re manufacturing a film template

[Dralowid]

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2007346162...#ht_2527wt_983

£95.00 for an Ablon...are they crazy?

I've been talking to an engineer friend and we reckon we can make a production run of film cutting templates. At a guess we reckon that a batch of 200 could give us a selling price of around £20.00 excluding shipping etc. Probably in stainless steel. All this is over a cup of coffee.

Questions:

1 What is the demand? Has everyone who wants one got one?
2 Do Leicaphiles insist on the real deal?
3 Is the price right?
4 Is this madness?

Tell me to forget it...maybe.

Michael

[batterytypehah!]

I never understand the need for the things, except for bulk loading in the dark. Sorry.

[Vobluda]

I would take one for 20 GBP plus shipping.
And I firmly do believe if the quality is right that you could sell 200 pieces in EU in a couple of days.
Just have a look at the number of finished auctions for LTM cameras at various European ebays..

[Austerby]

I've been keeping an eye open for something like this for a while so I'm definitely interested in one. I plan to use my IIIa a little more this year since acquiring the Heliar 50mm f3.5 lens recently.

I always find it a bit fiddly to cut the film and sometimes scissor errors cause me to abandon a ruined section and start again.

£20 is reasonable, and I certainly don't need the authenticity of the Ablon.

I have thought about cutting some strong card or plastic for this but have never quite got round to it, so I'm plum in your target market.

Edit: Actually, can I put in a pre-order for one?

[mdarnton]

I suspect a lot of the value is the Leica name. Do the people who have these actually use them? I've always found it much easier, and a neater job, to do it with scissors by eye.

[kubilai]

Using scissors is dangerous : if you make two intersecting cuts, you have highest chance that the film breaks inside the camera (hope you understand, I apologize for my horridous Shakespearian). Better use a small penknife

[dave lackey]

Well, I would like to have one but my $10 curved nail scissors are so easy to use in one cut that I really don't need one.

A nice stainless steel one would be nice to have in the bag, though.

[FrankS]

I have no need for these and wonder why others do. Simply eyeball and cut the tongue with scissors, the cut does not need to be so precise as to require a template.

[Nomad Z]

The scissors on my Swiss army knife have worked perfectly well, but I'd take one for 20 quid, if only to try out the template method.

[mdarnton]

Originally Posted by kubilai

Using scissors is dangerous : if you make two intersecting cuts, you have highest chance that . . .

One cut is sufficient, and does a beautiful job. The only caveat is to come out at the edge between the holes. . . not that hard.

[Penny Lane]

To do that, I usually make a small cut between holes 20 & 21 first. I've found that Ilford films are very unforgiving to how they are cut; when you start the curve towards the sprocket holes it's very easy to tear the film. Kodak Tri-X a lot less so, Fuji Superia is absolutely trouble free (so far, for me).

Maybe die-hard Ilford fans could benefit from a template?

Derk

[Simon Bruxelles]

I would buy one.

[Thomas78]

I would buy two, if it would allow me to cut the film for bulk loading in the dark.

[NeeZee]

i've been using a iiif as my main camera for about 5 yrs now and always used scissors. actually it was only recently that i read online between which holes i should cut. always just estimated and there was never a problem.

there's a lot of talk on the net about how difficult screwmount leicas are to load and it's nonsense imo. once you have loaded 20-30 rolls this way it won't take that much longer than with any other camera.

now, if you'd manufacture a rewind lever for the iiif, count me in for 20€ - rewinding (not loading) film is the only real pain in the ass with these wonderful cameras

[MartinP]

I have to agree that the device is a solution in search of a problem. I just trim from the side to the (short) leader with a pair of 1,50 Eur nail scissors. The only thing to remember is to put the scissors in the checked luggage and not leave them in the camera bag, if flying.

[rbiemer]

Cutting leaders with small scissors is workable but slow for me; at 20GBP I'd be interested in one.
Rob

[Ade-oh]

I would probably buy one for £20 to support the project but, to be honest, I've never had a problem cutting leader with scissors or a scalpel.

[Roger Hicks]

It's the other end I find most useful, the one that cuts the end that goes into the cassette spool. As others have said, I have always found that small scissors (Swiss Army again) suffice for the end you can see.

Cheers,

R.

[Dralowid]

This one has kind of answered itself. I guess I'll leave you guys with your scissors!

Michael