Objects Database

Homemade pitons.

Accession Number

1080.2013.1(a-b)

Object Name

Homemade pitons.

Created

03/05/2013

Creator

Hermione Cooper

Accession Date

03/05/2013

Brief Description

Two homemade 'P' shaped pitons. One is flat- a'blade' and the other is Z shaped- a'leeper'

Materials

a - steel b - aluminium alloy

Dimensions

a-15(l) x 5(w) cms b- 14(l) x 4.5(w) x3(h) cms

Number Of Objects

2

Colour

brown

Provenance

Things of the homemade variety have always been of special interest to us, reflecting an era when mountaineers and hillgoers were less well off and equipment was hard to come by. A prime example of this can be found in our nearest town, Fort William, which boasts five outdoor shops in 2013 but back in the 1950's our old pal,Bobby Corson, tells us that they would eagerly await the next consignment of ex-War Department goods arriving at the local ironmongers to see what outdoor gear was amongst it.
These two, lovely, homemade pitons stem from that era and have been carefully crafted by someone(unfortunately we don't know who) planning great things in the mountains. The 'leeper' - that's the wrinkly one - seems to be made of an aluminium alloy whereas the 'blade' is cut from some very hard steel. We've clipped them together on a standard karabiner as we haven't come across a homemade karabiner yet - now there's a challenge!

Acquisition Date

03/05/2013

Condition Check Date

03/05/2013

Rules

Spectrum : UK Museum documentation standard, V.3.1 2007

Modified

03/05/2013

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