A strange bit of musing on watches and knives.

S

Sword and Shield

Joined
Apr 3, 2004
Messages
3,536
I'm a little bit of a watch aficionado, and tonight I got to thinking on watches and knives. It's an interesting parallel evolution.

The year is 1940. In Britain, the RAF is lining up for war. The skies over the English Channel are dense with German aircraft, and it's going to be very rough for a very long time. The wristwatch of choice is one that was considered to be massive for its era, the Rolex Air-King. 34mm case, stainless steel, it's a giant.

In the pockets of those honored airmen rest basic utility folders, pretty much to a piece between 3 1/4" and 4 1/4" closed. That was all that was needed, for pretty much everything you'd come across.

The year is 1970. Vietnam. The Navy SEALs take to the water, and brave men troll seemingly endless rivers searching for the enemy. One of the popular watches heading overseas was the Rolex Submariner. 40mm case this time, it dwarfs the old Air-King. Divers love its toughness, claiming that the 660 feet of depth rating is more than enough for anyone.

Sitting on those belts is the classic Buck 110. Simple, stout, and large. Weighing in at half a pound and stretching five inches, what was a once-a-year carrying knife has become the blade of choice for construction workers and tunnel rats alike.

The year is 2009. Iraq and Afghanistan dominate the news. The popular watches on the home front this time are the Rolex Seadweller Deepsea at 44mm, the Omega Planet Ocean at 42mm, and the Panerai Submersible at 44mm. Forget 660 feet, the Rolex can now handle 12,800.

What's in the pocket now? Models like the Spyderco Endura at 5 1/4" closed are considered "small" by some. Cold Steel's 5" blade Voyager is common. Watch size goes up, blade size goes up.

What's the point of all this? That's an exercise for the reader. I just find the parallel interesting.
 
I'd be interested in comparing the prices of the preferred goods across time, adjusted for inflation.
 
Sword and Shield said:
What's the point of all this? That's an exercise for the reader. I just find the parallel interesting.
Click to expand...

Since its introduction in 1972, the Honda Civic has gradually gained nearly a thousand pounds. It's not just knives and watches, we want the new model of everything to be just a little bigger than the old one.
 
artmichalek said:
Since its introduction in 1972, the Honda Civic has gradually gained nearly a thousand pounds. It's not just knives and watches, we want the new model of everything to be just a little bigger than the old one.
Click to expand...


So very true!

Look at the old mini cooper and the oversize new one.

Or the pre-war old Model Colt woodsman vs the post war woodsman.

They myth that bigger is better, never dies.
 
I think people just want progress and change. There is always an affinity for novelty in the depth of our psych.
 
Astute observation. But I do think that in some cases bigger really is better. To use your watch example, a 42mm case does seem ridiculously overbuilt when placed next to a 34mm or even 37mm case. But the 42mm case and attendant dial is much easier to read, making it more utilitarian in my view. I think in this specific context, bigger is better and that is why I have a 42mm Hamilton Khaki Field Automatic on my wrist and not the smaller 38mm version.
 
People are getting bigger too (and not just fatter). Bigger wrists and hands could have led to bigger watches and knives.
 
Often vintage watches, which I like A LOT do look rather small compared to today's. I'd love an old Air King and/or the 5513 no date Submariner. Classics.
 
artmichalek said:
Since its introduction in 1972, the Honda Civic has gradually gained nearly a thousand pounds. It's not just knives and watches, we want the new model of everything to be just a little bigger than the old one.
Click to expand...

jackknife said:
So very true!

Look at the old mini cooper and the oversize new one.
Click to expand...

Cars have grown in weight and size to accommodate safety equipment and regulations. The same cannot be said for watches and knives ;)
 
Yeah, but in 1969 Buzz Aldrin wore a Omega Speedmaster that he loaned to Neil Armstrong when they went for the first walk on the moon.

They didn't carry any knife that I know of.

Seriously, the AVERAGE fighting men of the eras you mentioned probably did carry the blades you suggested, but few of them went to battle wearing a Rolex or an Omega. Even then they were considered quite expensive compared to other commonly available watches. You are more likely to see a Timex then and a Timex now (or a G shock). There might be a few SF guys wearing high dollar timepieces, but most do not.
 
