Basic gear from mid-twentieth-century Italy: Other manufacturers

[lowwall]

The windshield wiper mask brought a big smile to my face. Especially the smaller image on the bottom right of the ad demonstrating its effectiveness

The problem of sealing the operating levers' penetration of the skirt and the awkwardness of using the wipers no doubt led to its demise. But poking around, I found that just because an idea failed once does not mean that someone else won't give it a go.



Unfortunately, since the site linked in the description of this video now consists entirely of links to gambling sites (in Chinese), the second try did not fare any better.

 

[Popgun Pete]

Thank you for the likes, Jale.

Today we take a look at four old Italian diving masks, two models with built-in snorkels, two without. The latter pair were made by the SOS company, based is the city of Turin (above), which is an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy, the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865.

According to the potted history at Blue Time Scuba History, "SOS company - Strumenti Ottici Subacquei – Underwater Eye Instruments was founded in Turin in the middle of 1950 from Eng. Victor Aldo De Sanctis and Eng. Carlo Alinari. De Sanctis was a famous person in the underwater video film sector since 1935 when, using a self-made video camera housing, shoot the first Italian underwater video, one of the first in the world to document a water polo training in the swimming pool. SOS name soon become popular for its oil-bath depth gauges and, above all, for its Decon gauge, designed by Alinari in 1958 and presented in Barcelona during CMAS general board meeting in 1960. It was an extremely innovative analogic instrument, able to show automatically the safety stop times and to count stops and times of the eventual decompression. It anticipated of almost twenty years the electronic diving computers soon becoming a worldwide diving leading device, shown in many catalogues of diving gear companies, customized with their logo".

True to its underwater optical instruments name, the company also made diving masks. Here is an advertisement from 1967:

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Italian: "ED ECCO LA MASCHERA SENSAZIONALE. Modello alfa - cristallo infrangibile - tenuta con O-Ring - minimo volume interno - ghiera in acciaio Inox - massimo campo visivo - L. 3000 - Modello alfa-t - munita di tergicristallo - L. 3500 - è ancora un prodotto SOS - la tecnica al servizio dei subacquei".
Rough translation: "AND HERE IS THE SENSATIONAL MASK. Alfa model - shatterproof lens - O-Ring seal - minimum internal volume - stainless steel rim - maximum field of vision - L. 3000 - Alfa-t model - equipped with lens wiper - L. 3500 - it is another SOS product - technology at the service of divers".

Both models have quite a modern appearance for the late 1960s, coming as they do with a nose pocket for ear-clearing purposes and claiming to combine low internal volume with a wide field of vision. Both masks look identical except for un unusual feature on the second model: lens wipers.

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The advertisement offers few details, but I presume that the wipers inside the mask are operated by the horn-like handles on the outside at the top. How well these wipers worked in practice is unknown, but at least they represented an attempt to address the perennial fogging problem caused by condensation inside the mask. Some would doubtless dismiss this mechanical solution as yet another example of overengineering.

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Operating the wipers would have to distort the rubber body of the "Alfa" mask with the risk of breaking the seal on your face which would flood the mask. In order to sweep the lens through about 80 degrees the operating horns would have to do the same. Also any sand getting into the mask and under the face of the wipers may lead to mask faceplate scratches. Whereas any small scratches in the glass disappear on the external face as they fill with water that will not be the case internally, so these wipers are a bad idea. Spitting in and then swirling a small amount of water into your mask and tipping it out has worked since the beginning of diving with masks.

Also refer to this earlier thread Your thoughts on this mask with fog wipers

 

[David Wilson]

Thanks for the likes, JMBL, jale and lowwall, and for the postings, Iowwall and Pete.

Today's plan is to take a look at several historical Italian fins that were probably made by a well-known manufacturer but their markings did not indicate which.

First two Dardo models. "Dardo" is Italian for "dart", which seems quite appropriate for a fin offering speed to a slow swimmer. Here is the Dardo Delphin (Dolphin):

So a full-foot fin like many others that might have been seen on the Mediterranean in its time.

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[David Wilson]

Now compare the other Dardo fin, the Dardo Professional:

A very similar model, but it can be fun to point out the differences. The fin tips differ with the Delphin having slightly concave blade ends, while the Professional blade ends are cut more or less straight. The toe openings vary as well, with the Delphin being a little more reinforced at a point where full-foot fins sometimes tear, especially when toes protrude from the foot pockets.

 

[David Wilson]

One more model for review today, the Hai Freetime. "Hai" is German for "shark" (white shark above).

