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one of the most beautiful binoculars in history (1 Viewer)

Sweet! Nicely-polished
Love the 1/4-20 tripod threads, too.
Faint amber multicoat, like a 60s camera.

That's sort of the peak of times for Sears extra-wides.
That big-piston stainless focuser is the best design for an x-w.
After that, they had the floppy-armed Discoverer.
 
I'm a little late to the party, but yes they are beautiful! Just hoping I come across a pair someday.
 
Ofuna made some excellent focusers and whole binoculars.

The sculpted one-piece body and precision-piston long-bar focuser
can also be seen in many Swift binoculars, like
the Model 748 Triton and the Model 788 (7x50) Nighthawk.

The Model #704 Swift Sport King (7x35, extra-wide) looks like almost an exact twin to yours.
 
Ofuna made some excellent focusers and whole binoculars.

The sculpted one-piece body and precision-piston long-bar focuser
can also be seen in many Swift binoculars, like
the Model 748 Triton and the Model 788 (7x50) Nighthawk.

The Model #704 Swift Sport King (7x35, extra-wide) looks like almost an exact twin to yours.


yes, they are like, but I'm not sure if Swift 7x35 is adjustable eyecups, besides Sears is covered with skin, which greatly improves the aesthetic experience.
And one more thing, I have two models of the Swift from those years, and I can see that the quality of the finish is better in this model Sears

DSC01297.JPG
 
The Swifts have the same metal-helix adjustable eyecups, but they have a thicker
metal top to that, whereas the Sears has that smooth round plastic top.
That one is in fine shape. Somewhat similar tops on Bushnell Customs are
sometimes cracked from impacts.


Sears had the whole array of almost everything made in Japan then, super to plain.
That would be a "best" in the good-better-best catalog layout.
Well...a zoom might top that price-wise, but I will ignore that horror.
Fine focusers like yours were displaced with floppy arms later...you have the mechanical 'peak'.

I still cherish the flat/sharp field on the Sears Model 6210 8x40. Plainly dressed, though.
Quite a sleeper value.
 
This is a very lovely binocular, indeed! My reading of the s/n seen on the third photo is that the manufacturer may have been JL-B56 (as opposed to 66), which would be Hiyoshi Kogaku. They were the manufacturer of Swift's Audubon series starting in the early 1970s. This Sears model resembles Swift Audubons in many respects, e.g., frame shape, strap lug hinge and location, tripod adapter location, full amber coatings. It also incorporates screw-out eyecup adjustments and knurling used in the 1960s. Absent any other dating information, my guess is that it was made c. 1970 ± 2 yrs.

Ed
 
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yes, they are like, but I'm not sure if Swift 7x35 is adjustable eyecups, besides Sears is covered with skin, which greatly improves the aesthetic experience.
And one more thing, I have two models of the Swift from those years, and I can see that the quality of the finish is better in this model Sears

View attachment 557840

I think the Swift prisms for this model were BK7. This is a very interesting binocular.
 
It isn't unusual for binoculars produced for retailers to
be finer than more famous ones. My best 11-degree 7x35s
were made for Oshman's, a Texas department store.
The 10-deg almost-flat 7x35s I rave about
were made for "King Korn", a midwest-US discount stamp trading company.

Sears is fascinating, because some of their very finest is very hard to trace.
They had everything from almost all the Japanese plants over time.
I'm still trying to understand how their precision models 6210 and 6209 came about.
Their "JB65" has no name on the list.
Some of the best plants may actually have faded away, other than their gems at Sears
or other department stores.



Looks like there is a Sears 10x50 extra-wide that is a sister to these.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/SEARS-DISCO...277-A-Bak-4-/252087014065?hash=item3ab18e92b1
There were more and lower-priced...but an elf may have nipped them.
Not me.... I don't like to go past 70 degrees apparent now.

There are less expensive variants, but they
look like similar optics with a less super-solid focuser.
For the best field you gotta have very solid focusing gear.
 
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Some detailed views of the 6281:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Sea...D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

As can be seen, 10-degree extra-wides,
unibody (probably has a prism carriage), solid focuser design.
Likely to have a nice view but to need cleaning inside
and a bit of re-greasing.

Old 7x50s go quite cheap, but perform very well, to this very day(new)
for the price. That's the nature of the beast. I have compulsively
bought and cleaned .... too many ;-) The contrast and eye relief are
a joy, but that's after a good cleaning. The grease on the guide tubes,
which acts as a dust trap, dries out.

Ones that look like they sat in the back of the closet under stuff
(paint and case are fresh) can be good-to-go, though.

A warning about all the 'metallic-shiny objective' new binocs
(sharper image, vivitar, black series, minolta etc)...they are a horror.
They are extremely dim dark green looking through, and flimsy.
No achromats inside. Why put them in, when only green comes through?
 
If the price is right for you and you get a kick out of using nostalgic binoculars....go for it....most of the time I prefer to used my "antique" bins.....gives that damn warm fuzzy feeling...almost like a snort or two of the Glenlivet...
 
If the price is right for you and you get a kick out of using nostalgic binoculars....go for it....most of the time I prefer to used my "antique" bins.....gives that damn warm fuzzy feeling...almost like a snort or two of the Glenlivet...

Well I like scotch and that warm fuzzy feeling...
 
Hi, Is it the 6281 you have seen? I didn't see one there, but if that is the model 6225 7x35 on there for $39 it looks a reasonable buy, good condition. Would you have taxes to pay on it? If it was in the UK, I would buy that for my collection, but postage, taxes, import duty, and handling charges would make it a bit too high for me, they would add more than $100 to the price, making it too much for one of those.
 
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