Front View	Rear View

Technical Details

I acquired this Croatian rope grab from Mladen Skeja in 2013.

This rope grab is 92 mm. long, 109 mm. wide, 27 mm. high, and weighs 288 g. It looks and functions like a Type 1 Lever Cam Ascender, but does not open for attaching to the rope. The frame is stamped from 2.9 mm. steel plate and then painted. The round rope channel has an 18.8 mm. diameter. There is a 38.5 mm. tall opening in the lower spine, opposite the cam.

The cam is made from a 509 mm galvanized steel plate, with a thinner 2.5 mm. plate riveted on each side at the cam face. The central piece has six teeth-forming grooves. The side pieces also have six such grooves, but they are not aligned with the groves in the central piece, and the teeth extend farther than those in the center. The eye has a 31mm. internal diameter. The axle is a 9.9 mm. diameter steel pin press fit to the cam. A wire spring acts to close the cam by pressing down on the top of the cam. The other end of the spring hooks over a 2.9 mm. brass tube pressed in near the top of the shell.

One side has a sticker with an up-pointing arrow, "UP," "HAUT," "OBEN," "CODRE," "D=12mm," and "E 353/2. The other side has "CE 0333" and a logo made out of two block letter "F"s. The cam is stamped "040699."

Comments

The opening in the shell is interesting. It increases the holding power of the rope grab by causing the rope to flex and press against the sharp edge left by the cutout. The edge looks too sharp for my peace of mind, especially for a device designed to catch falls. I worry about cutting the rope.

The cam spring is very weak. It will not close the cam if the ascender is turned upside down, so apparently it applies less force on the cam than the weight of the eye.