Ray Mears Kit Question

[clcuckow]

I have seen him use them, in the extreme survival series in the rockies

I will have to get my DVD's out as I can only remember him 'hobo fishing' with a soft drink can. Can you remember series it was Nathan?

 

[Marts]

We were taught how to make and use them on Woodlore's fundamental bushcraft course. Nearby swans didn't appreciate the disturbance much though!

 

[falcon]

I will have to get my DVD's out as I can only remember him 'hobo fishing' with a soft drink can. Can you remember series it was Nathan?

It was the Rocky Mountain episode but I can't recall whether it was Extreme Survival or the previous one

 

[jason01]

You can pick up quartz CWC G10 98's on ebay for £30 or less theyre not really hard to find. Quartz is more accurate and arguably tougher and more reliable than mechanicals and if function is your main criteria quartz is probably the best way to go. Having said that I collect watches and I dont own a single battery powered watch

The earlier mechanical hand wind G10's in the tonneau cases can be had for about £100 and prices are steadily rising.

Doc, Im quite fond of the US issued Hamiltons, I have a few of them dating from WWII through Vietnam era up to the late 80's, best not to get them wet though

Ive been wearing this Seiko for the past few weeks, the design is based on the classic US pieces, picked up a pair of them with sequential serial numbers for under £40, usual going rate for them is about £40 each and still a bargain IMO. They wear quite small and dont have the water resistance of a diver but then theyre not divers!

Seiko are underrated, I have Swiss watches but more often than not I find myself choosing to wear a Seiko.

Heres a Sub after a couple of weekends Bushcraft use

 

[clcuckow]

I thought that the Subs used a sapphire crystals like my seamaster. Did you try sharpening you watch with a diamond sharpener?

 

[jason01]

I thought that the Subs used a sapphire crystals like my seamaster. Did you try sharpening you watch with a diamond sharpener?

The Sub has been around since 1953, theyve only been using saphire crystals for the past 25 years or so, I actually prefer the old domed acrylic crystal versions without the white gold indice surrounds, the one above is a 5513 I guess and its not mine, just a photo I borowed from somewhere

Seamasters used to have acrylic crystals too, the SM300 was introduced around 1957. Again not my watch or photo.

Both the Seamster and the Sub were mil issued at one time.

 

[clcuckow]

Interesting, I have only had mine for a couple of years and thought they always came with a sapphire. Cannot see them giving a squaddie a £1000+ watch now

 

[jason01]

Interesting, I have only had mine for a couple of years and thought they always came with a sapphire. Cannot see them giving a squaddie a £1000+ watch now

Indeed, though they were never handed out to squaddies, but Royal Navy special divers etc And dont forget they were originally a tool watch, they have only become an expensive bling/status symbol in the last 20 odd years or so, though they were never cheap just not as expensive as they are now, all thanks to Rolex's very effective marketing.

All manner of watches have been issued over theyears, Jaeger Le Couture, Longines, Zenith, Cyma, Lange & Sohne, Heuer. These days I think squaddies get one of these if theyre lucky

Good original issued subs can go for 5 figure sums now and they are very faked, spotting fake civi Rolex's is not hard but military subs are much harder to authenticate because the fakers use gnuine period subs as the base watch and military markings are inconsistent at the best of times so can be difficult to verify.

Regarding crystals, there are basically 3 types:

Mineral glass - scratches easily, not worth trying to polish, cheap to replace

Saphire - difficult to scratch, can shatter, expensive to replace

Acrylic, shatter resistant, scratches easily, easy to polish with toothpaste or Autosol, cheap to replace and they have a certain look (warm and vintage) that some watch collectors get misty eyed about

I've managed to scratch the hell out of a Rolex Saphire crystal on a datejust, quote to replace it by Rolex wouldve been nearly £300 at the time. £150 for the crystal plus a service

 

[addyb]

Jason,

It appears that we both have somewhat of an interest in horology!

