Front View: Closed	Rear View: Closed
Front View: Open for Rigging	Rear View: Open for Rigging

Technical Details

I acquired these Walkosz i Spółka ascenders in 2017 as part of Bob Thrun’s collection.

My Walkosz i Spółka ascenders are 196 mm. tall, 88 mm. wide, 25 mm. thick, and weigh 199 g.

The shell is a tall irregular shaped stamping made from 3.7 mm. aluminum alloy sheet metal. A 16 mm. wide rope channel is formed in the upper portion of one side and a smaller cam channel lies opposite the first. A hole drilled through both sides of the cam channel accepts a 6 mm. double-ended semi-tubular rivet. The cam and cam spring are mounted on this rivet.

The handle below the cam has a green plastic hand grip molded into place. The hand grip has four finger grooves. A 13.8 mm. sling attachment hole is punched below the handle opening. This hole is slightly beveled. A 20.1 by 15.0 mm. hole through both sides of the rope channel provides an attachment point just above the cam. A second 13.7 mm. hole above the cam provides a second top attachment point.

The cam is a skeletonized steel casting. The cam radius increases from 39 to 53 mm. over an angle of 36°, giving a 27° cam angle. The cam has number of small conical teeth, all of which have their axes approximately parallel to the lower surface of the cam. The cam face is divided by a vertical slot designed to provide clearance for mud. The tooth pattern is (1S1.2S2)^2(1S1)^4(1.2), where the "S"s stand for the single longitudinal mud removal slot. Like many other ascenders, the inner cam face radius reduces from top to bottom to accommodate various sized ropes.

A spring-loaded manual safety bar is mounted on the bottom of the cam with a steel rivet. The normal action of the spring holds the safety against the cam. When the cam is opened, the shell interferes with the safety bar, thus preventing opening the cam. If the safety bar is moved away from the cam (opposing the spring), it will clear the shell and the cam will open. At full open the safety can be released and the spring will hold the safety against the back of the shell. This provides a means of locking the cam open. A knob on the safety bar assists in operating the safety mechanism. The knob is a two piece mechanism consisting of a threaded rivet fixed to the safety, and a knurled cylinder which screws onto the rivet. This allows the cylinder to be screwed down against the safety where it does not project very far, or unscrewed about 5.3 mm. to make it easier to operate with gloved hands.

The rear of the shell is stamped with with "<WIS>" and "MAX 400 KG."

Comments

This ascender is a direct copy of one of the Petzl Ascension ascenders. Although there are tool marks on the shell, the overall quality is reasonable. Naturally, I would prefer to use the original rather than this copy.

WIS is Walkosz i Spółka, or Walkosz & Co. in English. They are from Bielawa City in Poland. Thanks to Mikołaj Miętek for providing this information.