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mad_boy
03-20-2006, 14:29
Since you are reading this you either have a Leica or are interested in them.
That means that you like items that:
- Use oldfashioned but proven concepts.
- Are simple and durable
- Are made to achieve perfection and not a price quality compromise
- Are overpriced compared to similar (azian) products
- Are iconic and have a myth associated with them
- In short, love or hate objects.
and that you are willing to part with your cash to get them.

So there is a fair chance that you have some of the following as well:
- Mag-lite flashlite
- Zippo Lighter
- Fender or Gibson Guitar
- Airstream travel trailer or motorhome
- Tilley hat
- Non japanese 2 cilinder motorcycle.
- Leatherman multi-tool
- Primus, MSR or Coleman gas stove for camping.
- Old fashioned turn table.
- Swiss made mechanical watch

Confess, how many of these do you own????
I score 9 out of 10 Yes, that is sad sad sad

Mad_boy (a.k.a Sad_Boy :p )

cp_ste.croix
03-20-2006, 15:46
God I hate Tilly hats...utility aside, they're just so freakin ugly! My dad bought me one for travel when I was a younger man...

I score 2...but onlt because I gave away my tilley hat in africa in exchange for a carved chair.

jacema
03-20-2006, 17:02
I score 3 'cause I have a turntable and Fenders and Gibsons.

Jacques.

Kim Coxon
03-20-2006, 17:22
I score 4 because I can't afford any of the others. A traditional narrowboat sucks up too much of the readies.

Kim

wierdcollector
03-20-2006, 17:40
5 out of 10 I guess. Like CP, I think Tilley hats and I will never be partners. I prefer a baseball cap if I wear a hat at all. No guitars either, I couldn't play a note to save my life. Trailers are cool, Airstreams retro and neat, but my Hyundai and Daewoo won't pull one. I like bikes, Indians better than Hogs, BSA and Triumphs too, but have never owned one. Swiss watches may be great, personally I prefer their chocolate as I'm a fat guy and seldom care what time it is, LOL. As to Leicas, I prefer to ogle Nikon Bob's when the urge might occur, otherwise I'm more than content to shovel my way through the oodles of old Tarons, Bolseys, Konicas, Minoltas etc. that seem to turn up all too often in my mailbox. I've never been one to believe in one uberbrand, so my collection has run the gamut from Argus to Zenits and everywhere in between. Guess I'll never be one with the "In crowd" or have folks fawning over the rarity of my toys, but then again I've always enjoyed marching to the beat of a different drummer and believing everyone should dance to their own tune so I'll always be a bit...different from the rest. Just my take on things. Curt "wierdcollector" .
(and yes, I realise "Weird" is spelled wrong but it began as a sort of play on words,LOL.)

matt fury
03-20-2006, 18:19
I'm "only" 5 out of 10, but it goes up a few points if I count each Gibson or each turntable. You could probably also throw Mont Blanc pens in there, and tube guitar amps.

MikeL
03-20-2006, 19:21
5 out of 10 here. I think your description also describes my much loved Apple Cube.
- Are simple and durable
- Are made to achieve perfection and not a price quality compromise
- Are overpriced compared to similar (azian) products
- Are iconic and have a myth associated with them
- In short, love or hate objects.
Long live the Cube!

Ben Z
03-21-2006, 08:53
Since you are reading this you either have a Leica or are interested in them.
That means that you like items that:
- Use oldfashioned but proven concepts.
- Are simple and durable
- Are made to achieve perfection and not a price quality compromise
- Are overpriced compared to similar (azian) products
- Are iconic and have a myth associated with them
- In short, love or hate objects.
and that you are willing to part with your cash to get them.


And it could mean that a Leica best fulfills your needs in certain shooting situations. In my case, a compact travel outfit with interchangable lenses that can be focused quickly in all kinds of light.

So there is a fair chance that you have some of the following as well:
- Mag-lite flashlite
- Zippo Lighter
- Fender or Gibson Guitar
- Airstream travel trailer or motorhome
- Tilley hat
- Non japanese 2 cilinder motorcycle.
- Leatherman multi-tool
- Primus, MSR or Coleman gas stove for camping.
- Old fashioned turn table.
- Swiss made mechanical watch