PrimitiveMan said:
Yeah, but in 1969 Buzz Aldrin wore a Omega Speedmaster that he loaned to Neil Armstrong when they went for the first walk on the moon.
Click to expand...


The Omega Speedmaster Professional is one of the few watches approved by NASA for EVA's. It was a BIG watch then and its still a big watch. I know, I have one. Scott Carpenter wore a Breitling Navitimer on one of his missions which is also a big watch.

I believe the Casio G shock is worn by some astronauts but not sure if its approved for EVA's. The G Shock is worn by a lot of soldiers and SF types.
You don't see high end mechanical watches being worn by these guys too much anymore.
 
When I was in Iraq, I wore a Seiko 200m automatic that I picked up at Ft Campbell PX. I carried a MT D/A Socom the most.
 
Pilot1,

I believe the Omega Speedmaster Professional is the ONLY watch approved for EVA. They can wear several inside the shuttle (Including G-shocks and Timex iron man)and space station and often wear several watches at the same time for timing different experiments etc. To my knowledge, several speedies were there, but no other watch was worn ON the moon.

I've had my SpeedyPro for 7 years now. Gets most of my wrist time. The rest just sit in the drawer waiting, poor things.
 
I don't see it that way at all. To me, things seem to get smaller and more efficient. Cars seem to be the exception. A GMC Acadia holds eight people and gets better milage than a 1972 Toyota.

On the smaller size, look at cell phones, you used to have to carry them around in a backpack.

A 1 AA LED flashlight will outshine a 4 D cell Maglight.

A watch of the same size has GPS and Altitude.

A Leatherman is better than most toolboxes.

There is a 5 megapixel camera in your phone.

The list is endless.
 
The Omega Speedmaster was chosen over several other watches (Rolex included) becuase of a feature that few of us would be that excited about. The speedie came with a hexalite dome. Basically it had a plastic dome! The other watches tested which met the other timekeeping criteria all had either glass or Crystal domes. The wisdom was that if a watch glass shattered, the pieces could become a severe hazard in zero-g where they could be inhaled, etc. The hexalite face of the speedmaster might crack, but the plastic tended to stay intact. While there is a Speedmaster Moon model that keeps the plastic face, most Speedmaster owners own a model with a Saphire crystall dome.
 
Actually Racer X, that's only partially true.

The Speedmaster Professional went through a series of changes, in fact, the "Professional" wasn't added until after the moon landing.

What is now model 3570.50 started with a cal. 321 movement. This robust movement and the fact that it passed all tests won it the honor of going to the moon. ALL other brands tested failed in testing. They finally narrowed it down to 4 and 3 of those failed in the environmental chamber under negative pressure (The cases were designed for POSITIVE pressure under water, not the vacuum of space).

You have to remember, NASA didn't ask watch companies to design/submit a watch for this purpose, they simply went out and bought various brands and models and tested them secretly.

The movement has undergone soem changes over time from the cal. 321 to cal 861 (reduced the # of parts and made it easier to manufacture) and finally the one you get now, the cal.1861 which was the minor substitution of a nylon part for a steel one. The nylon being self lubricating.

Purists are pretty fond of the closest model you can get to the original which does in fact have the hesalite crystal that is much more shatter resistant as you mentioned.

There is TONS of info on the net about this watch.
 
I feel that for better or worse (most likely worse), that the bigger better faster more mentality has always been a cornerstone of human nature. An obvious example, the mud huts all people lived in at one point, to the skylines of Dubai or Tokyo. That being said Popcorn picker makes a mostly valid point. Comparing a WWII crook neck flashlight to a surefire gladius or what have you ... well they are completely different animals. WHile a watch case growing x amount of mm i can't really see effecting it's practicality in anyway aside from personal preference, putting a gps and an altimeter in it on the other hand... Knives on the other hand im sure that there was just as much diversity in the knife communities of the past as there is now. Just st because there weren't as many choices ( strider crk spydie bm brkt busse sog, the list goes on) there were most assuredly people who would have different opinions on what would be practical knife carry, whether a folder or a fixed, blade length, etc. This is an intresting thread, as i have said before i lur mostly but this thread caught me. I'm intrested to see what others have to say
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top