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WWII mountain troops - carabiners ?


Tom @ Snake River
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Tom @ Snake River

I have been collecting WWII mountain troop gear, and especially pre-10th Mtn Div. stuff.

I have not seen a reference to a carabiner during this time frame.

I went to Army Surplus Warehouse today and they had a bin full of caribiners marked "US" "OEC 1979"

They are steel and were stored improperly, so there is metal corrosion and pitting.

So I have seen reference VietNam forward but nothing for WWII Mountain troops or Airborne ?????

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Photo from the 8-43 Quartermaster Supply Catalog clearly shows a "snap link". Mine is just US marked. No maker name or date.

MVC_109S.JPG

MVC_110S.JPG

MVC_111S.JPG

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Tom @ Snake River

Thanks for the reference.

I have a full compliment of pitons and a decent AMES ice ax. I bet official hammers are hard to come by.

My counsin's uncle was Glen Exum. His climbing buddy was Paul Petzold who served with the 10th. They are the 2 famous climbers here in the Teton's.

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The TES made one is a mystery. We still don't know what company they are. There are no records for TES in the War Supply Catalog. Rumor has it that they were located in New York.

MVC_114S.JPG

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Tom @ Snake River

I sat down all week end learning how to post and resize pictures.

post-4931-1231170157.jpgpost-4931-1231170157.jpg

 

Here is my early leather soled ski boot, the AMES ice ax, and pitons.

What your opionion on the pitons, were the tubuler ice used in WWII or were they later ???

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Tom @ Snake River

THe boot has a set of creepers installed, sorry for the double picture.

My skis and poles are down at the local private museum. My 2 T-15 weasels are out in the shop, I doubt that I will get one moving my summer.

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Tom @ Snake River

My pitons are INK MARKED, both styles are marked "US WYOTT 77m"

I tumbled mine in fluid and ball bearings, so that mark hangs in there real well.

The 4 snap links in the picture are the later production and are marked "US" "OEC 1979"

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All of my pitons except one are stamped into the steel "AMES US". The other is ink stamped and dated '44, but I don't recall the makers name. It's down in my museum.

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Do you think the stamped are early mfg,Compaired to the ink stamp?.If so do you think there may have been breaking issues

bit like the blade marked m3?..[Just thinking out loud :think: ]..

 

How close are the OEC 1979 made to the WW2 made ones?..do you see many pitons up your way Robin?,I've got some type I III and IV coming over.No stampings,But unpainted.

 

Cheers,

 

Dave.

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  • 5 years later...

The piton hammers are tough to find. Here are my 3. Left to right- TES US 1944, AMES US early, and AMES US late.

attachicon.gifMVC_112S.JPG

attachicon.gifMVC_113S.JPG

Just out of curiosity what is the difference between the early and late hammers? Is it the font of the stamp?

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All of my pitons except one are stamped into the steel "AMES US". The other is ink stamped and dated '44, but I don't recall the makers name. It's down in my museum.

Hi All, Robinb you've always got great stuff. Been collecting Mtn stuff for quite a while and can answer some of these questions. The only piton mfgs I've seen are of course Ames ( stamped and inked ) , Preston '44 ( inked ) and a '45 dated ice piton ( the weirdest off wt color )T.S.Co. The black ones are recent. Like Dave suggested stamped ones were earlier (up to '43 ). Just recently found out the hammer marked T.E.S. is Tonawanda Electric Steel ( might be in NY as one of the other posts suggested ). A lot of the pitons have a silvery finish like the head of the ice ax. The snaplinks I've believe were available in steel and aluminum but only marked US. Don't have either. -- Breezy

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Hey there guys, quick question. If I were going to look for a piton hammer that would be best associated with the ww2 10th Mountain Division should I get a 1944 TSE because its war dated or an Ames? I have a 1950 PENN TOOL, and while I know its about the same, you cant pretend 1950 means 1945!

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I think the Ames would be the one to have . While not dated I don't believe they made any after WWII ( at least not that I've seen ) . The 10th moved to Camp Swift ,Texas in mid '44 so I'd guess they didn't use many hammers made by T.E.S. at Camp Hale. Also the Ames name is well recognized and has more clout, but they're harder to come by for these same reasons. But there's absolutely nothing wrong w/ having a T.E.S. and they're easier to find and in great condition too, having been made late and probably largely unissued. --Breezy

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  • 2 years later...
10thMountainWWII

After many years of collecting WWII Mountain Troop items, I finally finished off my collection of all the WWII piton hammers.

 

1. Ames 1942

2. Ames 1943

3. TES 1944

4. N&E 1945

 

post-52472-0-73510000-1463240877.jpg

 

post-52472-0-19560500-1463240984.jpg

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Great set of hammers and great discussion. Never ran across or even heard of the N&E version, but I think there might be 1 more variation. I've been told by a reputable source that there's a second pattern Ames w/ a straight handle and a bright ( maybe bead blasted ) head. I'd be interested in other opinions on that. -- Breezy

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10thMountainWWII

Breezy,

 

I have seen several variations of the straight handle Ames piton hammer. The 1943 hammer I have is the straight handle version with "43" stamped next to the "Ames." Some of the Ames hammers have no date and I've been told there might be one out there with a "42" stamp but I've never seen one. The 42 Ames hammer I have is the wide handle base. I wanted one from each year.

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Wow, thanks, didn't realize Ames ever dated them in '43. Couldn't see it in the photo. I've came across plenty of hammers over the years and never saw a dated one. Great, now something else to add to my list of scarce and hard to find items ( wouldn't have it any other way). -- Breezy

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  • 5 years later...

I recently scored a bunch of climbing gear from the estate of a 10th Mountain WWII vet. Mostly 1950s-60s commercial stuff, but some military. Here are two 1944 ink stamped rock pitons, Ames and Preston. 
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