Only the last one. Five Seamasters from a '51 bumper to a Brosnan Bond, a Speedmaster Moonwatch, 2 Rolexes and a B&M Hampton. But my daily wear is a quartz replica of the Hamilton Ventura. One of my favorite 3 Stooges routines is where Curly is wearing 3 wristwatches and explains that one is five minutes slow, one is twenty minutes fast, and the one in the middle is broken at 2 o'clock. To tell time, he says, take the 5, multiply it by 20 and divide by 2. Moe asks him so what time is it and Curly pulls out a pocket watch and says 3:15. Sounds like me. None of my mechanical watches is ever right for long despite expert overhauls and adjusment.[/QUOTE]

jaapv
03-21-2006, 09:17
Mag-lite -yes, zippo-yes leatherman-no, but swisstool, turntable - yes Thorens 126 electronic. Watch-yes I might add to the list: MG or Triumph car yes-TR4 in my case. And you DO write with a fountain pen, don't you -never a ballpoint!!

markinlondon
03-21-2006, 09:36
I score 6 if I can count the Fenders and Gibsons separately. Oh, and my watch needs mending so maybe that's a 4.

Mark

Wayne R. Scott
03-21-2006, 09:53
I have 3 from your list, Maglite, Leatherman and gas stove.

I have 3 not on your list:

1. Crown Graphic 4x5.
2. Original Bear Longbow, (No compounds for me).
3 A custom single shot .50 cal patched round ball rifle. (Who needs more than one shot?).

Wayne

celluloidprop
03-21-2006, 12:39
I don't really buy into any of the reasons you listed - I bought a Leica because it was reasonably priced used and fit my low-light and compact needs.

That said:
Zippos - check. At least back when I used to smoke, but my reason was that I was 19 and the pin-up girl designs were cooler than plastic Bics.

Gibson/Fender - kinda. I had an Epiphone Les Paul (made in Asia, I assume) and now have a Mexican Standard Telecaster. (And a Vox modelling amp!)

I bought a $100 Sony turntable because vinyl is cheap and plentiful.

The two Swiss mechanical watches I've seen that I might want came in at $750 and $4500. The day I spend that much on a watch is the day I eat my own shoe.

mad_boy
03-21-2006, 13:20
Mag-lite -yes, zippo-yes leatherman-no, but swisstool, turntable - yes Thorens 126 electronic. Watch-yes I might add to the list: MG or Triumph car yes-TR4 in my case. And you DO write with a fountain pen, don't you -never a ballpoint!!

Jaap,

Spot on. I indeed write with a fountain pen though not a Mont-blanc
(Papermate and Spalding for me).

Looking at the other replies, we will have a list of 25 pretty soon.

Mad_boy

amateriat
03-21-2006, 14:58
Well, my M-mount Konica Hexar RFs are (as with Leicas) practical, sturdy, compact, and, coincidentally, elegant. I don't shoot with the things with nostalgia in mind at all – they simply work in a manner I much prefer to SLRs of any stripe.

I have a few of the items on your list: a Zippo (standard unadorned chrome; since I'm a nonsmoker, it serves as something of a utility lighter); a turntable (a hellishly-heavy and pricey Mission I bought well over a decade ago and sill love and use); and a trio of Hamilton manual-wind watches dating from 1959 to 1973 (including a chronograph).

Stuff not on your list:

- a handful of Lamy pens, including two fountain pens I get a lot of mileage from.

- an Alex Moulton AM14S bicycle, which I bought new in 1985 (go here (http://www.alexmoulton.co.uk/frames.asp?id=bikes&range=am) to see the current version), and still ride and love, and has outlived a bunch of bikes in the time I've had it. Good thing I bought it when I did...couldn't do it again at current prices!

- Merkur Vision double-edge razor. Decided to get off the modern multi-blade merry-go-round and kick it old-school, but unlike Dad's old Gillette, I went with what might be called the Leica MP of razors (thankfully a lot cheaper than an MP, although pretty pricey for a razor, I suppose...but the blades are silly-cheap compared to a Mach3, so it's way-cheaper down the line).

All the above stuff are daily-drivers – not mantelpiece baubles.


- Barrett

John Camp
03-21-2006, 15:32
I score five...including the Tilley hat. The problem with Tilleys is the same as the problem with Volvos: they're ugly but practical, it's impossible to destroy them, and since you paid for them, you don't just want to throw them away. At least with a Volvo, you can park it in a bad spot and leave the keys inside and hope some chump will steal it. Nobody would steal a Tilley. There's a story, maybe on the Tilley site, about an elephant snatching one off a guy's head, and eating it. It came back...

I'd try a Panama, but I think Leon Redbone ruined them for everyone.

JC

ch1
03-21-2006, 16:06
Leatherman Tool?

Sorry...no go....

A true tranditionalist would have an "original" Swiss Army knife! :cool:

Trius
03-21-2006, 16:15
I gots me...

