Mechanical Permanence
The terrific combat reporter C. J. Chivers, who has written what looks like a great syncretic narrative of the Kalashnikov rifle, maintains a blog where he posts notes and marginalia from both his book and his embedded reporting. In one of his posts, Chivers shares a snapshot of the receiver of a rifle bearing a 1954 factory stamp:
What makes that interesting? This particular rifle was more than a half-century old that day I made this picture, and it was not in a reserve armory or a museum. It was still in active use, and was carried on this day, a few years ago, by an Afghan soldier on a joint Afghan-American patrol in Ghazni Province. Can you think of tools that last this long, or that you expect to? Your pickup truck? Cell phone? Refrigerator? Television? Laptop? Do you own anything that was manufactured in the 1950s and still is in regular, active use in your life? Sure, there are examples. (The original toilets in older buildings are one; older electric lamps are another, although many antique lamps have been rewired by their owners, so maybe they don’t count.) When set against almost all products, the list is not large.
This inventory of which machines endure explains a lot about why some of us enjoy guns. A well-maintained rifle, shotgun, or handgun will continue to perform what is expected of it more or less the same after twenty, thirty, fifty years. Firearms offer a shelter from planned obsolescence, so prevalent everywhere else in our material culture.
But there's one more piece of technology that belongs next to guns in Chivers' inventory of durable tools. I mean the book, of course.
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Re: Mechanical Permanence
Matt, a friend of mine owns a Mosin-Nagant, which for those who don't know, is a Russian/Soviet rifle, produced from the late 1800's to the mid 1900's. It uses a 7.62 round, and my friend still fires the thing. It's as indestructable as Grandma's fruitcake. Powerful weapon, the first shot might dislocate your shoulder. But not to worry, the second shot will reset it just fine.
Jul '10
Re: Mechanical Permanence
"But there's one more piece of technology that belongs next to guns in Chivers' inventory of durable tools. I mean the book, of course."
Oh come on, Matt. Get with the times, we've got WEPads and Candles now. I mean, what on earth do we need physical copies of texts for. It's not as if the digital content could just disappear. Right?
http://gawker.com/5317361/deleting-is-publishing-and-amazon-never-removed-1984-from-your-kindle
Re: Mechanical Permanence
Dave:
I have one of those!
May '10
Re: Mechanical Permanence
Ach! I can feel you dragging us back to the twee, hand-crafted mountain cabin place. But I for one won't take the bait.
I will just say this is a great post.
And I was thinking something similar last Saturday morning when our fancy Cuisinart (brushed steel, doncha know) coffee maker just decided (as if by preset microchip) to stop working. I found myself wishing for the days when coffee makers (and lots of other things) were strictly mechanical.
Re: Mechanical Permanence
Trace,
Get some earplugs and old flowerpots and I'll show you "twee..."
Re: Mechanical Permanence
Oh man, now my Ricochet sidebar is nothing but guns, guns, guns. Everything I post from now on should be understood as crude attempts to dictate the advertising I'm presented with.
Re: Mechanical Permanence
Same here. I will now start posting about cheap vacations to Hawaii.
Jul '10
Re: Mechanical Permanence
Sporks are indestructible.
Now let's see if I get a pop-up ad for sporks.
Maybe the Lady GaGa edition....
Edited on Sep 16, 2010 at 9:16pmRe: Mechanical Permanence
There's a special place in heaven for writers who can provide quite that delightfully sharp a turn in a final line.
Re: Mechanical Permanence
Not that I'd ever want to use a book in this way, but let's face it: you can't smash a spider with an iPad. Note: this fact becomes nontrivial upon marriage and fatherhood.
Jul '10
Re: Mechanical Permanence
I second your caveat, but you can't let a teething baby chew on it, either.
May '10
Re: Mechanical Permanence
Well if we can include books as "devices" then we might add musical instruments (the acoustic kind) many of which get better with age. I've guitars that were made in the '60s, and that's pretty commonplace.
I have also got a very nice watch that my grandfather wore, and there are some other older mechanical clocks amongst my siblings. Like guns, old clocks can be wonderfully crafted machines. Quite beautiful to my both aesthetic and engineering senses.
Re: Mechanical Permanence
A few years back I inherited a battered 1946 lever action Marlin 336 carbine chambered for.30-30. After a thorough cleaning it worked just fine. My sons and I enjoy shooting their grandfather's New Jersey deer gun at the local outdoor range two or three times a year. It's the oldest working tool we own.
May '10
Re: Mechanical Permanence
Great post. I wonder if there's any lesson lurking in the background about the inherent defects of communism. Why couldn't the Soviets build cars or bake bread with the same results? Might it be that their arms industry was given something more like a free market, entrepreneurial incentive? I'd be interested to know.
At least we Americans have unchallenged primacy in handguns. I'm not aware of any Eastern Bloc pistol that was worth a flip.
Jun '10
Re: Mechanical Permanence
Matt Frost: Dave:
I have one of those! · Sep 16 at 8:56pm
As do I. The gun was first manufactured in 1897 as the standard battle rifle for the Czarist army. Keep in mind that it was designed for an army of Russian peasants, which rather explains the need for built in simplicity and durability. The platform can be a bit clumsy at times (don't trust the safety!), but the 7.62 x 54R round is highly serviceable with ballistics comparable to the 30.06. Our troops are still picking them up in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Re: Mechanical Permanence
Thanks, Peter! Matthew Gilley: it sounds like Chivers' book covers that very question.
Jun '10
Re: Mechanical Permanence
My preference for handguns is the model 1911, which will be celebrating its 100th anniversary next year. I've noticed a trend recently with police departments in my neck of the woods that are moving to the 1911 for the greater stopping power afforded by the round .45 ACP. You really can't beat anything designed by the legendary John Browning. It would seem that the science of ballistics reached a pinnacle about a hundred years ago. Any "improvement" since then is largely tweaking around the edges for purposes of marketing.
I know that Dave is fond of the .357 magnum which certainly has its uses. I'm just a wee bit leery (especially in an urban area) about a round with superior penetration that doesn't necessarily offer the advantages of a larger caliber. The .357 will go through a bad guy, his accomplice, a wall, and into your neighbor's house if you're not careful!
Edited on Sep 17, 2010 at 5:41amAug '10
Re: Mechanical Permanence
Good guns are the ultimate tool par excellence. They can give you food and save your life; terrify your enemies and earn their respect if you know how to use them well. They're not much different than Zeus's thunderbolt.
They've been evolving since 1400 and have reached a level of perfection not yet attained by many other works of man. Antique guns are often worthy artworks of magnificent craftsmanship and beauty; French bronze naval cannon; the Kentucky flintlock rifle, the Henry rifle, the Colt 1847 Navy and 1876 Peacemaker, the German Luger, and my fave Browning Model 1911 .45 auto.
The Gatling chain guns of modern aerial warfare are practically the Wrath of God.
Jul '10
Re: Mechanical Permanence
Here's a great article by Jeremy Clarkson on the same kind of thing.
Jul '10
Re: Mechanical Permanence
Another good one on engineering by James May.