Objects Database

Simond Special - Split Ice Axe

Accession Number

011.2007.1

Object Name

Simond Special - Split Ice Axe

Created

21/11/2007

Creator

Maxine Willett

Accession Date

21/11/2007

Brief Description

'Simond' ice axe, steel head, wooden shaft which splits into two parts. Serrated pick. Separate pin to hold two halves together. Adze. Leather cover for head of axe, in two parts, fastened with a metal buckle. Pointed spike on ferrule.

Materials

Steel, wood, leather

Dimensions

33.4 (w) x 89.7 (l) x 9.6 (d) cm

Number Of Objects

5

Inscription Description

Stamped on pick "Fran[...]es, Cham[onix Mont Bla]nc", Simond logo, "Simond Special E ", "[...]pt Lawrie Ltd, London, W1", "[MA]DE IN FRANCE", "Brevent, S.D.G.D", "MODELE & MARPLES DEPOSES", Metal section in middle of wooden shaft where two sections separate, stamped with "F SIMOND, CHAMONIX", "SIMOND SECURIT", BREVENT S.G.D.G"

Colour

Grey, brown

Maker

F Simond

Object Production Place

France

Provenance

Adolphe Simond set up a little factory in Chamonix, France, in 1880 and started producing ice axes, catering for the ever growing sport of Alpinism during what we now call The Golden Age of Mountaineering.
The ice-axe was evolving from the Alpenstock which was little more than a wooden stick with a metal tip which early alpine adventurers used as a walking stick, to probe for crevasses and sometimes to make bridges across them.
An axe shaped head was soon added and subsequently a pick, both for cutting steps in the ice since crampons were yet to be invented.
Simond were one of the first to produce ice-axes ‘en masse’, always looking for new ideas and designs, a fabulous example of which we have here in the collection.
The ice-axe as the name implies, is for ice and snow, though many alpine peaks require rock climbing, rendering the axe temporarily redundant. The problem then is where to put it.
It would be cumbersome wherever and catch in chimneys, get caught on the rope and poke your partners eyes out!
For Simond, the answer was simple…split it in half and put it in your rucksack, and here it is.
Adolphe retired in 1922, his brother, Francois, taking over and creating a new hallmark which is on the one we have on our axe, dating it to the 1920’s.
Sadly, as with many of these wonderful old companies, Simond were gobbled up by a conglomerate known as Decathlon and the true Simond axe was consigned to history.

Acquisition Date

21/11/2007

Condition

Fair, rusty metalwork

Condition Check Date

21/11/2007

Rules

Spectrum : UK Museum documentation standard, V.3.1 2007

Modified

28/04/2009

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