Mag lite (multiples)
Tilley (x2!)
Turntable (The Source, a Scottish monster weighing in at ~60lbs ... "If it's nae Scottish, it's craaaaaap!") ... (and several tube amps/receivers)
Leatherman (OK, it's a clone)
2 Zippos, but "needing" more

Oh ... and a Will Ruch (http://ruch.wcha.org/) cedarstrip/canvas canoe ... the Leica of watercraft.

Earl

amateriat
03-21-2006, 16:21
Leatherman Tool?

Sorry...no go....

A true tranditionalist would have an "original" Swiss Army knife! :cool:
Beat me to it, George...much agreed. :)


- Barrett (who lost his S.A. Explorer, and can't find a replacement)

laverda3c
03-21-2006, 17:35
I score 8. Thankfully the only ones I miss out on are the Tilly hat and the airstream. Though I have to admit that the airstream has a certain cool factor that the tilly hat doesn't.

Cheers,

Mark -%)

Trius
03-21-2006, 18:09
Uh, the Tilley hat IS cool. Sorry you are so uncool, Mark! :p Why? Cuz those of us who wear it don't give a rat's arse what other people think of us! Now that's cool. :D

amateriat
03-21-2006, 18:42
Wasn't sure what all this Tilley ruckus was about, so I sought out the site...goodness, these look interesting...does this make me an Instant Hat Geek?


- Barrett

oftheherd
03-21-2006, 19:47
Since you are reading this you either have a Leica or are interested in them.
That means that you like items that:
- Use oldfashioned but proven concepts.
- Are simple and durable
- Are made to achieve perfection and not a price quality compromise
- Are overpriced compared to similar (azian) products
- Are iconic and have a myth associated with them
- In short, love or hate objects.
and that you are willing to part with your cash to get them.

So there is a fair chance that you have some of the following as well:
- Mag-lite flashlite
- Zippo Lighter
- Fender or Gibson Guitar
- Airstream travel trailer or motorhome
- Tilley hat
- Non japanese 2 cilinder motorcycle.
- Leatherman multi-tool
- Primus, MSR or Coleman gas stove for camping.
- Old fashioned turn table.
- Swiss made mechanical watch

Confess, how many of these do you own????
I score 9 out of 10 Yes, that is sad sad sad

Mad_boy (a.k.a Sad_Boy :p )

Things must be utilitarian to me first, and within my budget. So Leicas are out. Utilitarian yes, but not within my budget. However, some day I will cease resisting (it's futile, I know) and get an FSU with a bevy of lenses. Meanwhile, I do still own several Zippos because when I smoked some 25-30 years ago, they really did last forever and in the Army in the field, could be run on gasoline. I also have two mini-maglites, a Leatherman, two turn tables (one modern, the other od), and a Coleman latern (no need for the stove since I have a non-Airstream camper). Five types out of your ten, multiples in some of them.

My addition to your list is a Commodore 64. (Actually, I still have two.) No other early home computer could match it. Even those that shared its CPU couldn't compete with its sound and video chips. The games were outstanding and the applications superb. Its GEOS operating system provided a better windows than Microsoft Windows (if a bit slower) until at least Windows 3.1.

scigeek
03-21-2006, 23:31
God I hate Tilly hats...utility aside, they're just so freakin ugly! My dad bought me one for travel when I was a younger man...

I score 2...but onlt because I gave away my tilley hat in africa in exchange for a carved chair.
How do you balance the carved chair on your head?

I score 1.

Er - Tilley Hat :eek:

Orvis jackets (the kind with leather elbow patches) should count too.

I own two of those!!

jaapv
03-22-2006, 02:13
I've got a Rhodey bushveld hat. The ones that white Zimbabwean hunters used to wear, back when that was a decent country. Khaki felt, one side turned up, "leopard" band. Does that count?

BudGreen
03-22-2006, 09:03
Is score a 4, including a few Bulova Accutron tuning fork watches from the early sixties. I'd have an Airstream if I had a place to park it.

I also have a Pashley Roadster, which is the current version of classic a bicycle that's been in production since WWII. An example can be found here:
http://www.pashley.co.uk/products/classic/roadster/splash.html

cp_ste.croix
03-22-2006, 09:48
How do you balance the carved chair on your head?



I secretly packed my trusty UNLV baseball hat as well...though when I told my Dad I traded the hat (as well as his watch) for various carvings, he insisted that they stay at his house as payment :)

Other things,

russian flask
grado headphones
underwood typewriter

MelanieC
03-22-2006, 10:08
I have a Leica because it was my dad's, but I tend to have similar tastes as he did so if I'd been aware rangefinders existed before I picked up this camera I would undoubtedly have done my research and decided that I wanted an M3. (Affording it would be another matter.)

