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Discussion of diving methods and equipment available prior to the development of BCDs beyond the horse collar. This forum is dedicated to the pre-1970 diving.
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ScubaLawyer
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Help me identify these fins

Mon Jul 11, 2022 10:28 am

Hello all you smart vintage folk out there! Still scanning old family photos and came across this one of yours truly at less that 1-year of age seriously contemplating this thing I am holding and looking for ways to modify it. Any Idea of the brand of this particular fin. I did not see it in any of the 1950's Voit or US Divers catalogs. Thought at first it might me a Voit SailFin but it does not match the pictures. Other than facial hair, my body style really hasn't changed all that much over time. :)

Image
"The diver who collects specimens of underwater life has fun and becomes a keen underwater observer. .. seek slow-moving or attached organisms such as corals, starfish, or shelled creatures." (Golden Guide to Scuba Diving, 1968) :D

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captain
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Re: Help me identify these fins

Mon Jul 11, 2022 10:53 am

I can't give you an actual name but they were common as a play fin in the 50's. Usually sold at souvenir shops in beach areas and local what was called five and dime stores.
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BigSwell
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Re: Help me identify these fins

Mon Jul 11, 2022 3:16 pm

They kind of look like "AMF Voit Sail-Fins"
AMF Voit Sail-Fins.jpg
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antique diver
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Re: Help me identify these fins

Mon Jul 11, 2022 8:35 pm

Here's a similar pair of fins that I have recently used.
Image
The older I get the better I was.

ovalis
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Re: Help me identify these fins

Tue Jul 12, 2022 10:31 am

Looks like Healthways Web Feet to me
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Britmarine
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Re: Help me identify these fins

Tue Jul 12, 2022 10:59 am

ovalis wrote:
Tue Jul 12, 2022 10:31 am
Looks like Healthways Web Feet to me
Thank you for posting about a non-regulator item. I believe Ovalis is right in identifying the fins as Web Feet. There appear to have been two versions of such fins, the Healthways model and the Walter model. They are not completely identical in appearance: look at the way the radiating ribs on the blades meet on the top of the foot pocket in the case of the Healthways, while they converge at the front of the foot pocket in the case of the Walter.

The Healthways Web Feet would have been made in the USA, while the Walter Web Feet were made in Hong Kong during the 1950s by Wah Tai Rubber Company of Kowloon. Which matches best the original picture of the infant with the fin remains unclear. Article about Wah Tai diving equipment below.
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ScubaLawyer
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Re: Help me identify these fins

Tue Jul 12, 2022 10:53 pm

Thank you gentlemen! I knew someone on one side of the pond or the other would puzzle out the answer. While I am no longer the size of the infant seen in the photo, my wife often calls me infantile (particularly with regard to my eloquent sense of humor that manifests itself in "dad" jokes.) :)
"The diver who collects specimens of underwater life has fun and becomes a keen underwater observer. .. seek slow-moving or attached organisms such as corals, starfish, or shelled creatures." (Golden Guide to Scuba Diving, 1968) :D

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