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I acquired my Black's, Version A from Frank Brown in 2008.
Version A is made from a length of 6.95 mm. steel rod bent into shape and welded. This eight is 141 mm. tall, 59 mm. wide, and 8 mm. thick. The rope hole is 53 mm. high and 45 mm. wide. The top center thickness is 7 mm. The shaft length and width are 35 mm. and 13 mm., respectively. The eye measures 39 mm. by 34 mm. Version A weighs 106 g.
There are no markings on this eight.
This is one of the few commercial welded steel rod figure eights. Although made from thin rod, this eight feels quite solid. I don't like running a rope over such a small diameter, but the eight is probably strong enough.
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I acquired my Black's, Version B from Frank Brown in 2008.
Version A is made from a length of 1/4" (6.45 mm.) steel rod bent into shape, welded and then plated. is 139 mm. tall, 63 mm. wide, and 7 mm. thick. The rope hole is 58 mm. high and 51 mm. wide. The top center thickness is 6 mm. The shaft length and width are 39 mm. and 12 mm., respectively. The eye measures 29 mm. by 26 mm. Version B weighs 87 g.
There are no markings on this eight.
This is another welded steel rod figure eight. The rod is thinner than the rod used in Version A. I am not sure that there is a difference between this eight and the Fisher, Version A - certainly the finish on the two look similar, even as far as the corrosion. There are considerable dimensional variations between the three eights (two Blacks and the Fisher, Version A), so I cannot use those to help reach a conclusion.
The Blacks, Version B is lighter than most figure eights. I don't like the thin steel construction - it places too sharp a bend on the rope and lacks sufficient heat dissipation capability for my taste.
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