Antique World War I Monocular Restoration - Carl Zeiss Jena
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 5 ก.พ. 2025
- This week I restored this World War I monocular used by the Germans and made by Carl Zeiss. It’s a pleasure to restore such a high quality piece of optics. There is a lot of dust and dirt inside so you can barely see anything through the lens. The surface needs some restoration as well.
I decided to leave the eye piece assembled because it was constructed so that I would have had to damage it to disassemble and I wasn’t sure I could put it back together as well as it was. Also I didn’t see any major dirt or other reason inside to give me an excuse to risk it.
After the disassembly I cleaned the brass parts with ketchup and then polished those with wool wheels and polishing compound. Ketchup is a great way to remove patina from brass. It contains vinegar and also some enzymes which help with removing the oxidation. It also doesn’t smell and it is readily in easy to apply formula. Vinegar is also more aggressive which could leave to damage to my unoxidized brass.
The aluminum sheets or caps from the ends of the monocular body were stripped from paint and sanded down and polished as well. The one with text was sanded with 250, 400, 800, 1200 and 2000 grit sand paper. With the one with the text I started lightly from 400 to preserve the text.
I also tried paint stripper for the monocular body but the texture on it didn’t come off well. It only softened a little. I decided to scrape most of it off with a screwdriver and then remove rest with scotch bright wheel. I didn’t have to bee too careful not to scratch the body because I would cover it in leather anyways.
Other parts were cleaned with acetone.
To cover the monocular with leather I had to first sand the leather a little thinner. I tried to press it evenly on the belt sander. This was very slow process. I probably should have used rougher belt but I had never done this before. Then the leather was soaked in water to allow me to streck it to the shape of the monocular. This made it much easier to glue it on.
I mixed some silicone with a little of acetone to make it flow better and used a syringe and a needle to apply a thin line to seal the ends during the assembly. Hopefully this will reduce the collecting of dust inside the monocular so the visibility will stay as good as I got it.
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i am from Jena! so this piece was actually made in my hometown a long time ago...
Me too!
Dude, I love your videos. Just recently i have had trouble sleeping and seeing things being taken apart and put back together has helped me so much, especially during college. The restoration videos for consoles actually helped me figure out the problems with a gamecube and Gameboy Advanced I found in my landlord's basement and how to fix them. Your style of videos may not be flashy or attention getting, but the style of them is so comforting and educational! It's a part of why i'm starting to get into restoration!
(I know that this probably won't get seen but I just needed to write it anyway.)
Watching you restoring historical artifacts is very satisfying.
ruining you mean
@@jero1998 Nope.
@@jero1998 on this occasion i fear you are right, shall we call it the Portobello Market restoration syndrome where everything is polish to death and beyond. Although the work is of its usual, and expected, high standard, a matt/satin black finish would be more in keeping with an historic artefact, bling bling not so.
@@chrisstephens6673 i agree, besides that, repainting it would decreese the valeau aswell. he should only have kept it at cleaning the prism and lens. sad to see many wartime objects being ruined by the "polishing disease"
are you zeref
You’re a meticulous and gifted craftsman. Thank-you - for resurrecting the artifacts of our heritage into a useful new life, a life that can be shared with future generations. Thanks too... for sharing these skills with the rest of us, it’s a noble endeavor.
I was a optical instrument repairman in the US Navy 1956. You did a great job!
Would you be interested in designing a new monocular for us?
@@pythonoptic I think it would be fun but at 84 I don't have the equipment anymore. In the day I built a lot of optical equipment.
@@zpoedog Just let us know what you need
@@pythonoptic Thanks but no thanks.
I notice the monocular was supposed to "zoom" from 4x20 but didn't see any evidence of that function. He stated that turning the adjustment ring was just for focus. Did we miss something?
With the vast array of restoration TH-cam videos, from aircraft right down to something as simple as this. This more fascinating the restoration of a car. You would not think something so simple as this would besore entertaining. I could watch this all day it's clever and doable to the average Joe.
I’ll be honest, it took me a few seconds to realize that by “liquid ice” you just meant water. I thought it was some cleaning product called Liquid Ice
Join the club
Same
you must be new to the channel :)
Yes, it's condensed steam.
Yeah, strange name for the hydric acid XD
I have such huge respect for people like you who see these items in terrible condition and think "yes, I can give this a new life" especially something seemingly useless or unwanted like this monocular. Being that it's from ww1 I'm surprised it survived this long and I'm very happy to see it looking new again.
6:18
Me: Is that ketchup? No its probably something else that looks like ketchup
"The vinegar and enzymes in ketchup will help me clean the brass"
me: ....oh....
I thought that too🤣🤣🤣🤣
That was such a big brain moment. Ketchup...
Sameee
Made the exact same comment... great minds.
Yeah me too LOL 😂😂
It's 2:30am, and I've been watching your videos for an hour. I should be sleeping, but I have to see how this thing looks before I fall asleep. Thank you!