Crystals: Don't forget that mineral and acrylic glass are essentially more desirable in a diving wach than saphire, simply because while saphire as much more scratch resistant, it has a tendancy to shatter if struck sharply.

Rolex: You're right, Rolex does a great job of marketing their products. Other than Rolex, and the Japanese watch manufacturers, there's really very few companies left in the world that still produce in-house movements. 90% of the major watch groups today buy wholesale movements from ETA in Switzerland, gold plate them, stamp their name on them, and raise the price. It's Capitalism at it's best!

Seiko: Gosh, they are a great company, and just look at what they've done. Take their 7s26 movement for example, it's such an efficient winding system it doesn't even need a manual wind capability. Why? Japanese ingenuity with a very small dead angle on the rotor and a little trick called the "Magic Lever." And a short while ago, Seiko introduced their Spring Drive technology, giving quartz accuracy to a mechanical part by re-designing the escape wheel! They make all of their own parts, right down to the lubricating oil, the watches (I think) are far more robust than their European cousins. While they don't have the same pricetag, I know for sure that when a person buys a Seiko, they're a lot of watch for their dollar! (Obviously I'm biased, but this is mostly true)

Cheers,

Adam

 

[Nathan Sturgess]

It might not have been in a programme it might have been in the book 'essential bushcraft'

 

[jason01]

Jason,

It appears that we both have somewhat of an interest in horology!

Crystals: Don't forget that mineral and acrylic glass are essentially more desirable in a diving wach than saphire, simply because while saphire as much more scratch resistant, it has a tendancy to shatter if struck sharply.

Rolex: You're right, Rolex does a great job of marketing their products. Other than Rolex, and the Japanese watch manufacturers, there's really very few companies left in the world that still produce in-house movements. 90% of the major watch groups today buy wholesale movements from ETA in Switzerland, gold plate them, stamp their name on them, and raise the price. It's Capitalism at it's best!

Seiko: Gosh, they are a great company, and just look at what they've done. Take their 7s26 movement for example, it's such an efficient winding system it doesn't even need a manual wind capability. Why? Japanese ingenuity with a very small dead angle on the rotor and a little trick called the "Magic Lever." And a short while ago, Seiko introduced their Spring Drive technology, giving quartz accuracy to a mechanical part by re-designing the escape wheel! They make all of their own parts, right down to the lubricating oil, the watches (I think) are far more robust than their European cousins. While they don't have the same pricetag, I know for sure that when a person buys a Seiko, they're a lot of watch for their dollar! (Obviously I'm biased, but this is mostly true)

Cheers,

Adam

I really dislike ETA and all of their redressed ebauches for exactly the reasons you mention above, sure the base ETA's may arguably have the edge on the 7s26 but at least the Seiko is honest, in house and no fear of finding a refinished 7S26 in a £2000 Seiko, pretending to be sth it isnt. ETA have monopolised the Swiss watch industry and their movements are nothing special at all! Generic, ubiquitous and not particularly nice to work on in my clumsy hands anyway

Omega sold out to ETA!

Rolex, great history some great classic designs, not a bad movement, shame theyve gone so bling!

I love the magic lever, my own preference is for the earlier base 6 series movements, huge balance compared to a 7, more serviceable and better finished than the 7's. And they just run forever with virtually no maintenance, such a simple a beautiful solution, cant help appreciating them shame they dont get more Kudos. I have a 6 series movement full of rust that I managed to get running within COSC specs, simply amazing.

Not keen on the spring drive technology myself but fair play to them for moving forward.

Flat Saphire also has a tendency to turn into a mirror underwater and out of water for that matter in certain lighting and it just looks so cold.

 

[jason01]

Apologies to non watch nuts, this is what we're talking about, Seiko's magic lever

Or pawl lever, the jewelled forked bit is the heart of Seiko's simple, elegant and reliable bi-directional winding mechanism in their auto movements from the 60's till today, that particular one is out of a late 60's Seiko 6105 movement.

Crap pic I'm afraid but that as close as I can get without dusting off me macro bellows