Leica LTM Film trimmer templet needed

Leica M39 screw mount bodies/lenses
Get the template if you spool your own (as the OP does), go free-hand with scissors if you buy your rolls. It's really that simple.

Leica, in an obscure, little-read booklet called "Camera Instructions" that came with every IIIf, recommends the template for use in the darkroom, and for "beginners." Apart from that,

The cutting of film may be done with a pair of scissors.
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250swb said:
In another world people would happily guesstimate cutting a leader with a pair of scissors, as Leigh has said. But in 'Leicaworld' to the job it involves a lot of phaff and gadgets and bandwidth. Why?


Steve
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Well, Steve, when I first got a Barnack Leica, I tried the old "cut the leader yourself" bit. First time I did this, I shot all 36 frames on Frame #1. Thought I'd messed up the camera. Pretty much my experience every time I tried the "do it yourself" approach (I dunno-maybe I'm a klutz or something....).

So I got the template, and have had no problems at all since getting it (some 14 years ago). So it was worth it, in my opinion. And I hardly think such a simple item as a template is "phaff and gadgets and bandwidth.".....
 
^ Totally unrelated. Make it a habit to watch the rewind knob (or the little dot on the release, if equipped) and you will know if the film is being transported or not. It has nothing to do with how one cuts the leader.
 
Batterytypehahl: I done did. Film got stuck aNyway--at frame one apparently. Either way, no probs since the template. Res ispa loquitar....
 
You saw the rewind button rotate but the film was stuck at frame 1? I sincerely doubt that. Where would the film go after it leaves the cartridge?

Also, misspelled Latin does not make a convincing argument.

Paul Luscher said:
Batterytypehahl: I done did. Film got stuck aNyway--at frame one apparently. Either way, no probs since the template. Res ispa loquitar....
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ABLON's aren't the only answer.

ABLON's aren't the only answer.

Hi,

There were a lot of other firms making templates to undercut Leitz's prices. Just look around and you'll find them.

R G Lewis made one like the later ABLON's and there's some on ebay from time to time that suggests a batch have been made up recently by someone. I wouldn't be surprised either to discover them made by Summor or Walz.

Regards, David
 
batterytypehah! said:
You saw the rewind button rotate but the film was stuck at frame 1? I sincerely doubt that. Where would the film go after it leaves the cartridge?

Also, misspelled Latin does not make a convincing argument.
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Well, I don't know, buddy. You tell me. You're apparently the expert, as well as quite the Latin scholar.
 
Very mature. Dodging the question with an insult.

I think you should stop interfering in this thread with your off-topic myth, and read up about how to properly load your camera.
 
Look for a Prinz brand template. Much less expensive than an ABLON, more available, and has the extended tongue for cutting the feed spool end.

PF
 
farlymac said:
Look for a Prinz brand template. Much less expensive than an ABLON, more available, and has the extended tongue for cutting the feed spool end.

PF
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Agree that the Prinz is a good template, usually really cheap too, if you find one on eBay.
 
When I bought my first Leica in 1969, as far as I recall films still had the long leader. But as I bulk-loaded, I had to cut the long tongue myself. For the first few years, I didn't have an ABLON, but cut with scissors /by eye (scissors from Swiss Army knife). Since getting the ABLON in the early 1970s (and a cheapo copy I have since lost), I still use the scissors at least as often as I use the ABLON. It just ain't that critical.

Cheers,

R.
 
So much work, and you really don't need it. I have cut my own film leaders for years and never had a problem. Just make sure the film winds on the spool before you slap the bottom on.
 
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Paul Luscher said:
Well, I don't know, buddy. You tell me. You're apparently the expert, as well as quite the Latin scholar.
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Regardless of two minor typing errors in Latin (ispa for ipsa and loquitar for loquitur), he has a point. The only way to make the feed spool (= rewind knob) rotate is to pull film off it. The film has to go somewhere...

Cheers,

R.
 
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