OT what other icons do you have

mad_boy · 03-20-2006

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

)

cp_ste.croix · 03-20-2006

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

I score 3 'cause I have a turntable and Fenders and Gibsons.

Jacques.

Kim Coxon · 03-20-2006

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

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

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

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

Quote:

Originally Posted by mad_boy

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.

Quote:

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

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

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

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

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

Quote:

Originally Posted by jaapv

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

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 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

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

03-21-2006

Leatherman Tool?

Sorry...no go....

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

Trius · 03-21-2006

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 cedarstrip/canvas canoe ... the Leica of watercraft.

Earl

amateriat · 03-21-2006

Quote:

Originally Posted by copake_ham

Leatherman Tool?

Sorry...no go....

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

Beat me to it, George...much agreed.

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

laverda3c · 03-21-2006

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

Uh, the Tilley hat IS cool. Sorry you are so uncool, Mark!

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.

amateriat · 03-21-2006

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

Quote:

Originally Posted by mad_boy

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

)

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

Quote:

Originally Posted by cp_ste.croix

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

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

I own two of those!!

jaapv · 03-22-2006

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

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/cl...er/splash.html