue. This said, when it comes to acquiring vintage underwater equipment, I prefer to specialise in European gear. I do this not for the sake of it but because older gear made on this side of the proverbial Pond seems much rarer. Historical American equipment is also relatively well documented by the Skin Diving History site, while equivalent European gear is less well covered by researchers, although there are exceptions such as Luigi Fabbri's Blue Time Scuba History site. One of my collecting ambitions is to assemble vintage snorkellers' sets made by historical European and British manufacturers. Above is one example: an oval mask, a metal-barrelled snorkel and a pair of open-heel fins from the System Hans Hass range designed by, and named after, the famous Austrian underwater explorer and made during the 1950s by the long-gone British diving gear manufacturer Heinke, which eventually merged with Siebe Gorman. The mask and the breathing tube came first on eBay and I had to wait a couple of years before the fins were offered for sale on the same auction site. Their condition is remarkably good, considering that they are 70 years old, the rubber still pliable. Each item is my size, even the fins, although I would never risk losing them in the nearby North Sea. DRW
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Post by Aquala1 on Aug 31, 2022 9:27:06 GMT -8
I need to get a new pair of Churchills sooner or later... I went through two pairs during my years in So Cal. Mark Ok, I just checked the Churchill website and they still make the all green and the all black. Green are called the Classic Churchill Makapuu, and the black ones are the Churchill Makapuu Pro Black. Website shows them out of stock, but I called and they said they’re expecting more at the end of September or the beginning of October.
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Post by tomcatpc on Aug 31, 2022 9:28:28 GMT -8
Will be checking that out! Markl
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Post by nikeajax on Aug 31, 2022 10:14:16 GMT -8
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Post by Aquala1 on Aug 31, 2022 10:16:35 GMT -8
JB, you’re lucky you can make those vintage wetsuits work.
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Post by DavidRitchieWilson on Aug 31, 2022 10:58:40 GMT -8
Another collecting interest of mine is the twentieth-century half- and full-face snorkel-mask, the kind where the breathing tube opens into the mask interior. So far I have obtained 25 examples, each of which can be viewed online in My Snorkel-Mask Collection. Specimen below, a Greek model that can still be purchased online. I have no intention of using any of them in the water. Contrary to popular opinion, snorkel-masks were originally expensive devices designed for underwater hunters with deep pockets who spent a lot of their time face down on the surface on the lookout for prey. The mouthpieces of conventional snorkels tended to rub their gums raw after a while, hence certain hunters' preference for a breathing facility leaving the mouth free.
DRW
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Post by SeaRat on Aug 31, 2022 11:01:57 GMT -8
I think the red car in the photo above was a Plymouth Valiant, from my Mom and Dad. Year? Well, probably in the late 1960s.
John
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Post by tomcatpc on Aug 31, 2022 11:49:11 GMT -8
Cool!! Slant-Six & Three on the tree? Mark
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Post by Tusker on Aug 31, 2022 12:17:23 GMT -8
Ok, here’s a few of my “Living History” bits of gear... Next is an original weight belt with weights and a Vulcan knife. The Taylor depth gauge works and is also correct for the period. Oh and the watch is a Rolex Submariner 14060M from 2005. Rolex basically hasn’t changed the Sub since its inception in 1954, so this works for an actual dive. I was a dive watch collector/nerd before I jumped down the rabbit hole of vintage scuba gear.😄 Aquala — wow! You're right, "living history" is the best word for this. I'm planning on starting a graduate program in public history next fall yet somehow have never made the connection with diving. I'm especially curious about the Taylor depth gauge — do you dive with it often? I also have a question about the Coronado dry suit you're using. I'm mostly familiar with how a modern drysuit works, but how do you go about using one like this? Like others, I am also looking forward to when your mask project comes to fruition. Re: the watch, the 14060m really does have a lot in common with a period 5512. I've been half considering something like the latest version of the Lorier Neptune because the founders' commitment is to produce something similar to how it would've been produced in the period. Jacob
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Post by Tusker on Aug 31, 2022 12:20:32 GMT -8
Here is my Seiko dive watch, underwater. I have been diving Seiko dive watches for decades, and have two besides this one. IMG_2803 by John Ratliff, on Flickr Below, diving in Clear Lake, Oregon with my Aquala Dry Suit, probably about 1974. IMG_0054 by John Ratliff, on Flickr John John, what other Seikos do you have? I also enjoy mine, a SKX 013. Thanks for your included pictures — they are one of the highlights of any thread. Jacob
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Post by tomcatpc on Aug 31, 2022 12:56:49 GMT -8
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Post by nikeajax on Aug 31, 2022 13:33:24 GMT -8
I have a certain amount of classic American basic gear in my collection, including the Oceanways Cressi Rondine lookalikes above resplendent in their original azure hue. DRW I was finally able to procure some of those a few years back: and of course my genuine Rondines: I want to get some oil of wintergreen and see if I can get them pliable again. All I need is some HW weights and I can do a 100% Healthways-gear dive JB
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Post by Aquala1 on Aug 31, 2022 17:57:04 GMT -8
Jacob, I don’t dive the Taylor gauge that often, but it’s accurate and reliable. The original strap is plastic, and seems like it would have failed a long time ago but it’s still hanging in there. Another 1959 gauge that still works well is this USD Nemo gauge. Not as easy to read at a glance, but cool with the Skindiver graphic inside. A non-valved suit takes a little practice but is pretty simple once you get the hang of it. You pressure compensate it by putting the mask skirt under the face seal of the hood, and exhaling into the mask which then goes into the suit. There’s no internal neck seal so the air is feee to flow throughout the suit. Venting the suit at depth for slight adjustments can be done at the cuffs. If you’re making an ascent to the surface air will start coming out of the face seal and into the mask. Then it bubbles out from there as you can see in the black and white photo. These suits predate scuba and for the snorkeling spear fisherman they were super dry. Once you go on scuba and start adding and venting air through the seals they leak a bit. A lot of guys back then would wear a wetsuit under their drysuits for this reason.
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Post by Tusker on Sept 1, 2022 5:44:53 GMT -8
Aquala, thank you for going into detail and sharing your '59 USD gauge — I've always liked their early skin diver logo. For your retro configuration do you also use a wrist mounted depth gauge, or do you prefer to use one in an old console? You're right, the procedure seems fairly simple. I'm not at the point where I need a drysuit yet, but when I decide to get one I'll pepper you with more questions 😄.
JB, how often — if ever — do you dive a full "catalog," as it were?
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Post by SeaRat on Sept 1, 2022 9:04:33 GMT -8
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