Old ice screws

Ola,

I was recently given a box of gear that included two ice screws. They look to be 19cm (pics below). Im hoping to use them for making anchors for ski mountaineering (v-threads). My ice climbing experience is completely hypothetical (based on books and the webernet), but I was wondering if there is a downside to these older screws? Assuming its mostly the weight, maybe more difficult to get started based on how sharp they are, and no spinner?

Im all about an excuse to buy new gear but would be great if I can hang these on my harness for now without getting chuckled at. Will they work for building the occasional v-thread?

cheers,

k

1. Yer gonna die

They look like old Titanium ice screws. They will work for making Vthreads. May be a little
Annoying to get started,.

As said above those are old (circa 1989) Russian Titanium screws. We still use them for ditch screws as opposed to building a V-thread.

Oh and though light, not worth a damn in super hard alpine ice. The teeth cave in. 

They are indeed titanium screws. Most folks that have tried them realize they are next to useless for lead protection. So the Q becomes - are they useful at belays? I say yes. But they will always be a second choice to modern steel (Cr-Mo) screws. As for your specific Q re. V threads - ideally you have a 21 or 22 cm screw for drilling the holes. The extra couple cm can be critical. But the Ti screws are super light, so I wouldn't blame you for carrying them. (Side comment - you only need one to drill a V thread) But there are other limitations you will encounter: the tube is narrower than most any modern screw. Chips of ice tend not to clear through the tube, so you have to stop mid-drill and poke the junk out (use the tail of your rope) and resume drilling. Second problem - being narrower, they drill a narrower hole. If your drilling accuracy is like mine, a bigger hole increase the odds that your holes will intersect with enough clearance to get the rope/webbing/cord through there. Lastly - it looks like your screws might work better if you got them re-toothed to something resembling a modern, aggressive tooth profile. Some older Ti screws have laughably bad teeth. I suspect most re-sharpeners wouldn't touch a Ti screw - for good reason - but they CAN be sharpened with ordinary tools if you're patient.

As has been said; now carried as extra to be deployed as additional bail gear.

Actually hard to place . . . took a bunch of time to get a " it's good"....(anyone else remember?)
Again not ideal, obsolete but a good learning tool that will give you an appreciation of the way modern gear works.

Edit:
I think I've heard that "Special Devivery Story" !?

Many years ago, I worked for a climbing gear distributor which had sourced those very screws from a Russian guy whose name I can’t remember. We prepaid with a wire transfer and were expecting delivery soon, but they were late arriving. We waited and waited, starting to think we’d been played. Then one day a cab pulls up outside the warehouse. The thing is riding low on its springs. A guy with a thick Russia accent gets out, and starts unloading box after box of ti screws just like the ones in this picture. I’m talking hundreds and hundreds of them. The dude must have melted down an entire Soviet submarine hull to make that many. After unloading, the guy gets back in the cab (the meter was running the whole time) and drives away without another word. The whole thing seemed super sketchy, but we batch-tested a bunch of them and they (or at least the hangers) were surprisingly strong. You needed to ratchet the things in by putting your pick through the hanger and using it like a big wrench in anything harder than slush. The screws in the picture above could easily have arrived in that cab.

Summary: not worth the effort to v-thread.  You could easily make three v-threads with a modern screw for every one made with those.

Basically, if you take the time to place one of these, leave it. 

I mentioned re-shaping the teeth upthread. This is what my Ti screw looks like now. I put a winder knob on it too, so in theory it should be OK to place. But the "stuck core" problem is real.

One thing that needs to be mentioned, if it hasn't already is placement.
Because the threads on this type of screw are so shallow, you would need to place them in at minimum, perpendicular to the ice, if not slightly positive.
Again,if you are planning to use these as leavers.

IMHO, you have them already,  My vote is to carry them so unless you have money burning a hole in you pocket for a new ice screw. There is no question that the new ice screws are way better but the old ones do work and for the occasional V thread or anchor and not leading ice or placing them frequently. Plus I think there is some cool factor in old gear.

I don’t understand why you would even consider leaving the ground with those things.

I'd  recommend to consider selling the pair and buying a newer model screw. Somehow there is a market for these, so you'll just about break even according to eBay.  If you were trying to build an ultra-budget rack these could maybe make sense, but it sounds like you just want something to rap off of. You could indeed use them to bail on, or your could carry a single good screw and make v-threads to your heart's desire.

Carlos Danger wrote: I don’t understand why you would even consider leaving the ground with those things.

Considering you may meet the ground with those things...

Back to the topic of carrying a long screw for drilling threads.  $28 will get you one on EBay right now. Search there for item 174124961345

Do you still have them?