I acquired my Sanko Titan from Paul Brian Scurr in 2006.
The Titan consists of a U-shaped body stamped from 2.5-mm steel, a cam built from five 3-mm steel stampings laminated together, and an attachment arm made from two 3-mm steel stampings, plus a number of minor components, Most of the pieces are chrome plated.
The body is a 104-mm high, U-shaped stamping with a 22-mm wide rope channel. The rope channel is flared outward at the top and bottom. The right side of the body is 55-mm wide. The right side is rolled backward on itself and welded to form a cylindrical channel for an 8.2-mm diameter steel rod that acts as a closure latch for the cam assembly. A 13-mm high notch admits an 11-mm pin attached to the cam. A spring holds the closure latch closed. A pin on the side of the closure latch lets the user pull the latch open to admit the cam pin. A spring-loaded plate hinged to the rear of the body blocks this pin motion to prevent accidental opening.
The left side of the body has two tabs that are rolled backward on themselves and welded to form a cylindrical channel for a 7-mm pin. The cam assembly hinges outward on this pin to open the Titan for rigging. The cam laminations have z-shaped teeth cut to form the cam face: seven on the center lamination and six on each of the others, not counting a long extension at the cam toe. The cam pivot has a hole at one end where the 7-mm hinge pin goes. The other end extends trough the cam to engage the latch mentioned in the previous paragraph. An external retaining clip (E-clip) holds the cam on the pin. A spring tends to close the cam. One end of the spring loops around a pin riveted in the side of the cam, the other fits under a Phillips screw head in the cam axle. There is another rivet near the cam toe to hold the cam laminations together.
The three central cam laminations extend 70-mm from the cam pivot to form the cam arm. A central rivet extends to form a pin on the right side that limits how far the cam can open or close.
The attachment arm consists of two more laminations riveted together at their base. Each is bent outward to sandwich the two sides of the cam arm. A rivet forms a pivoting attachment. There are two tie-in holes. The larger is 20.3-mm and the smaller 16.5-mm. The larger hole is closer to the main rope.
The left side of the Titan is stamped "9111937 PAT." and "SANKO IND.CO. LTD." The right side is stamped with an up-pointing arrow and "UP," "ROPEØ16," "TITAN," "SLIDE CHUCK," "90-1," and "TYPE 82."
The Titan is typical of the stamped-metal rope grabs. It uses a laminated cam like several others. The steel construction makes it too heavy for caving or climbing use, and the complex operating mechanism makes it difficult to operate one-handed.
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©2007, Gary D. Storrick