Club Obi Wan

I picked up a pair of accurate Colmont binoculars off e-bay for $5. It's in great shape mechanically, it just needed a lot of cleaning, and all the leather needs to be replaced. Without further delay here are the pictures.

with the leather still on
https://webspace.utexas.edu/gatesrr/www/Binoc1.jpg

leather removed
https://webspace.utexas.edu/gatesrr/www/Binoc2.jpg

took me 4 hours (and 2 socks) to get to this
https://webspace.utexas.edu/gatesrr/www/Binoc4.jpg

Colmont FT Paris
https://webspace.utexas.edu/gatesrr/www/Binoc3.jpg

I need to use the Dremil tool to clean the rings on the front
https://webspace.utexas.edu/gatesrr/www/Binoc5.jpg

It's staying like this untill I can make replacement leather pieces

Great find lightening. Please post some pictures when you have them restored.

Nice find, but imho it's a shame that you removed the leather and polished them. I thought they had a lovely patina, but to each his own. I might have to see if I can find a pair. Thanks for posting the pics.

Stanley London offers a contemporary reproduction of this type of binocular, if anyone is interested: http://www.stanleylondon.com/largebinoc.htm

ShanghaiJack wrote:Nice find, but imho it's a shame that you removed the leather and polished them. I thought they had a lovely patina, but to each his own. I might have to see if I can find a pair. Thanks for posting the pics.

I would have left them alone if the leather was in better shape, but one side was badly ripped and both were ready to fall off. Since I plan to replace the leather I though it would be prudent to clean them. I don't have a problem with patinaed brass in general, but personally, I think letting brass turn bright green is letting it go too far. The leather I removed is nearly solid green on the inside and I don't want the new leather to end up in a simmilar situation. I do however, understand where you are coming from. I've got a couple of brass P.O. boxes that I left patina on, but they had not progressed to the green stage yet.

Ah, well I understand in that case. I'm looking forward to pics of the restored binocs.

Interesting project. I'm sure they'll look great once you restore them. Do these binoculars work?

You bet they work. They look to be about 4X to me. Since they don't have the capability to change width to match different eye spacing it takes a little getting used to, but once you get the hang of it they work great.

Are they LC accurate?

VP wrote:Are they LC accurate?

They could be, looks pretty close to me, it's hard to tell the size of Lightnings Binoculars.
I captured two more stills and tried to lighten them some in PhotoShop.



-K

I think they are the right size. I'll post a picture of me holding them in a couple of days.

Well?

Ok, it's been 5 months, Sorry about that.
Anyway:

They look screen accurate to me. Great find!

Nice match up shots, lightening; maybe the best I've ever seen.

Those are a great find.

Looking good. Yours look a bit longer in the third pic tho.

Hemingway: Thanks, I appreciate that.

VP: I think the size difference in the 3rd picture is a combination of the fact that mine is a close up shot and the original is taken from a distance, and that I have narrower fingers than Harrison Ford so that I can never cover as much space on the body as him.

Hmm, I have had a pair of these sitting behind my dad's bar for as long as I can remember, they belonged to my great grandfather. I'll have to see if they are the same brand/model when I get home.

Great find! It looks as though the eyepieces are slightly larger on yours.

TR

A bit of an old thread but I thought it was better not to start another one and continue from here.

What do you think of this one? It was on ebay (auction ended already), dated 1914 and described as "1914 WAR FIELD GLASSES IN CASE CROWS FOOT - GREAT WAR GOVERNMENT ISSUE CROWS FOOT / BROAD ARROW FIELD GLASSES 6 INCH ONE EXTENDING SHIELD MISSING"



How do you think it compares with the binoculars from LC?

PS check out also the buckle on the strap

That's very close, Erri. Lightning's is spot on...except for the leather, or lack thereof, now.

That one looks like a variation, later or earlier, of Lightning's model. Is it a Colmont as well?

Is it yours now?

If so, then good find! And let's see some pics of the buckle.

- Mac

No I was only following the auction. I decided not to bid because it had a broken lens and in my opinion it's best not to buy binoculars unless the lens are still intact. So, sorry no more pictures than that. It ended for around £20 by the way

Man, I had to go check my living room. I thought you may have taken them from there. I have a pair exactly like that one. Go figure.

Cheers!

Dan

Lightning, could you provide the length of each section of the binoculars? Also, can you post/post a link to the movie screen caps in larger size?

Good work!

RaiderZee

DanielJones wrote:Man, I had to go check my living room. I thought you may have taken them from there. I have a pair exactly like that one. Go figure.

Cheers!

Dan

Please feel free to post some pictures ;-)

good binoculars guys! I love the old look...

congratulations guys!

bests

Mc. ;-)

hey lightning

well thanks to your post...lookie what I got on fleabay


http://s460.photobucket.com/albums/qq322/stuartdammery/

they look very good!!

Not the best photo, but from what I can tell it looks pretty good.

Very nice. I am attracted to old technology, it has a utilitarian beauty to it and it is usually sturdy and functional.
I have resisted buying old 'Bin's because the spherical aberation in old lenses can be bad. How good are the lenses in this pair?

as far as I can tell they are a perfect match....

They do work but ....well they are almost 100 years old so you guess how good they are, no night vision.

The case is in good shape, the strap is broken, and i might fix that later.
At the moment Im distressing my Mark bag

Indiana Citroen wrote:They do work but ....well they are almost 100 years old so you guess how good they are, no night vision.

here's an 'old technology' tip for night vision. wear yellow tinted glasses at dusk, it won't work in absolute darkness but favours your eyes' preference for reacting to sunlight. It also filters out bright white light that ruins your natural night vision.
If the objective lense of your bins (the one furthest from your eyes) is above 1" in. [25mm] in diameter it may gather enough light that a yellow filter will improve your differentiation of detail.
It may give you a head start spotting those pesky Nazis or supernatural beings that threaten all Indyesque activities!
Enigmata

If I may add a picture of mine, this is my contribute to the thread. My freshly purchased military-issued British binoculars from 1910's

Erri, you don't need binoculars to read the forums, just get a regular pair of glasses!

I have to say, it's quite a funny picture now that I look at it... I should have expected a reply from Bink

It is a funny picture. It kind of creeps me out a little, though. You look like a voyeur! Stop looking at me!!!

It's a neat set of binoculars, though.

LOL!
You're hilarious

I've been looking for some of these for a while and have seen different sizes available on the net...

Lightning, do you mind if I ask what the dimensions of the binoculars you have are, and what size the lens diameter is?

Thanks,

GeordieIndy

diameter of the lens housings is 2.5 inches. lenses themselves look to be 2 inches. the length of the binoculars fully closed is 6 3/16 inches. never have figured out how to recover these things with leather.

Thanks for the info! I thought I had found some that were accurate, unfortunately they are smaller and a little different.

GeordieIndy

I've had this pair, which look pretty much the same, ever since the pre-release photos came out for CS. After taking this quick shot just a few minutes ago, I see that my tape measure is not so accurate.