Chessler Books
Rock Climbing - Mountaineering - Exploration
New - Used - Collectible - Signed
Chessler Books Accepts PAYPAL Chessler Books Accepts VISA Chessler Books Accepts MASTERCARD Chessler Books Accepts DISCOVER CARD Chessler Books Accepts AMERICAN EXPRESS
All Orders Shipped via United States Postal Service   Chessler Books Ships Via USPS
Author:
Title:
Keyword:
Item #:
A B C D E F G H I
J K L M Mc N O P Q
R S T U V W X Y Z
Item #: HW44E
ICE AXE STUBAI AUSTRIAN 20-30 inches.
By Â
[ SOLD ]

Add to wish list


Detailed Product Description

OLD AUSTRIAN STUBAI ICE AXE (ALSO FRENCH OR ITALIAN AXES AVAILABLE)

We have some old wood handled ice axes, perfect for display over your mantlepiece. This is a beautiful Austrian (or French or Italian) Ice Axe from the 1960s, and is an antique by itself! This Stubai brand axe is 'modern', with a light colored ash wooden shaft, which is darkend by oil and use. If you are old enough, you used one of these in the 1960s.

 
These Austrian axes are mostly 20'-30', 50-75 cm.
 
Postage in this item is $15 Priority Mail in the USA, $35 International Airmail. This will be added .
 
 Postage in this item is $20 Priority Mail in the USA, $60 International  AirMail. This will be added after checkout.
 
 
A closeup image of a typical Stubai Ice Axe.
 
 
 
Our Stubai Ice Axe inventory after a delivery in 2012.
 
 
The above Stubai Axes, from a different angle. The light rust can be removed with a plastic pot scrubber and soap. When we need to remove heavy rust, usually on old pitions, we use this product:
 
 
 
We buy Evapo-Rust from http://www.gemplers.com but I think Harbor Freight also carries it, and perhaps even a large Home Depot or Lowes may have it. Great stuff.
   
We live in a time of transition. Some us climbed in the days of wood handles ice axes, and remember the warm feel of the long axe that we used as a walking stick across the flatter sections of the glacier. Perhaps no other object is so symbolic of mountaineering as the ice axe. Many of us have found that  having an old wood handles ice axe on the wall or above the fireplace just looks right.

From Wikipedia:

The antecedent of the ice axe was the alpenstock, a long wooden pole with an iron spike tip, used by shepherds for travel on snowfields and glaciers in the Alps since the Middle Ages. On August 8, 1786, Jacques Balmat and Michel-Gabriel Paccard made the first ascent of Mont Blanc. Balmat, a chamois hunter and crystal collector, had experience with high mountain travel, and Paccard had made previous attempts to climb the peak. Illustrations show Balmat carrying two separate tools that would later be merged into the ice axe – an alpenstock (or baton) and a small axe that could be used to chop steps on icy slopes.

According to the earliest manufacturer of ice axes, Grivel, these two tools were merged to create the first true ice axe around 1840. Early ice axes had a vertical adze, with the cutting edge aligned with the direction of the shaft, as in a conventional axe. This design lasted until at least 1860, but eventually the adze was rotated to the current position, perpendicular to the direction of the shaft. The Italian Alpine Club published a book in 1889 entitled Fiorio e Ratti – The dangers of mountaineering and rules to avoid them, which recommended ice axes as among 'the inseparable companions of the mountaineer'.

In the late 19th century, the typical ice axe shaft measured 120–130 cm (48' to 52') in length. British climber Oscar Eckenstein started the trend toward shorter ice axes with a lighter model measuring 85–86 cm (33 inches). Initially, this innovation was criticized by well-known climbers of the era, including Martin Conway, a prominent member of the Alpine Club, who was the leader of an early expedition to the Baltoro region near K2 in 1892 of which Eckenstein was a member.

Early ice axes had picks and adzes of about equal lengths. By the beginning of the 20th century, the pick lengthened to about twice the length of the adze. Improvements in crampon design (pioneered by Eckenstein in 1908) and ice climbing technique led to use of shorter, lighter ice axes appropriate to steeper ice climbs in the period between the world wars.

In 1978, the Safety Commission of the Union Internationale des Associations d'Alpinisme (UIAA) established formal standards for ice axe safety and performance. This led to the replacement of the traditional wooden shaft by metal alloy shafts. Ergonomically curved handles became widespread in 1986. Use of modern aluminum alloys have led to a dramatic reduction in the weight of some ice axes. One model now on the market, the C.A.M.P. Corsa, weighs only 205 grams with a 50 cm long shaft. One expert rated this lightweight ice axe as 'ideal for low angle glacier travel' but said he 'craved the solid and secure heft of a true steel mountain ax' in more demanding steep alpine conditions.
 

