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karabin museum
Trad climber
phoenix, az
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Jul 27, 2014 - 03:27pm PT
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A Dolt book of matches sold recently on ebay. I wonder if these Dolt matches are the "DOLTMATCH" listing in the Summit Magazine ad November 1967.
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LilaBiene
Trad climber
Technically...the spawning grounds of Yosemite
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Oct 24, 2014 - 05:27pm PT
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From Dolt's confirmation in 1947...
The descendants of Dolt's foster family continue to take care of him. <3
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karabin museum
Trad climber
phoenix, az
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Nov 22, 2014 - 10:31pm PT
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Presently up for auction on ebay. This one will probably sell for lots of big bucks.
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karabin museum
Trad climber
phoenix, az
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Nov 27, 2014 - 11:23am PT
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This wordage is from the present ebay auction of the piton shown above.
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This Original Dolt Angle Piton was generously donated to help support the ASCA, it's a bare bones nonprofit organization of dedicated climbers who replace unsafe anchors and reduce the visual and environmental impacts of climbing.
A Little bit about the Dolt Piton:
This is an original steel piton hand made by William Feuerer, also know as Bill Dolt (or Doldt) that was created in 1957 for the attempted ascents of the Nose of El Capitan, the first major route climbed on El Capitan. It measures at 7'' long and weighs close to 2 lbs!
'Today, climbers tend to associate The Nose with Warren Harding, who undoubtedly was the driving force behind the climb: the route is, indeed, his masterpiece. However, Harding had numerous companions on the venture, most notably Mark Powell and Bill (Dolt) Feuerer in the beginning and Wayne Merry and George Whitmore at the end.
Aced out of the first ascent of Half Dome in July of 1957, Harding, Powell, and Feuerer began a siege (of the Nose of El Capitan) that continued until November of 1958. Powell was injured on a simple climb, and unable to continue climbing at his previously high standard he slowly dropped out of the climb. Feuerer developed other interests too, leaving Harding to con whomever he could into belaying or portering. The route was the work of many people, but it had been planned from the start by the original three, Harding, Powell and Feuerer.'
NOTE: The picture above is an old parks service photo showing the piton in hand.
Thank you for looking and helping support the American Safe Climbing Association.
On Nov-21-14 at 18:22:04 PST, seller added the following information:
NOTE: In the Parks Service photo you can see Dave Rearick holding the Piton, it was taken shortly after their assent in 1960. This is the very piton used on the diamond to climb D1.
D1 is the quintessential Diamond climb. Sustained and pumpy, some funky rock, great exposure, classic history- simply a great place to be. The first route climbed on the Diamond, it was freed in the late '70s via a horrendous, wet 5.11 chimney above Table Ledge that may still be unrepeated.
There is a lot of history behind this old piton and it would make a great addition to any collection, thanks again for the support.
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karabin museum
Trad climber
phoenix, az
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Nov 28, 2014 - 07:44pm PT
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ebay Dolt Piton sold for $1425.00
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jimthomsen
Social climber
Mammoth Lakes, CA
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Nov 28, 2014 - 09:59pm PT
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I want to add some photos to this thread. I have put them on another, but I think it is important to put these stories in one place.
I first meet Bill Dolt when I was at UCLA. My first day of school (1968) I looked in the newspaper and saw, "UCLA Mountaineers Club, meets daily 10 am to 3 pm." That sort of set the tone of my university years.
In 1970 my brother and I managed a mountaineering shop in Tarzana, California "The Mountain Shop" and Bill would stop by often with new products. We tried to buy everything...and the things that didn't sell we ended up with. Unfortunately neither of us still have all the great items we once owned....probably the many homes, many jobs and too many wives..
He bought his first climbing guide to the high Sierra in Yosemite in 1955 and kept a lit of his early climbs:
Bill would put photos he took next to poems he wrote:
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McHale's Navy
Trad climber
From Panorama City, CA
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Nov 28, 2014 - 10:46pm PT
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Wow Jim, Dolt poems! I see Marty posted a 'gold-plated piton' ad. I'm pretty sure there wss an ad with a photo of the pins also, but I may have just created that in my mind back then too.
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Roots
Mountain climber
Tustin, CA
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ebay Dolt Piton sold for $1425.00
It did...and for a while it's going to slow me down financially, but happy to have acquired it.
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guido
Trad climber
Santa Cruz/New Zealand/South Pacific
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Nice posting Jim, thanks for the memories.
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Gnome Ofthe Diabase
climber
Out Of Bed
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Dec 16, 2014 - 12:33pm PT
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well as a new miner as compared to T H here are some Gems,,,....
B. U. M. P.
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LilaBiene
Trad climber
Technically...the spawning grounds of Yosemite
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Dec 17, 2014 - 06:35pm PT
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karabin museum
Trad climber
phoenix, az
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Dec 20, 2014 - 10:43pm PT
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Happy Holidays everybody!
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karabin museum
Trad climber
phoenix, az
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Jan 25, 2015 - 09:41am PT
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I have copies of three different Dolt catalogs and am wondering if anybody has any others to share.
