A pocket-sized rope clamp from 1960s Germany: light, one-handed, and quick to clip onto a rope. It also earned a reputation as the “death clamp.” This early pair predates the safety clip that was added in an attempt to fix this fatal flaw.
Category Archives: Makers
Forrest Mjöllnir Hammer, Straight Handle
The straight-handled Forrest Mjöllnir, the rock version of the interchangeable-pick hammer, shown as a boxed set with three picks and in two working set-ups.
1995 Royson Engineering Military Piton Hammer
A 1995 US government piton hammer often mistaken for a Chouinard or Black Diamond Yosemite, made by Royson Engineering of Hatboro, Pennsylvania.
1988 Chouinard Yosemite Hammer
The redesigned Yosemite hammer that brought back the model, and Chouinard’s wood handles, after seven years, with a new head drilled through at the pick end.
Chouinard Zero Ice Hammer
The hammer-headed sibling of the famous Chouinard Zero ice axe, and much rarer. The collection includes both a laminated bamboo piece and a later fiberglass one. Identifying Marks by Era 1976–77: introduced alongside the Zero ice axe. Chouinard’s 1977 catalog lists both and gives 1976 as the year they first appeared. Laminated bamboo shaft andContinue reading “Chouinard Zero Ice Hammer”
1987 Chouinard Rock Hammer, Blue Transition Handle
A 1987 Chouinard Rock head on a leftover blue 1984 handle, from the changeover between the second and third modular generations.
1987 Chouinard Rock and Alpine Hammers
The last Chouinard-branded Rock and Alpine hammers: a new notchless head, a three-bolt pick system and black composite handles.
1984 Chouinard Rock and Alpine Hammers
Chouinard’s second-generation modular hammers: Rock and Alpine on blue composite handles, sharing a notched head with bolt-on crag, big wall, Alpine and ice climbing picks.
c. 1974 Chouinard Climaxe
Chouinard’s short-lived mini ice axe: an Alpine hammer-length tool with an adze, a Chouinard-Frost head forged by CAMP in Italy and a red-stamped wood handle.
1977 Chouinard Alpine Hammer
A late wood-handle Alpine hammer with a 13″ handle, a 12-tooth pick and the diamond-C stamp in dark blue or red ink.
