Objects Database

MOAC on wire

Accession Number

537.2008.1

Object Name

MOAC on wire

Created

27/11/2008

Creator

Hermione Cooper

Accession Date

27/11/2008

Brief Description

'Moac' wedge on looped wire attached to yellow nylon tape. Blue plastic round top of wire.

Materials

aluminium alloy, nylon, plastic

Dimensions

wedge - 3.4(l) x 2.3 (w) x 3.8(h) cms

Number Of Objects

1

Inscription Description

"CWD" handwritten on the yellow tape.

Colour

silver, blue

Maker

Moac

Provenance

A second generation MOAC - this one on wire. We are not sure what - or who - the initials CWD stand for on the tape sling. We do know that a golden rule has been broken as the weight coming onto the wire in the event of a serious fall could 'nip' and cut the tape though the plastic shield is designed to alleviate this somewhat. A better idea was to get rid of the wire and use rope.
Created by Sheffield blacksmith, John Brailsford, the M.O.A.C. was one of the first ever purpose designed nuts for rock climbing,(the first being the Acorn - also invented by Brailsford.) Chockstones and machined nuts were the norm up to the point when MOAC's first appeared in 1962. The first batch were cast in Manchester and finished by Peter Gentil. At the time a guy called Ellis Brigham owned a chain of outdoor shops in the UK which had an import section called Mountain Activities and the first two letters of each word were used to create the name of this new nut - the MOAC - as Brigham had backed the first production run as a financial gamble which seemed to have paid off because millions must have been sold and fifty years later (2012)climbers are still using them. Early versions were more rounded at the four corners and there were smaller production versions later on. They could also be filed down to fit smaller cracks.

Acquisition Date

27/11/2008

Condition Check Date

28/04/2009

Normal Location

Bohuntin

Current Location

Bohuntin

Rules

Spectrum : UK Museum documentation standard, V.3.1 2007

Modified

28/04/2009

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