VINTAGE MANILA CLIMBING ROPE 1950s

Item #: HW14
VINTAGE MANILA CLIMBING ROPE 1950s
Price: $250.00
List Price: $350.00
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Detailed Product Description

We have obtained from Europe several examples of vintage Manila Climbing Ropes. These are real climbing ropes, about 30 meters long (100 feet), made from natural fibers in the 1940s-1950s, just before the invention of nylon, and the instantaneous adoption of nylon ropes by climbers everywhere.

These ropes are all in Very Good condition, with no obvious worn sections, fraying or breaks, and would make an excellent display for someone setting up a display of old and vintage gear, either in his house or even a museum.

These ropes survived because they were made for the Swiss Army during WWII, who evidently never threw anything away. Indeed, we have seen and sold examples of many items they bought for use in case of invasion by the Germans during WWII, such as Ice Axes, Crampons, climbing boots, goggles, avalanche cord, snowshoes, pitons, etc. And like everything Swiss, it was all made to the highest standards of materials and workmanship. Their WWII Schmidt Rubin bolt action Rifles and Bayonets are also on the market for gun collectors.

In the early days of climbing, ropes were used to catch falls by the second, that is, the middle or last person on the ropes, which exerts little force on the rope. The force of a person falling just the length of the slack in a rope, a few feet, is little more than his body weight, and these ropes served that purpose well.

With the advent of high level rock climbing in the 20th century, the possibility that the leader fall a long distance dramatically increased the forces on the rope, as well as the anchors and the belayer. Often the weakest link in this system was the rope, which could break. Nylon, with its elasticity and great strength, solved the problem of rope breakage, except when a small diameter rope was called upon to do heavy duty work.

This rope is called 'Manila' because it was sourced from a plant in the Philippines, and is sometimes referred to as 'Hemp.' Hemp is a plant material related to Marijuana that has been used for rope making for thousands of years. It is coarser, weaker and more vulneable to water damage than Manila. Manila Rope is actually from a plant in the banana family (see below).

These ropes are heavy, 12 pounds each, so domestic postage will be $30. Foreign may be as high $50 to $85.

Manila rope

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Manila rope is a type of rope made from manila hemp. Manila hemp is a type of fiber obtained from the leaves of the abac�. It is not actually hemp, but named so because hemp was long a major source of fiber, and other fibers were sometimes named after it. The name refers to the capital of the Philippines, one of the main producers of abac�.

Manila rope is very durable, flexible and resistant to salt water damage, allowing its use in rope, hawsers, ship's lines and fishing nets. It can be used to make handcrafts like bags, carpets, clothing and furniture.

Manila ropes shrink when they become wet. This effect can be advantageous under certain circumstances, but if it is not a wanted feature, it should be well taken into account. Since shrinkage is more pronounced the first time the rope becomes wet, new rope is usually immersed into water and put to dry before use so that the shrinkage is less than it would be if the rope had never been wet. A major disadvantage in this shrinkage is that many knots made with manila rope became harder and more difficult to untie when wet, thus becoming subject of increased stress.

Abac�

Abac� (from Spanish 'abac�' for Musa textilis), Musa textilis, is a species of banana native to the Philippines, grown as a commercial crop in the Philippines, Ecuador, and Costa Rica. The plant is of great economic importance, being harvested for its fibre, once generally called Manila hemp, extracted from the trunk or pseudostem. On average, the plant grows about 12 feet (4 meters) tall. The fiber was originally used for making twines and ropes; now most abac� is pulped and used in a variety of specialized paper products including tea bags, filter paper and banknotes. It is classified as a hard fiber, along with coir, henequin and sisal.

Abac� was first cultivated on a large scale in Sumatra in 1925 under the Dutch, who had observed its cultivation in the Philippines for cordage since the 19th century, followed up by plantings in Central America in 1929 sponsored by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Commercial planting began in 1930 in British North Borneo; with the commencement of WWII, the supply from the Philippines was eliminated by the Japanese. Today, abaca is produced commercially in only three countries: Philippines, Ecuador, and Costa Rica. Yields are highest in Costa Rica, but the industry is new and planted acreage limited.

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