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Grand Rapids, Michigan
USA
Rover Haven is a maker of custom shell cordovan watch straps.
Light hearted writing about watches, life, and the intersection of watches and life.
The semaphore scouts are overlooked and fun to collect. Part 2 documents some of the rarer variants, highlights a repair project, and adds to the world’s only database of knowledge for the people who collect these knives. All three of us.
Read MoreWho would have thought that an inexpensive vintage French chronograph would set off a decade-long quest for the best even-numeral dialed watches (besides my long suffering spouse)? The French beauty from Elgé, the Chamonix, is the latest. But is the beauty more than skin deep?
Read MoreCollectors will celebrate the return of the humpbacked 6-bladed scout/camp knife from Böker. Or will they?
Read MoreShopping for your Ultimate Tool Watch and can’t decide between a German pilot or a British diver? You really can’t go wrong with either the Laco Hamburg or the Christopher Ward Green Fifteen, but you should read this anyway.
Read MoreThe grooviest, most shagadelic new skin-diver from Guinand is a hit. Yeah baby, yeah!
Read MoreAnother family heirloom finds a home at Rover Haven when a Hamilton caliber 912 Farragut is converted for wrist wear. Wondering what to do with your old family watch? Service it, wear it, write it down.
Read MoreClassic Michigan adventure requires an old school scout/utility camp knife. The Friedrich Hartkopf 527 Militärmesser is a recently discontinued modern classic, the perfect tool for camping. And what better watch to pair it with than a modern classic from Omega, the first-gen Seamaster Planet Ocean, ref 2209.50. Read on for off-the-beaten-path exploration and the misadventure that sometimes comes with it.
Read MoreA week on the wrist with the brilliant Hamilton Fab Four re-issue. No ugly date window? Not too big? What’s going on here? Read on to find out more about the more or less perfect Khaki Aviation Pilot Pioneer Mechanical Chronograph.
Read MoreIn which the author’s Zenith CP-2 comes back home for a long overdue weekend-on-the-wrist review, and buy-back dibs are finally leveraged. Bourbon tasting, a road trip, and the perfect watch. What could be better?
Read MoreThe collector of the classic American four-blade scout/utility knife will find exciting collectibility with the overlooked Camillus semaphore knives. Produced for at least 20 years under a dozen different brand names, the semaphore scouts are a treat for those who love little details.
Read MorePart 2 of an ongoing series on one of the most beautiful pocket knife patterns of all time. The 6-blade humpback sportmesser is turning 100 sometime soon, and to celebrate, Rover Haven is here to give guidance on how to date your vintage Böker 182 and share a few special humpbacks from other Solingen makers along the way.
Read MorePart 2 in a two-part article on the Boker 9361 scout/utility knife. This part picks up the story in the mid-1960’s and carries it through to the end, covering several changes of Boker ownership. The 9361 kept its basic format, but the devil is in the details of tang stamps, nail nicks, and Tree branding. Under Cooper Group ownership in the 1980’s, quality plummeted, but it ended on a good note with some very unusually marked knives assembled in Germany.
Read MorePart 1 of a two-part article on collecting a classic American pocket knife, the Boker 9361. Produced from the mid-1920’s to the late-1980’s, this four-blade scout/utility knife has been carried by scouts, soldiers, engineers, campers, and handymen for six decades. While the basic format remained the same over the years, its consistent quality and numerous variations produced give the 9361 wonderful collectible potential.
Read MoreIn which the author rediscovers the pleasures of time spent with good friends, a good watch, and good whiskey. A post for Oris fans, bourbon fans, and people who never give up on going home.
Read MoreIt’s 1967 and you’re planning a multi-week camping trip by Jeep and canoe. What wristwatch and pocket knife do you bring? Two timelessly classic tools are paired and put to use, the Omega Seamaster 300 ref 165.024 and the Case Model 6445R scout/utility knife. Swiss brilliance and American muscle pair up to get the job done, while an old father-son canoe path is re-paddled.
Read MoreMany collectors will be familiar with the Böker Model 182 and its characteristic humpback shape. But a deeper dive reveals many more historical makers of the pattern. Fans of traditional American scout and camp knives, the Victorinox Spartan, and Confusing Fall Warbler-esque collector rabbit holes may find themselves seduced by the song of the humpback.
Read MoreWhat starts out as a simple and well-intentioned effort to settle down with a single Seamaster To End All Seamasters goes from clear sailing to troubled waters, and back again, when three SM300’s show up in a single month. Sometimes you have to ask yourself how you got here.
Read MoreThey say variety is the spice of life, but SAK collectors can have a tendency to be pretty salt-and-pepper. But with a little research and a couple well spent dollars, the weary SAK collector can discover a world of French and German scout pattern knives. Rich variety, legacy, and craft await. A post for the SAK enthusiast willing to stray from the crowd.
Read MoreSAK collectors in search of variety may seem a contradiction in terms, but there are interesting and obtainable English, French, and German alternatives. Here is a post for collectors and accumulators of scout-pattern knives who are tired of the usual fare, and who have probably never heard the name Pradel.
Read MoreIf you were taking a six-month road trip and could only take one watch, what would it be? Introducing the Guinand Flieger Chrono Klassik, an amazing wrist companion that ticks all the boxes. Lovers of feature-rich wrist instruments and amazing German quality, read on.
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