Schwalberg Strapateer

[mdarnton]

Well, I posted this on another forum, but they felt that it interfered with one of their sponsors, so they wiped it. :-(

Like many people, I've regretted not buying a case of Strapateers in the 60s when I'd have had the chance. I sold one, long ago, and still have one, and have been looking for a few years for all the parts to make them. As any Strapateer user knows, they totally mop the floor with the non-adjustable brightly-colored flashy trash now available--fully adjustable, and wearable under a coat, easily unhooked and removed, traditional style, and one color, black, take it or leave it.

Anyway, I found the parts are now mostly available from Tandy Leather, including the hard-to-find snap. They cost about $7 to buy (I also found a nice nylon web elsewhere that I like better, cheaper). The secret leather is called 1/2" saddle lace (it comes in red-brown, but a wipe with india ink followed by an alcohol wipe to equalize the shine takes care of that). Unlike the leather rings in the photo, I'm now using o-rings as keepers. The buckle/slider is their smallest 1/2" buckle with the tongue pulled

It takes about 10 minutes to throw one together, and you don't need the special rivet tools--if you don't mind flattened heads, a hammer works fine.

I'm not selling them, but the parts are here: http://www.tandyleatherfactory.com/en-usd/home/home.aspx and for the nylon webbing, http://www.strapworks.com/default.asp The leather looks cooler, but the webbing is more comfortable.

[Lloydy]

Can you shorten that to a hand carry strap ?

[mdarnton]

The reason I like them is that I can twist it around my wrist a couple of times and carry the camera as if it was a hand strap. If it's not quite short enough, spin the camera once and that reels in a bit of length, too. So the answer is no, but yes.

[mdarnton]

I just turned up this old post on a search for Bob Schwalberg. Since the original, I've made a few changes. First, the webbing didn't wear well, so I abandoned that idea. I'm sure there's a webbing out there that would work fine. I'm envisioning something that has some sort of rubberized wash on it, to keep the fibers from getting ratty.

Second, stealing an idea from someone else, I am using o-rings as strap keepers--they work great.

Third, I finally found a slider that I liked, and that's the stainless steel one from old thin Nikon straps. The straps are very cheap from camera store junk bins, and there are two sliders on each. With the added thickness of leather going through it, the slider doesn't slide well, but you can use it and be sure that once it's set it stays.

[philslizzy]

I've been making exactly the same myself. With added refinements such as the ability to carry cameras with no strap lugs.

this is my original post - with lost photos. I'll try to re-up the pics, check back in a few days.

http://forum.mflenses.com/multi-use-strap-for-vintage-cameras-t65892.html