Anyone have any Paddy fingers?

[Chris]

Friends who moved to Tassie from Brisbane are trying to replace the Paddy fingers (apparently a gadget for lifting a billy by its handle) which they decided not to bring with them as they could easily be replaced here. They were wrong - apparently no longer available - but someone has offered to make a replacement if they can find one to copy. I thought it may be worth asking here if anyone has one to lend or sell.
Incidentally, Googling Paddy fingers produces some unexpected results

[Moondog55]

Me
I actually have a set in really good condition [ IF I can find them that is] What are they offering as a sale? Otherwise happy to post at your expense both ways as a loaner. Probably cheaper to buy them from me.

[Chris]

That's great Moondog, thanks. I've no idea what they're worth, but suspect my friends will agree buying would be the best solution, unless of course someone in Tassie has one. Will check with them and pm you, but may be a few days before I can make contact (back in Qld) .

[Moondog55]

No problem Chris, don't forget I am away between 01 August and 21 August so the sooner the better, now I need to go find them LOL

[ribuck]

Also known as "billy grips" "pot lifters", "pot grippers" or "spondonicles" if you're googling for them. Available as a Trangia spare part from any Trangia agent.

[Moondog55]

PaddysfIngers are not the same as the Trangia pot lifters, they are an older design made from hard steel wire and much longer that the Trangia unit as Paddy 's are designed to use on open wood fires.
They do the same job and probably weigh the same tho

[Moondog55]

Trangia 50 grams
Paddys fingers 100 grams

[bernieq]

Co-incidence is often surprising - I’d not heard of either term (paddy fingers or spondonicles) until a few weeks ago when reading an article in an old (1987) Walk edition. Then, today I see this thread.

Below is an extract from an article by Graham Wills-Johnson on bushwalker language :
"Prondonicles" get me into a lot of trouble. Boring people call them billy tongs, and while tongs is (are?) standard English, I suppose one would have to take another look at the word billy by the time we got to the more boring details of the project. I had always known them as "Paddyfingers", which of course is a brand name, when in 1974 we met a party of students from Macquarie University at Bathurst Harbour who were flourishing the word "prondonicles" around instead. The only explanation they could give was in the well-known Australian tradition of cutting down tall poppies - that they refused to use the brand name of a firm whose success has been so synonymous with the development of the occupation itself.Note that the word here is prondonicles.

BTW, some great reading, Walk issues can be downloaded from : http://mbw.org.au/MBW_walk_magazine.php
Thank you to the people who have made these available.

[Chris]

Your post prompted me to google prondonicles, which I had never heard of until seeing the name on this thread (though had never heard of Paddy fingers until last Sunday). The first 4 references are to this forum, the first to the Wiki, but your extract from "Walk" contradicts the Wiki source of the name
http://bushwalk.com/wiki/index.php/Prondonicles

As for Spondicals - it's fascinating - only 3 references, from mesothelioma in rats to poetry!

[ribuck]

As for Spondicals - it's fascinating - only 3 references, from mesothelioma in rats to poetry!

I get those same 3 references, plus a helpful "Did you mean: spondonicals?" which leads to the expected 3220 results!

Dave Noble has a great blog post about the origin of the name, with a suggestion the name might have originated in an old Three Stooges skit.

[Chris]

Me
I actually have a set in really good condition [ IF I can find them that is] What are they offering as a sale? Otherwise happy to post at your expense both ways as a loaner. Probably cheaper to buy them from me.

PM sent.

[Chris]

Paddy fingers/spondicles arrived safely today thanks to Moondog55