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Old 16 November 2012, 07:34 AM   #1
Travelller
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Icon17 D9 + ammo = Dangerously good!

Time to stock up on ammo
This has been a small project in the works ever since I got my 233; a vintage Swiss-ammo strap! It took a while to find "the one", because there are a number of excellent strap makers out there working with the ammo. Ammo, like all vintage straps is made from older leather that usually has some history behind it. All so-called ammo straps are made from ammo pouches, that were used by many military services in Europe. Swiss, French, German and Swedish ammo pouches are among the most popular. I saw a lot of killer ammo straps, many (if not most) with their own unique stamped logos and/or dates. A very hard choice indeed, but what tipped the scales was when I was given the possibility of selecting the actual ammo pouch to be used to build the strap... !



D9 - California Dreamin'
Dangerous 9 Straps, or D9 for short, is John the going-back-to-Cali strap maker currently residing in Munich (DE). John works with numerous materials and in fact ammo may be one of the more newer materials in his arsenal. Be that as it may, it didn't take long for him to whip up some killer-looking ammo straps! John has many pouches in stock from several Countries and he lists them all on his blog. If one sings to you, well a couple of emails and roughly eight weeks later you'll be able to wear that very same pouch on your wrist!



The strap is meticulously crafted, the finish is tops. The color of the original pouch was a bit on the light side for my taste and John managed to darken it to my liking. John's screw-in buckles are above-average for aftermarket fare, very nice! My typical strap size is 125/75 but John recommended to go with 130/75 and I'm glad I did. John was gracious enough to provide not one, not two, but three keepers, in the event one gets lost. The keepers are little artworks in themselves and an integral part of the straps overall character. at around 11mm, a decent-sized keeper, but I prefer mine a bit thicker, around 15mm. As such, one keeper is a bit barren, two keepers a bit crowded imho. For now, I'm going with the one keeper.






Vintage + Ammo =
Seeing as this is my first ammo strap, not to mention first vintage strap, take my comments with a proverbial grain of salt. Wearing something with some history to it is pretty damn cool (and isn't this one of the main reasons we love Panerai?). unique markings, stamps and dates only add to the whole appeal! The look of an ammo strap is quite unique; either you love it or don't. Needless to say, John's done a great job with this strap and it looks absolutely fantastic!



Looks aren't everything though and there are a few other traits that come with the territory. For one thing, leather that's been sitting around for years in some dark cellar will, well, smell like it's been sitting around for years in some dark cellar! I thought the oils used by the strap makers would permanently mask any such odors but this appears no to be the case... . No, you won't notice it when the watch is sitting on your wrist... until you raise your fork at the dinner table... The other characteristic of the strap is it's stiffness. Of all my straps, it is the stiffest by far. My Toshi straps are pretty damn thick at almost 5mm, but no where near as stiff at this ammo. In his introductory letter, John states that this is normal and your body heat should be enough to "mold" the strap to your wrist. Well, I'm still working on that... . While all leathers are can easily be scratched during use, the vintage stuff needs a bit more TLC. Just placing the buckle's "pin" in one of the punched holes immediately presented minute cracks in the leather. Hey, it's vintage... .




Got enough ammo?
The jury's still out on whether I'm going to be "hoarding the ammo", but there's little doubt in my mind that John's ammo straps are as good as they come. The photos will hopefully relay his excellent craftsmanship as well as the attraction we have to vintage ammo vibe...







So enough with the chatter, here's some more eye candy...






Some comparison shots with my Toshi straps...









p.s. Oh, and I almost forgot to mention the gummibären...


...and the nice complimentary keychain, made - naturally - from the same pouch...


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