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Post by SeaRat on Feb 13, 2020 17:15:12 GMT -8
DRW,
If my wife and I ever make it over to the UK, maybe we could do some snorkeling together. I see from the map that King Edward's Bay is not too far away, and Sandhaven Beach too. What do you say?
I'd love to see some of your collection too.
John
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Post by SeaRat on Feb 16, 2020 18:05:46 GMT -8
Here's another set of fins from my collection, one which I'm using more and more these days, the Force Fins. When I first was sent this set, it was in the late 1980s or early 1990s by the designer, Mr. Bob Evans. I did not much like them then, and continued developing my scoop fin designs, even though they were already patented. Bob Evans was really excited about the Force Fins, and felt them superior to any fin on the market. I did some testing, and found that I didn't get as many strokes per foot traveled is with other designs. So I set them aside, in my collection but not much in use, for a couple of decades. I brought the Force Fins out of mothballs when a lifeguard mentioned she could not wear regular fins due to a foot or leg problem. So I gave them to her, thinking I may or may not get them back. Well, months later (actually close to a year, as the pool was being renovated), she recognized me and said she had kept the fins in her office hoping to see me again. I got them back. So, I decided to start using the Force Fins. Why? Well, I had been to Maui, Hawaii with my modified full-foot scoop fins, and had a hard time getting them on quickly and taking them off. The foot pocket of the Force Fins was (and is) very comfortable. These fins had been "in use" for several decades, without any degredation to the fin itself or its nylon heel strap. So I began testing them all over again, and again came up with the problem of kicks per foot--they were not as efficient because they did not provide any propulsive force on the water on the up-stroke. But this was by design, as Bob felt that the upstroke caused cramps and was inefficient. He advocated a shorter stroke, with an increase in frequency, to get good results with these fins. So I tried this too. I found that the shorter, more frequent flutter kicks did provide very good propulsion with the Force Fins. I also tried other kicks. I did not want to use a normal frog kick, as using the bottom of the fin, which is what is done with most frog kicks, uses the non-propulsive part of the Force Fin's stroke. So instead I used what I called a modified "whip kick," or a kick somewhat like a dolphin kick, but with the legs bent more like a frog kick. This provided very good propulsion with these fins (see the photos below). I have used this whip kick with the Force Fins and my Forward Unit effectively too. Force Fin Sted Vortex's by John Ratliff, on Flickr This shows a very powerful "shed vortex" off the whip kick in the bubble tracks from the kick. Force Fin Vortex Creation--flutter kick by John Ratliff, on Flickr Here you can see vortex creation on the edges of the fin tips. These actually are created on the lower-pressure top of the fin as it descends in the water with a hard kick. Knowing this, I selected my Force Fins to go on our trip to Maui last Spring. They went out on three snorkeling trips that I've already detailed elsewhere here. The fins performed very well, easy to get on and take off, fairly good at propulsion, but lacking in recovery stroke. Why is that important? Well, because to get from a from a vertical position to a horizontal position in the water, you need to back kick a bit. That maneuver is more difficult with Force Fins. But other than that, my free diving was not a problem (though a 6 pound, or 2 kg weight belt would have made things much easier). I was able to get to a depth of about 25 feet (9 meters) and get some pretty good video. (I have not yet really put the video together though). These were the original Force Fins. After three decades, they are still in very good shape. John
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Post by SeaRat on Feb 17, 2020 9:53:38 GMT -8
Here is a video showing the Force Fins being used in Clear Lake, Oregon by Sakamoto Kan:
John
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Post by DavidRitchieWilson on Feb 28, 2020 6:22:54 GMT -8
I've been researching early Spanish basic diving gear production online. What I hadn't quite expected was the amount of copying of competitors' designs that went on back then. Here's a period Duck Feet ad showing awareness of this trend: I thought this was a 1950s American thing, but then I recently chanced upon the following fin design on a Spanish website: The fin maker was J. Carbonell Gimeno: Fabricante de gomas y amiantos, (J. Carbonell Gimeno, rubber and asbestos manufacturer), and there's a blog dedicated to the company at El Buzo: J. Carbonell Gimeno. The Spanish blogger, who goes by the name of "Capitán Haddock", marvelled how these mid-1950s fins weighed 3 whole kilos! I did a little more digging, only to discover that the Spanish firm had actually gone so far as to patent these fins. Here's the patent drawing: The patent can be downloaded in its entirety from Una paleta natatoria perfeccionada. Needless to say, there's no acknowledgement of Arthur Brown, the proprietor of the Huntington Beach Spearfisherman Company that made the original Duck Feet fins! DRW
