UKC

Maybe a slightly misleading title given the day, but I just picked this up Friend on a local market place.

From what I’ve read, machine nuts were only ever used on the very first version. Is there anyone here who might be able to confirm an approximate manufacture date for this? 

Think it's a titanium model and from the mid-eighties.

I think the early size half ones were called technical friends?

I got my first few in about 1986/7 and they had lock nuts. I had the impression that they weren't the very first version though.

There will be far more authoritative people on here....

I thought Technical Friends were the flexible stem ones?

I think you might be right there. It’s non magnetic and does have a certain Ti sheen to it. Can’t find much information about the Ti ones online.

Not long ago we were talking about these and people were talking about exploding units - aluminium and titanium don't play nicely together because they're far apart on the galvanic corrosion scale. 

They're definitely not Technical friends which were the second fully flexible units. Prior to that there were Flexible Friends which had no plastic covering the stem.

Not sure what these were called.

I bought my first three Friends in 1986 and they looked like your picture.  Machine nuts to hold the cams in place.  Easy to take apart and clean, after they'd been for a dip on a Lundy trip.  A bit of 'wet and dry' cleaned rust off the shaft nicely.  I  only retired my 1 1/2 Friend a few years ago because one on my pals kept moaning about it.

Like it says on the tin (stem). Friend half.

Came out early 86 iirc, the flex half and other sizes superceded them  a few months later.

Interesting. I've got two similar friends 3/4 and 1/2 handmade by HB in Australia before WC made smaller sizes. Martin Wragg who gave legal advice to WC told me that there was no issue as WC hadn't considered it worthwhile to protect their patent in Australia. They are beautifully made with a knurling on the end of the stem so that your thumb doesn't slip off. I carried them for years and one eventually stopped me when I fell off the top of Calvary. I'm pretty sure they're titanium. Available for sale to connoisseurs of historic gear.

That doesn't make sense. HB were based in Bangor North Wales. RP was based in Australia but I've never heard of him making cams...

I think it was Horsham Bruce, they're stamped HB and a friend in Australia sent them to me. 

Forged friends?

As Pedro says: in this instance HB is 'Horsham Bruce', aka Malcolm Matheson - well-known Arapiles hardman.

Titanium looks more like stainless steel, they look like aluminium. Based on my extremely limited experience of anything titanium.

Those came later and the stem was forged and anodised dark grey.

Ahhh interesting! Off to do some research!

Edit.

Wow those really ARE similar!

Thanks for all the replies. I am now fairly sure it is a titanium one. It looks very similar to this picture from a Needlesports article: https://www.needlesports.com/Information/Features/Nuts-Museum/Clockwork-Fri...

This post from Nuts Museum suggests it might be the 2nd version with the thinner stem: https://www.instagram.com/p/C21q4Nntteq

I had exactly the same in size 2, but I found it jammed deep in a crack so no idea when it was made. A mate of mine swapped it for something (a slightly tatty bivvy bag I think?) So left my possession 

All mine have batch codes:-

https://www.ukclimbing.com/forums/gear/wildcountry_website_-_tech_friend_ba...

Sell it. There is an advert for $180 for a Ti 0.5 Friend on ebay!

Now there's a phrase you don't read every day. Gives me the shivers just thinking about it.