Other Items You Might Like

  • Similar Items Available
  • Items From This Author
  • Items From This Category
ICE AXE STUBAI AUSTRIAN 24-36 inches. 50 years old.
By: Â
[ SOLD ]
- Item # HW44A
View Details
VINTAGE ICE AXE SWISS OR AUSTRIAN 24-36 inches. WOOD HANDLE. 50-70 years old.
By: Â
[ SOLD ]
- Item # HW44A
View Details
VINTAGE ICE AXE AUSTRIAN WOOD HANDLE. 50-70 years old! 24 to 34 inches.
By: Â
[ SOLD ]
- Item # HW44A
View Details
OLD VINTAGE ICE AXE AUSTRIAN WOOD HANDLE 50-70 years old! 24 to 34 inches Signed bv Kurt Diemberger.
By: Â
[ SOLD ]
- Item # HW44AB-279???Delete
View Details
VINTAGE ICE AXE WOOD HANDLE OLD SWISS ICE AXE PRIMA WITH LONG WOODEN HANDLE SWISS 1900s-1930s 47.5 inches
By: Â
[ SOLD ]
- Item # HW81AB-Sold
View Details
ICE AXE OR ALPENSTOCK: SWISS 1900s-1930s WITH WOODEN HANDLE 44-48 inches
By: Â
[ SOLD ]
- Item # HW81
View Details
ICE AXE OR ALPENSTOCK: SWISS 1900s-1930s WITH WOODEN HANDLE 44-48 inches
By: Â
[ SOLD ]
- Item # HW81
View Details
VINTAGE ICE AXE SWISS 1910s-1940s WOODEN HANDLE Each Axe is 75-100+ YEARS OLD
By: Â
[ SOLD ]
- Item # HW80A
View Details
VINTAGE ICE AXE SWISS 1910s-1950s WOODEN HANDLE Each Axe is 75-100+ YEARS OLD
By: Â
[ SOLD ]
- Item # HW80bAB-677???Delete
View Details
VINTAGE ICE AXE US AMES WW2 ARMY WOOD HANDLED ICE AXE 10th Mountain Division
By: Â
[ SOLD ]
- Item # HW44AB-Sold
View Details
qnmZ
By: Â
[ SOLD ]
View Details
VERTICAL FRONTIER: A HISTORY OF YOSEMITE CLIMBING VIDEO
By: Â
[ SOLD ]
- Item # V2090
View Details
VERTICAL FRONTIER: A HISTORY OF YOSEMITE DVD
By: Â
[ SOLD ]
- Item # V2091
View Details
PILGRIMAGE WITH CHRIS SHARMA VIDEO
By: Â
[ SOLD ]
- Item # V2094
View Details
INERTIA AND FOCUS: 1 & 2 COMBO DVD.
By: Â
[ SOLD ]
- Item # V2092
View Details
AUTO ROUTE: FULL THROTTLE CLIMBING IN SWITZERLAND DVD
By: Â
[ SOLD ]
- Item # V2096
View Details
ROAD DVD
By: Â
[ SOLD ]
- Item # V2097
View Details
PRO TIPS VOL 1 DVD
By: Â
[ SOLD ]
- Item # V2098
View Details
FRONT RANGE FREAKS VIDEO
By: Â
[ SOLD ]
- Item # V2068
View Details
FRONT RANGE FREAKS ROCK CLIMBING & BOULDERING DVD
By: Â
[ SOLD ]
- Item # V2093
View Details
CLIMBING ROPES Helmut F. Microys Reprint from the 1975 AAJ
By: Microys, Helmut F.
Price $4.99
- Item # JR491-8708
View Details
Add To Cart
Adding...
Added! Click To View Cart
TRICOUNI NAILS FOR NAILED BOOTS
By: Â
[ SOLD ]
- Item # H75
View Details
HORIZONTAL ROCK PITON. NOW $4.95 FOR 3, WAS $8.95 EACH. THREE US ARMY
By: Â
[ SOLD ]
- Item # H7D
View Details
VINTAGE ICE AXE SWISS OR AUSTRIAN 24-36 inches. WOOD HANDLE. 50-70 years old.
By: Â
[ SOLD ]
- Item # HW44A
View Details
PATAGONIA CATALOG 1995 SPRING
By: Â
[ SOLD ]
- Item # OP2199KK
View Details
PATAGONIA CATALOG 1989 SPRING
By: Â
[ SOLD ]
- Item # OP2199Z
View Details
PATAGONIA CATALOG 1987 SPRING MAIL ORDER
By: Â
[ SOLD ]
- Item # OP2199H
View Details
PATAGONIA CATALOG 1990 FUNCTIONAL KIDS' CLOTHES
By: Â
[ SOLD ]
- Item # OP2199U
View Details
PATAGONIA CATALOG 1989 SPRING
By: Â
[ SOLD ]
- Item # OP2199Z
View Details
PATAGONIA CATALOG 1992 SPRING/SUMMER
By: Â
[ SOLD ]
- Item # OP2199V
View Details