Nuts: Simond

The Simonds were a family of man ybrothers working as blacksmiths and who lived in or near Les Bossons, France (near Chamonix). They made farming equipment and cowbells for generations, but gradually began to produce mountain tools for climbers coming from England to explore Mont Blanc.

The Simonds began making ice axes in the 1860s. At that time, their axes had no inscriptions. Eventually the brothers Adolphe (dates unknown) and François (1867-1946) began to mark the axes. head. began to dedicate his work to designing and producing mountaineering equipment such as ice axes and crampons while Adolphe focused on making cowbells and other items.

Francois’s son Claudius (1905-1984).started working in 1925. Under him, Simond soon became a global name in the world of high-altitude mountaineering equipment. After World War II, the business was named after him.

In 1960, Claudius’ son Ludger took over. Since around the 1975s, the ice axes moved to a mass-produced metal shaft, and the form of forged and handmade axes ceased to exist. Ludger built a new headquarters at the foot of Mont Blanc in 1988. He sold his company to Wichard in 2004. In 2008, Decathlon became the sole shareholder of Établissements Simond.

Stoppers

↑ Set 855-859: Simoond Stoppers; #1, #3, #6, #8, #9

Made in France [1980s].
Flat faces.
Anodized aluminum.

↑ 855: Simoond Stopper; #1

Made in France [1980s].
Size: 5x10 mm.
Weight: 6 g.
Flat faces.
Anodized aluminum.
Stamped with "S" and "N 1" on one large face.

↑ 856: Simoond Stopper; #3

Made in France [1980s].
Size: 7x13 mm.
Weight: 17 g.
Flat faces.
Anodized aluminum.
Stamped with "SIMOND" and "N 3" on one large face.

↑ 857: Simoond Stopper; #6

Made in France [1980s].
Size: 11x20 mm.
Weight: 39 g.
Flat faces.
Anodized aluminum.
Stamped with "SIMOND" and "N 6" on one large face.

↑ 858: Simoond Stopper; #8

Made in France [1980s].
Size: 20x29 mm.
Weight: 62 g.
Flat faces.
Anodized aluminum.
Stamped with "SIMOND" and "N 8" on one large face.

↑ 859: Simoond Stopper; #9

Made in France [1980s].
Size: 24x34 mm.
Weight: 80 g.
Flat faces.
Anodized aluminum.
Stamped with "SIMOND" and "N 9" on one large face.

Multicoins

↑ Set 296, 1428: Simond Multicoins; #2–#3

Made in France [ca. 1975].
Not stamped.

↑ 596: Simond Multicoin; #2

Made in France [ca. 1975].
Size: 12x13x16 mm.
Weight: 51 g.
Aluminum alloy.
Stamped with the Simond — Chamonix Logo on the top.
From Miles Bradshaw.

I have two #3 Simond Multicoins. This size (and this size only) has internal features for using it as a descender. I further describe the Simond Multicoin #3 as one of my Miscellaneous Descenders.

↑ 1428: Simond Multicoin; #3

Made in France [ca. 1975].
Size: 15x15x18 mm.
Weight: 62 g.
Designed to be usable as a descender.
Aluminum alloy.
Stamped "MULTICOIN" and "SIMOND No 3." laterally along the top.

↑ 1458: Simond Multicoin; #3

Made in France [ca. 1975].
Size: 15x15x18 mm.
Weight: 70 g.
Designed to be usable as a descender.
Aluminum alloy.
Stamped "MULTICOIN 3" and "SIMOND" longitudinally along the top.

Polycoins

Simond's Polycoins gave a very nice nesting feature that allows stacking them for wider cracks. In our testing the stacking worked very well. We thought this idea was excellent and wonder why it never became popular.

↑ Set 097-097: Simond Polycoins

Made in France [ca. 1978].
Designed to nest for stacking.
In our testing the stacking worked well.
We thought this idea was excellent and wonder why it never became popular.
Aluminum alloy.