> my first rope
>was 120 feet of number 4 hawser laid nylon rope manufactured by Kinnears
>in Footscray.
Jeepers. I knew you were an old fart, but am impressed that you've been at it since before kernmantles.
> and my
>five slings were number 2 hawser (as above) and three of them had "nuts".
>Though they were made by myself as my dad had access to a small workshop
>with a lathe and some hexagonal brass stock.
>
In some ways I really wish I'd been around for the era of fabricating your own gear. Seems like it would have been properly adventurous. On the other hand I have a strong aversion to vegetation on rock climbs, which looks like it was the main feature of early climbing. Swings and roundabouts, eh?