This catalog has no dates but I believe it is from 1958. Shows a full set of Dolt Angle pitons.
Mark Powell and Kat Pinnacle front cover. 4 pages.
First page at top states, The Dolt Hut Catalogue Supplement #2. Dated March 10, 1960. David Rearick at Stoney Point front cover. 10 pages.
Letter on front cover, dated, June 22, 1967. 12 pages.
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Piner
Mountain climber
Truckee
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Mar 13, 2015 - 07:43am PT
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Just saw a Dolt Holster listed on eBay. Bump for a great thread!
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karabin museum
Trad climber
phoenix, az
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Mar 29, 2015 - 04:25pm PT
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Yes that ebay leather Dolt hammer holster was hard to resist. Very clean Dolt logo stamp and I have no Dolt proof that these were created. This leather Dolt Holster is nicely crafted. All of the edges are rounded, even the slots on the belt plate are sanded smooth. Comparing the Dolt leather holster to other leather holsters: On other holsters the slots on the belt plates were too thin and the hammer holder tube was too soft causing it to collapse.
Dolt Hammer Holsters
Not all of these Dolt Holsters have surfaced yet, but I believe this is the history lineup:
1958 - January 1962: Dolt Holster, leather, small logo stamp, longer belt plate, short hammer holder tube,
copper rivets.
- Jet black
- Medium brown
1966 early - 1966 October: Dolt Super Holster, large logo stamp, only USA stamp, small 5/16 rivets,
brass washers, small belt plate, long hammer holder tube.
- Model B, ebony, firm
- Model W, translucent brown, flexible
1966 Oct - 1967 August: Doltster, large logo stamp, USA stamp, Pat Pend. stamp, small 5/16 steel rivets,
brass washers, all have long hammer holder tubes,
- Model B, ebony, firm, short belt plate
- Model W, brown, flexible, short belt plate
- Model F, blue, firm, long belt plate
- Model K, red, flexible, long belt plate
1967 August(?): Doltster, leather, large logo stamp, small 5/16 steel rivets, aluminum washers,
short hammer holder tube,
- Brown leather
1967 August - 1968(?): Doltster, large logo stamp USA stamp, Pat 208/289 stamp, small steel 5/16 rivets,
brass washers, all have long hammer holder tubes.
- Model B, ebony, firm, short belt plate
- Model W, brown, flexible, short belt plate
- Model F, blue, firm, long belt plate
- Model K, red, flexible, long belt plate
1968(?) - 1971(?): Doltster, small logo stamp USA stamp, Pat 208/289 stamp, large steel 3/8 rivets,
aluminum washers, all have long hammer holder tubes, many different color combinations,
- Model B, ebony, firm, short belt plate
- Model W, brown, flexible, short belt plate
- Model F, blue, firm, long belt plate
- Model K, red, flexible, long belt plate
1968(?) - 1971(?): Doltster, some of the models now have short hammer holder tubes, large 3/8 steel rivets,
aluminum washers, many different color combinations.
- Model B, ebony, firm, short belt plate, short hammer tube
- Model W, brown, flexible, short belt plate, short hammer tube
- Model F, blue, firm, long belt plate, short hammer tube
- Model K, red, flexible, long belt plate, short hammer tube
1972(?) - 1974(?): Dolt hammer holster(?), large Dolt logo stamp, patent 208/289 stamp, large 3/8
steel rivets, zinc plated steel washers, medium nylon thickness, no model letter, no USA stamp.
- White, short belt plate, short hammer holder tube
- White, long belt plate, short hammer holder tube
Bill first created hammer holsters in 1958 and named them the Dolt Holster. The construction was of heavy leather held together with copper rivets. A small Dolt logo was stamped on the belt plate, and it was available in two colors: jet black and medium brown. The 1958 Dolt catalog picture of the holster is important because it shows that Dolt created a small Dolt piton logo die stamp tool in 1958.
On the Straka late 1950s holster you can see that Dolt was already modifying the holster design. The hammer holder tube is positioned much higher up, and the slots on the belt plate are cut longer and at a different angle.
Dolt goes out of business in 1962
Dolt advertises he is back in business July 1966.
I believe that Bill came back to climbing early 1966, and took a greater interest in his hammer holsters. Behind the scenes he created a larger Dolt piton logo die stamp tool, a Made in U.S.A. die stamp tool, and die plates to cut out his two new styles of nylon hammer holsters.
I am not sure how the process of patenting works or when exactly Dolt got the patent numbers to create the patent 208/289 die stamp tool. Dolt applied for the Patent Oct 1, 1966 which was not completed till August 15, 1967. Did Dolt wait until Aug 1967 to start stamping the patent numbers on his Doltsters? I do have a 1966 B ebony holster that is stamped Pat. Pend. on the back. So if he started selling his holsters in July 1966, these holsters would not be marked with Pat Pend or 208/289 stamps?
Dolt in September 1966 was down-playing all leather style holsters stating Replace your sloppy leather holster with a Snappy DOLT nylon holster.