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Post by nikeajax on Feb 28, 2020 8:28:26 GMT -8
Pppp-BWAH-HAHAHAHA! Well of course you realize that that patent was only good in Spain: it was more or less to say, "OK guys, I stole this one first, so you can't steal it from me: them's the roolz!" JB
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Post by SeaRat on Feb 28, 2020 17:08:53 GMT -8
DRW, I'll bet they didn't reproduce this one: Two sets of full-foot duck feet by John Ratliff, on Flickr Two versions of the Duck Feet full-foot fins. I think I see a 1966 date on the Spanish patent above. Well, I believe I got my Duck Feet before that date, while I was still in high school (I graduated in 1964). John
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Post by SeaRat on Mar 28, 2024 10:06:30 GMT -8
I've been researching early Spanish basic diving gear production online. What I hadn't quite expected was the amount of copying of competitors' designs that went on back then. Here's a period Duck Feet ad showing awareness of this trend: I thought this was a 1950s American thing, but then I recently chanced upon the following fin design on a Spanish website: The fin maker was J. Carbonell Gimeno: Fabricante de gomas y amiantos, (J. Carbonell Gimeno, rubber and asbestos manufacturer), and there's a blog dedicated to the company at El Buzo: J. Carbonell Gimeno. The Spanish blogger, who goes by the name of "Capitán Haddock", marvelled how these mid-1950s fins weighed 3 whole kilos! I did a little more digging, only to discover that the Spanish firm had actually gone so far as to patent these fins. Here's the patent drawing: The patent can be downloaded in its entirety from Una paleta natatoria perfeccionada. Needless to say, there's no acknowledgement of Arthur Brown, the proprietor of the Huntington Beach Spearfisherman Company that made the original Duck Feet fins! DRW It is not only a Spanish manufacturer who copied the Duck Feet fins, but also U.S. Divers Company: IMG_1404 by John Ratliff, on Flickr IMG_1403 by John Ratliff, on Flickr These Professional Fins by U.S. Divers Company are a very close copy of the Duck Feet fins, with an angle to the blade, and a slightly different foot pocket. Both were (and are) good fins. John
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Post by DavidRitchieWilson on Mar 28, 2024 22:21:59 GMT -8
I've been researching early Spanish basic diving gear production online. What I hadn't quite expected was the amount of copying of competitors' designs that went on back then. Here's a period Duck Feet ad showing awareness of this trend: I thought this was a 1950s American thing, but then I recently chanced upon the following fin design on a Spanish website: The fin maker was J. Carbonell Gimeno: Fabricante de gomas y amiantos, (J. Carbonell Gimeno, rubber and asbestos manufacturer), and there's a blog dedicated to the company at El Buzo: J. Carbonell Gimeno. The Spanish blogger, who goes by the name of "Capitán Haddock", marvelled how these mid-1950s fins weighed 3 whole kilos! I did a little more digging, only to discover that the Spanish firm had actually gone so far as to patent these fins. Here's the patent drawing: The patent can be downloaded in its entirety from Una paleta natatoria perfeccionada. Needless to say, there's no acknowledgement of Arthur Brown, the proprietor of the Huntington Beach Spearfisherman Company that made the original Duck Feet fins! DRW It is not only a Spanish manufacturer who copied the Duck Feet fins, but also U.S. Divers Company: IMG_1404 by John Ratliff, on Flickr IMG_1403 by John Ratliff, on Flickr These Professional Fins by U.S. Divers Company are a very close copy of the Duck Feet fins, with an angle to the blade, and a slightly different foot pocket. Both were (and are) good fins. John Thanks for the comparison of the two fin models, John. Judging by the ad above, the manufacturer of the original Duck Feet Arthur Brown seems to have been well aware of the imitators of his design. Here is an image of the Spearfisherman company packing room from the Orange County California Public Libraries archives: Duck Feet brand diving fins manufactured by the Spearfisherman Company, 7521 Clay Street, Huntington Beach, April 16, 1951
DRW
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Post by SeaRat on Mar 28, 2024 22:45:50 GMT -8
DRW,
If you’ll look closely at the photo of the U.S. Divers Professional fins, you’ll see that one heel strap has been broken and “repaired” by using neoprene cement and rubber inner tube material to wrap around the strap.