So a full-foot fin with a more strongly concave tip. One centre rib on top and two below. The brand name "Hai" suggested that the product was designed for the German recreational market.

More Italian made fins of this type midweek. Until then, keep well and stay safe.

 

[David Wilson]

Thanks for the likes, JMBL and jale.

Today we take a look at several fin models, whose Italian manufacturers are somewhat elusive. First the Ciso Star:

So a floating full-foot fin for children, judging by the foot size. "Ciso" is Italian for "Cisus" or "Ceisus", who in Greek mythology was the son of Temenus and a king of Argos.

 

[David Wilson]

Next, Nautic Star fins:

A full-foot fin with a centre rib on the slightly elongated blade.

 

[David Wilson]

And gere is the Nautilus fin:

A floating full-foot fin again with small radiating ribs in the blade.

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[David Wilson]

Here is a pair of "Sport" fins:

This plain-bladed fin design reappeared when rubber fin production was offshored to Malaysia as globalisation gathered pace:

And finally, here is the Squal fin:

This concludes our look at a number of fins without provenance other than Italy. Next time, at the weekend, we shall terminate this thread with a review of an Italian diving equipment manufacturer that continued to make old-school masks, snorkels and fins into the modern era: Francis sub. Until then, keep safe and stay well.

 

[David Wilson]

Thanks for the likes, Iowwall, Jale and JMBL. Now, as promised, Francis Sub.

FRANCIS SUB · Scalo Ferroviario 1. 94017 REGALBUTO (EN) Italy. Export and Technical Office: Via Moggia, 75 - 16133 LAVAGNA (GE) - Italy.

Regalbuto (Latin: Ameselum; Sicilian: Regarbutu) is a settlement in the province of Enna, Sicily, southern Italy. Picture above. For a highly enjoyable introduction to the culture and scenery of the island of Sicily, watch an episode of the Inspector Montalbano TV detective series.

There is not a lot of information about the Francis Sub company. According to one business information page, Francis Sub was founded in 1990 as a limited liability company operating in the toys and games manufacturing sector. Francis Sub has (or had) a website, whose earlier development can be viewed on the Internet Wayback Machine.

A typical snapshot at archive.org includes the following: "Qualità, funzionalità, sicurezza questi gli aggettivi preferiti dalla FranciSub, giovane e dinamica azienda per la produzione di attrezzature subacquee. L'azienda guidata da uno staff manageriale giovane e dinamico si pregia di una produzione all'avanguardia e tiene il passo delle grosse aziende. Lentamente è entrata nel mercato europeo, dove si è affermata per la competitività dei prezzi che riesce a praticare, unita alla qualità e sicurezza della sua produzione. Le direttive future della FrancisSub sono proiettate verso nuovi mercati e verso la ricerca di nuovi modelli che corrispondono sempre più alle esigenze sia tecniche che stilistiche. Una vasta gamma di prodotti inseriti in un packaging completamente nuovo, che si presta a un diverso posizionamento su degli espositori, dando un'immagine coordinata ed accattivante dell'insieme. Il logo e i colori la rendono facilmente individuabile da tutte le altre. Le diverse combinazioni di colore delle confezioni forniscono quindi il miglior rapporto tra ingombro e vendibilità".

This roughly translates to "Quality, functionality, safety these are the adjectives preferred by FranciSub, a young and dynamic company for the production of diving equipment. The company led by a young and dynamic managerial staff prides itself on cutting-edge production and keeps pace with large companies. It has slowly entered the European market, where it has established itself for the competitiveness of the prices it manages to practice, combined with the quality and safety of its production. The future directions of Francis Sub are projected towards new markets and towards the search for new models that correspond more and more to both technical and stylistic needs. A wide range of products inserted in a completely new packaging, which lends itself to a different positioning on the exhibitors, giving a coordinated and captivating image of the whole. The logo and the colors make it easily identifiable from all the others. The different colour combinations of the packages therefore provide the best ratio between size and saleability".

Francis sub developed two sales lines in underwater equipment: Linea Francis and Linea Delfino. The former focused on traditional basic underwater gear with rubber parts, while the latter concentrated on plastic-bladed fins, silicone-skirted masks etc. I shall be limiting my coverage to the former for compatibility with the rest of this thread. For me, Francis Sub fulfilled the same function as Sommap in France, continuing to produce sub-aqua equipment the way it used to be made for today's customers. As it turned out, the "Linea Francis" found that market not only within Italy but also in Central and Eastern Europe, notably Germany and Poland.