So this is where the ebay Dolt holster somewhat fits in, and creates a mystery as well. On the front of the ebay Dolt holster it has the larger Dolt piton logo stamp. On the back it has Made in U.S.A. stamp, and patent 208/289 stamp. So Dolt didnt get the patent numbers till Oct 1966 when he filed. So if the patent stamp was not used till August 1967, and he was telling everybody to get rid of their leather holsters earlier back in September 1966, then why did Dolt even create this sold on ebay Dolt leather holster? Dolts holster advertising campaign was centered around leather being bad. There is no advertised proof that Dolt made this leather holster for public sale. Maybe he made a few for friends or for climbers that just had to have leather. If this leather holster dates back to 1966, then is shows that Dolt was stamping the patent numbers on his product previous to the patent being finalized. The construction of the leather holster matches the 1966 Model B ebony Pat Pend holster, because both have large Dolt logo stamp, small rivets, brass washers. So it places the ebay leather holster sometime late 1966 to mid 1967. The leather holster is not one of a kind since I found this photo back in 2011.
The July/August 1966 Dolt advertisement mentions two models of holsters available.
The September 1966 Dolt advertisement describes the two holster models:
Model B - ebony (color) - firm nylon
Model W - translucent brown (color) - semi-flexible nylon
Also as a note, looking at the bottom of the Sept 1966 advertisement, already by September 1966 Dolt has his holsters in 25 climbing stores across the United States.
The 1966 model B ebony holster has small rivets and brass washers. The model W holster shown in the photo is a 1968-1971 version with larger rivets and wider slots on the belt clip. The hammer holder tube color on the model W holster is the translucent brown color that Dolt mentions in the advertisement. Both 1966 Model B and Model W holsters had short belt plates and long hammer holder tubes.
I have seen dozens of Dolt hammer holsters over the years, and I am not sure why Dolt advertised certain holsters to be certain colors. For a while I came to the conclusion that the belt plate color determined what the model of the holster was, but over time just the letter stamp is what determined the model, not the color itself. In the later 1960s it seemed like there was no rhyme or reason to the colors. Below is a photo of a 1968 model B two color holster which is stamped with the small Dolt logo. Not sure why Dolt eventually went back to the small Dolt logo stamp instead of keeping the large logo stamp.
October 1966 Summit Magazine Dolt advertisement states that now there are four hammer holster models to choose from. Dolt files for his holster patent Oct 21, 1966.
Below is a Dolt letter (product information sheets) dated January 1967. In this letter Bill gives the history of his holsters and makes his nylon line of hammer holsters solid.
Within the information sheets the logo stamps shown in the pictures, have the large Dolt logo. This proves that in 1966 Dolt created a large Dolt piton logo die stamp tool. Also notice that both the short belt plate and long belt plate holster versions all have long hammer holder tubes.
Four models available:
Model B - ebony - firm, short belt plate
Model W - brown - flexible, short belt plate
Model F - blue - firm, long belt plate
Model K - red - flexible, long belt plate
The reason for making a longer belt plate is for those climbers having long arms which hinder easy hammer access.
Notice on the two Model W holsters in the Steve Grossman photo, one of the hammer holder tubes is shorter than the other. I have not found any solid Dolt proof on why Dolt eventually offered two hammer holder tube lengths.
Below is Summit Magazine Jan/Feb 1967 inner back cover, stating that the holsters are made with Brass washers and steel rivets. In this letter/advertisement Bill is renaming the holsters to Dolsters. Throughout the letter Bill spells it Dolster over and over. But in the same magazine in a different Dolt advertisement the holsters are named Doltster.
Bill discovers his mistake and puts out another Summit Magazine Dolt advertisement, and puts the word DOLTSTER in capital letters. Only one more advertisement for the Dolt hammer holsters was shown in Summit Magazine May issue and then the holsters were not advertised again.
Sometime late 1967/ early 1968(?) Dolt modifies the Doltsters widening the slots on the belt plates and using bigger rivets and aluminum washers.
So while Dolt was around, all the Dolt hammer holsters have been historically colorful, but then these white Dolt holsters surfaced. These white holsters are stamped with a large Dolt piton logo, but have no model letter stamp, and have no USA stamp. They are constructed with steel rivets and zinc-plated steel washers, and the nylon is medium thick between Dolts original holster thicknesses. The hammer holder tube is short. I know that after Bill had passed December 1971, the Dolt Co. still created items for a few more years. I see in the Summit magazines that the Nutcracker was sold through 1975. Bashies and Bolt Hangers through 1973. Besides the sewn goods under the new Dolt logo.
Question for Don (?): Did the Dolt Co also produce these white hammer holsters 1972 - 1974?
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LilaBiene
Trad climber
Technically...the spawning grounds of Yosemite
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Mar 29, 2015 - 08:01pm PT
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Thank you, Marty!!!!!
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mouse from merced
Trad climber
The finger of fate, my friends, is fickle.
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Mar 31, 2015 - 01:37pm PT
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Yes, Marty, all us old "hammers" appreciate your efforts and your sharing.
You qualify for a "Dolt Cheer," a la Country Joe McDonald & his "Fish Cheer."
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