We have several MacInnes/Massey all metal ice axes in our collection, though this is probably the earliest as it bears the ‘patent applied for’ logo, dating it to 1961/2. Hamish got the patent a couple of years later.

Hamish MacInnes had the idea for an all metal ice axe back in the 1950s and actually made a prototype even earlier but a bad accident to some climbers on Ben Nevis in 1959, when their wooden ice axes broke when used as belays resulting in their deaths, spurred Hamish into action and he started production a year later with the help of an engineering firm called Massey in Manchester.

The fine picture opposite, taken by John Cleare, shows Hamish assembling axes and hammers in his Glencoe workshop in the 1960s.

The rubberised sleeves that Hamish ‘shrunk ‘ onto the shafts rarely stand the test of time. This one has just hung on and we have covered it with clear tape to see if it will last a little longer.