I'm not sure I agree that the items on your list are good indices of whatever makes people pick up Leicas, but I do own three Maglites, two Leatherman tools, and a Swiss Army knife for good measure. My favorite knife, however, is a handmade Laguiole with a 4" blade and a corkscrew that I got in southwest France before you could order them online or from the back of Maxim magazine. I feel like the Laguiole is much more Leica-ish than a Leatherman or Swiss Army knife is. Don't have a camping stove, but I do have a Petzl headlamp. I own a turntable, but it's at my mother's house.

I lust after a travel trailer and if I had my druthers it'd be an Airstream. I don't play the guitar but if I did, it'd be a Paul Reed Smith in either a warm sunburst finish or a dark steel grey with the bird inlay on the neck.

My hat of choice when spending a lot of time outdoors is a straw cowboy hat with a rolled brim and leather string band around the crown, but it does not fall into the "icon" category because I got it at J Crew. Hey, once in a while I have to remind myself that I'm actually a girl.

John Camp
03-22-2006, 11:56
Leatherman Tool?

Sorry...no go....

A true tranditionalist would have an "original" Swiss Army knife! :cool:

No, no. A Leatherman is a different beast. A Swiss Army knife is for somebody who has a hangnail and wants to fix it before resuming the video game. A Leatherman is something you use to fix the Range Rover in the Outback. You can cross continents with a Leatherman and a roll of duct tape. A Swiss Army knife is limited to the front room. IMHO, of course. :D

PeterL
03-22-2006, 23:17
So there is a fair chance that you have some of the following as well:
I have 2 of the smallest Mag-lites, that's it. I got one fake Leatherman and that's enough to convince me I don't need one. But here's a list of other things that fit into your description of excellent quality for a price no sane person would pay:

- Rega Planet 2000 CD player, hooked to a very simple Rotel amp. When the CD was introduced, I was 12. I never got a big collection of records. The Rega is brilliant for its price (€850): it makes other equipment sound like mono ghettoblasters. Unfortunately, not a great many CDs these days have decent production quality, but when they do, the Rega sings.

- I grind my own coffee beans. It's a ritual. Collecting good coffee cups is something I fight against every day.

- If I wouldn't already have 3, I'd buy plenty more chef's knives. A good knife in the kitchen gives me a subtle enjoyment each time I cook. I'm fighting the temptation to buy one of those legendary Japanese chef's knives, but I'm sure one will find its way to my kitchen sooner or later. Oh yeah, I don't have a microwave, those suck. And I never use herb mixes. Fresh material rocks.

- I built my own computer from components, but unfortunately, neither the hardware nor the software is up to the standard people like us are used to. :( The PC is near-silent though, but not silent enough to leave it running while sleeping in the same room. A bit more work to do.

- Yoshida Kaban bag (kaban means bag): ultra high quality Japanese bags. I've had mine for 2.5 years, looks brand new. I'll probably buy a Domke insert for it instead of a separate camera bag, if ever I decide I need a bag for my cameras.

- Obviously, in this Belgian weather, and with these kinds of interests, I need a good anorak as my everyday coat :) GoreTeX, rip-stop, buzzword, you name it.


Peter.

ClaremontPhoto
03-22-2006, 23:35
Apple computers, a Seiko kinetic watch and a Sony 7600G SW radio.

jaapv
03-23-2006, 00:08
No, no. A Leatherman is a different beast. A Swiss Army knife is for somebody who has a hangnail and wants to fix it before resuming the video game. A Leatherman is something you use to fix the Range Rover in the Outback. You can cross continents with a Leatherman and a roll of duct tape. A Swiss Army knife is limited to the front room. IMHO, of course. :D


I disagree; the Swisstool is a similar concept as the Leatherman, but made by Victorinox, the Swiss Army Knife manufacturer. I practically rebuilt my house using just that tool (and duct tape of course) Leatherman tools are obviously useless in the Alps ;)

scigeek
03-23-2006, 00:19
I disagree; the Swisstool is a similar concept as the Leatherman, but made by Victorinox, the Swiss Army Knife manufacturer. I practically rebuilt my house using just that tool (and duct tape of course) Leatherman tools are obviously useless in the Alps ;)

Well, I built this canoe using matchsticks and duct tape...
Lets put duct tape on the list :D

telenous
03-23-2006, 00:21
I score three: a huge MagLite for the car, a black Zippo and the Omega Moonwatch. Now there's the Leicas of course and a Billingham bag.

ClaremontPhoto
03-23-2006, 00:31
Once a month or so I see a Victorinox truck pass through town. A big truck. They must be selling a heck of a lot of fancy penknives.