In contrast, I have two pair of Duck Feet fins, in their black gum rubber, and both have their heel straps intact. One is showing some deterioration on the end of the ribs where the ribs hit the blade, and I’ve corrected that with some glue. But the other is fine, and looks almost brand new. Pretty good for fins that are over 60 years old.
John
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Post by DavidRitchieWilson on Mar 29, 2024 1:57:08 GMT -8
DRW, If you’ll look closely at the photo of the U.S. Divers Professional fins, you’ll see that one heel strap has been broken and “repaired” by using neoprene cement and rubber inner tube material to wrap around the strap. In contrast, I have two pair of Duck Feet fins, in their black gum rubber, and both have their heel straps intact. One is showing some deterioration on the end of the ribs where the ribs hit the blade, and I’ve corrected that with some glue. But the other is fine, and looks almost brand new. Pretty good for fins that are over 60 years old. John Ah yes, John, now I can see the repair. So the "high-stretch" heel straps had their limits when it came to elasticity. It is a tribute to the quality of the natural rubber that the material has lasted so well over the decades, particularly when its colour is black. This certainly confounds the doomsayers who claim that all-rubber fins are bound to perish sooner or later. In the mid-1950s, at least two British manufacturers offered a workaround to people whose fins came with ill-fitting non-adjustable heel straps. This involved cutting away part or all of the existing heel straps. From the E. T. Skinner 1955 catalogue: From the Heinke 1956 catalogue: DRW
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Post by SeaRat on Mar 31, 2024 18:24:37 GMT -8
DRW, I have two pair of the heel strap versions of the Duck Feet fins. They are very much alike, except one states "The Spearfisherman," and the other states "Giant UDT Model." Looking at them, and looking at your photos of the Spanish versions, I'm thinking that they came from the same mold. I'm wondering whether The Spearfisherman company produced those fins for J. Carbonell Gimeno: Fabricante de gomas y amiantos, (J. Carbonell Gimeno, rubber and asbestos manufacturer)? I really think that is a possibility. I'll get some photos up when I have regained the use of Flikr (got to pay them something in order to put more on my account--I now have 1,000 photos three, apparently). Here is my fin collection, from a few years back. Fin Collection 10-2012 by John Ratliff, on Flickr Here is a publicity photo of then Sergeant Eldridge Neal in the door as if ready to jump from a HU-16B Albatross amphibian for the Gemini 8 mission in March of 1966. Note that he is wearing issued Duck Feet fins. 142309158_5274939835851296_4955705790799075275_o by John Ratliff, on Flickr John
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Post by DavidRitchieWilson on Apr 1, 2024 8:27:02 GMT -8
Interesting hypothesis, John, about a possible link between the Spanish rubber and asbestos goods manufacturer Carbonell Gimeno and The Spearfisherman company when it came to Duck Feet fins. I wonder how Carbonell Gimeno's Spanish patent on the design fits into the equation. What a great fin collection you have! DRW
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