BINOCULARS SA

Bags, Boots, Shirts and all other gear should be discussed here.

Moderators: Mike, Cajunkraut, Tennessee Smith

Post Reply
MCINTOSH275
Laboratory Technician
Laboratory Technician
Posts: 138
Joined: Fri Dec 08, 2017 4:15 am
Location: SPAIN

BINOCULARS SA

Post by MCINTOSH275 »

I've been looking for SA binoculars for a long time if it can be with their cover and I still haven't found anything interesting or I've arrived late, do you know where I can get them...???
User avatar
bearbeast
Legendary Adventurer
Legendary Adventurer
Posts: 2547
Joined: Wed Jun 21, 2017 11:31 am
Location: Lost in the search for gear...

Re: BINOCULARS SA

Post by bearbeast »

Do you mean the LC binoculars?

You should search local second hand sites for 'old military binoculars', 'old brass binoculars'. Maybe also antique stores.

I found two models that look the part:

https://imgur.com/a/84pCM3c

Cheers,
Bear
MCINTOSH275
Laboratory Technician
Laboratory Technician
Posts: 138
Joined: Fri Dec 08, 2017 4:15 am
Location: SPAIN

Re: BINOCULARS SA

Post by MCINTOSH275 »

bearbeast wrote: Sat Nov 12, 2022 6:01 am Do you mean the LC binoculars?

You should search local second hand sites for 'old military binoculars', 'old brass binoculars'. Maybe also antique stores.

I found two models that look the part:

https://imgur.com/a/84pCM3c

Cheers,
Bear

Thank you... :TOH:

What brands should I look for...???
User avatar
distantpeople
Archaeologist
Archaeologist
Posts: 279
Joined: Sat Oct 15, 2016 5:48 am
Location: Department of Archeology, University of London

Re: BINOCULARS SA

Post by distantpeople »

It's not so much the brand as the pattern. In this case the Mark V Pattern, which is quite common in the UK and France, appears to be identical or quite similar to what was used in the film. Curious what others think.

A Galilean design, these were produced in England and France by a variety of suppliers in great numbers. They were used from WWI to early WWII when they were replaced with a 1930s prismatic design. British Army issue will always be marked with a War Department broad arrow. Any that are shiny or missing most or all of their original blacking are less valuable. These were never meant to be bright and shiny as they would attract attention, artillery fire or worse. Personally I think those that have been shined up look ridiculous. Do avoid the numerous recently made copies from India, they are often the same price but always of abysmal quality.

WWI binoculars on British ebay is a useful search term. A good looking pair might fetch about £35-50. Keep in mind that almost all of them will have dust inside and will need to be professionally collimated (adjusted for optimal alignment). If you are looking for display only then probably not worth it. They are easy to damage inside so try not to take them apart. If leather wrapped, you might try a bit of Pecard's but in general are a lovely part of history worth preserving for future generations.

Anyone have a high resolution screen cap we might use to compare?
Last edited by distantpeople on Sat Nov 12, 2022 8:50 am, edited 1 time in total.
User avatar
bearbeast
Legendary Adventurer
Legendary Adventurer
Posts: 2547
Joined: Wed Jun 21, 2017 11:31 am
Location: Lost in the search for gear...

Re: BINOCULARS SA

Post by bearbeast »

Well, the ones I found are:

Glaser 8 - the full brass ones
W.Watson&Sons - the leather bound ones

But I would avoid looking for a certain brand. Look on eBay or other sites (in Romania we have OLX) for 'binoculars'. People might mislabel them or not know what they are, so what I did is search such sites for "binoculars", armed myself with patience and searched all the possible ads. I tried also "old binoculars", "brass binoculars", "army binoculars"... But again, you'll need some patience.

After I favourited a couple of pairs that were really old, the algorithms already started suggesting other similar pairs.
User avatar
bearbeast
Legendary Adventurer
Legendary Adventurer
Posts: 2547
Joined: Wed Jun 21, 2017 11:31 am
Location: Lost in the search for gear...

Re: BINOCULARS SA

Post by bearbeast »

distantpeople wrote: Sat Nov 12, 2022 8:45 am It's not so much the brand as the pattern. In this case the Mark V Pattern, which is quite common in the UK and France, appears to be identical or quite similar to what was used in the film. Curious what others think.

A Galilean design, these were produced in England and France by a variety of suppliers in great numbers. They were used from WWI to early WWII when they were replaced with a 1930s prismatic design. British Army issue will always be marked with a War Department broad arrow. Any that are shiny or missing most or all of their original blacking are less valuable. These were never meant to be bright and shiny as they would attract attention, artillery fire or worse. Personally I think those that have been shined up look ridiculous.

WWI binoculars on British ebay is a useful search term. A good looking pair might fetch about £35-50. Keep in mind that almost all of them will have dust inside and will need to be professionally collimated (adjusted for optimal alignment). If you are looking for display only then probably not worth it. They are easy to damage inside so try not to take them apart. If leather wrapped, you might try a bit of Pecard's but in general are a lovely part of history worth preserving for future generations.

Anyone have a high resolution screen cap we might use to compare?
Great insight, distantpeople! :TOH:

When looking around I guided myself after this pic, looked similar enough to what Indy had:

https://www.yourprops.com/Indiana-Jones ... 43724.html
MCINTOSH275
Laboratory Technician
Laboratory Technician
Posts: 138
Joined: Fri Dec 08, 2017 4:15 am
Location: SPAIN

Re: BINOCULARS SA

Post by MCINTOSH275 »

Thank you both for the information, a lot of patience...
User avatar
bearbeast
Legendary Adventurer
Legendary Adventurer
Posts: 2547
Joined: Wed Jun 21, 2017 11:31 am
Location: Lost in the search for gear...

Re: BINOCULARS SA

Post by bearbeast »

MCINTOSH275 wrote: Sat Nov 12, 2022 9:55 am Thank you both for the information, a lot of patience...
I hope you find something nice! By the way, don't go paying too much for them. Especially if they are for display purposes.

I would say $75 - $100 is the upper limit and with a bit of luck you can find them even much cheaper. (Try some flea markets as well)

Mine were around $80 per pair (shipping included) and both work (or worked when I got them... I took them apart and I messed one up when reassembling), even though they a have some small scratches.

Whatever you end up getting, come and show it off! :TOH:
MCINTOSH275
Laboratory Technician
Laboratory Technician
Posts: 138
Joined: Fri Dec 08, 2017 4:15 am
Location: SPAIN

Re: BINOCULARS SA

Post by MCINTOSH275 »

bearbeast wrote: Sat Nov 12, 2022 10:00 am
MCINTOSH275 wrote: Sat Nov 12, 2022 9:55 am Thank you both for the information, a lot of patience...
I hope you find something nice! By the way, don't go paying too much for them. Especially if they are for display purposes.

I would say $75 - $100 is the upper limit and with a bit of luck you can find them even much cheaper. (Try some flea markets as well)

Mine were around $80 per pair (shipping included) and both work (or worked when I got them... I took them apart and I messed one up when reassembling), even though they a have some small scratches.

Whatever you end up getting, come and show it off! :TOH:
Thanks for the info...

The price you paid included the case...???
User avatar
bearbeast
Legendary Adventurer
Legendary Adventurer
Posts: 2547
Joined: Wed Jun 21, 2017 11:31 am
Location: Lost in the search for gear...

Re: BINOCULARS SA

Post by bearbeast »

No, only the binoculars... the case I am showing is made by me. :lol:
Post Reply