8:38 loved the reference
one lens to rule them all
🎆🐲🎇👍👍🍻
Look like ring and sonic the hedgehog
yeah why did he do that for, I don't get it
@Dillinger R. don't know if you mean it seriously or not but if yes its a lord of the rings refrence
One ring to rule them all!
Nice restoration! It’s a sight to behold.
You're like that cool uncle that is always tinkering in the garage. I admire your knowledge and skills. Please keep the videos coming! :)
Zeiss -Jena made incredible high quality and sharpness optic devices, you not only have a piece of history from WWI, you have too an excelent monocular.
As soon as I saw the brass ring, I said, “One ring to rule them all!” And then you disappeared 😂
I did the exact same 😂
This is the comment I came looking for.
👍👍😁😁Cheers 🍻
🎆🎇🐲
Like as soon as it was shiny I was imagining the eye staring down from the tower then the ring was put on and everything went dark
Hah me too!! Exactly what I did lol
Nerds
This is in surprisingly fantastic condition for something more than 103 years old
Chug
Chug
Good condition? If I cut your car in half, would you say it's still in good condition? It's a broken in half pair of binoculars. I have that very model......or should I say mine is complete lol ;-)
They built quality back then. That means that if maintained or serviced correctly it will last.
"All the tools will be linked in the description" no link to the liquid ice
lmao
IKR SMH how am I supposed to get liquid ice now?
Liquid Ice is only available to trained professionals.
I think you can make it at home
I also heard in the news that they found some Liquid Ice on Mars some time back. 😉
Great job of restoration and also a tribute to the craftsmen at Carl Zeiss. One of the finest makers of optical instruments in the world. Again wonderful restoration work. I enjoyed every second.
This has to be one of my favorite videos of yours that I've seen. Amazing restoration!
My grandfather worked for Carl zeiss Jena. Greetings from Germany!
I absolutely loved this video. I laughed harder than a fail compilation watching this. The ring thing? That was so awesome!! Mad props for that. And liquid ice! I laughed immeditely because it took me a second to see what you did there. Bravo!!
I adore this channel because of the variety of objects being restored. I haven't seen any other restoration channel dealing with leather.
What a beautiful job you've done! The view through it is so clear compared to before, and the leather looks so very nice. I got a good chuckle out of the Liquid Ice and the One Ring, your videos always make me smile. Thank you for that! =)
Not to mention the ace tone
One of the best optics manufacturer out there. Great job restoring their part of history. That most don't know. They make some of the best camera lens not yet most don't know the history, And most don't know that Zeiess started with sniper scopes. Which is funny cause they make some of the best lens for cameras now yet most don''t know the history on the cmapany. And yes if you can pay for it still still makes scopes yet they are the high end of price just like their camera lens,.
This is a great th-cam.com/users/postUgkxc4K63Fd5LglDMObu7-Bgapxp_ef0W8hE monocular. It adjusts easily and works well in most conditions. I attached a pic of the view through my phone (iPhone 13 max pro). With some more adjustments it would probably be fine. I would just use this by holding up to my eye and forget trying to capture pics through my phone. It comes with an attachment piece to your phone, a tripod, a lanyard, cleaning cloth and a holster that can be worn on your belt. Overall the image quality is good.
Very nice restoration. I would have been very nervous taking that optical assembly apart, but you showed it’s pretty straightforward. The leather and sealant were nicely done. The ketchup cleaning was a new one to me. Should be able to get another 100 years out of this!
For a second I was like “Is that ketchup?!?” It is
Yes, is ketchup. The vinegar and enzymes clean the brass.
you must be new to the channel :)
It is also useful for cleaning copper.
@@LucianoGardim Except in not one video has it helped one iota more than what regular cleaning would have accomplished. It is just one of those stupid tricks that cropped up on one of those "life hacks" channels years ago and everyone keeps doing it. Despite the fact that it really is just worse than basically every other method. I could accomplish in 2 minutes with acetone, rubbing alcohol or just plain soap and water what the ketchup did in an hour.
@@cuttwice3905 It really isn't.
Nicely done. And great photography as usual. The One Ring referrence was very cool... Thanks.
From the headlines of the newspaper, he's from Finland.
Yes I am
@@OddTinkering I'm from Brazil. City of Bauru.
Finalmente um brasileiro
@@samueljorge231 Eu tbm sou brasileiro
and he's an ex convict, we don't have much information about it though. some say he killed a guy with just a bottlecap of a minttu bottle
You are now officially one of my favorate youtubers
lt is quite amazing for me to see you using the liquid form of ice. pretty cool
Its actually not ice or cleaning product but its water if u want to know
this was the finest representation of restoration. carl zeiss is synonymous with leica and contax,
The Lord of the Rings joke was great 😊 Hienoo jälkee.
8:38, by the way
Did you mean to say great afterwards or something else because that doesn’t make sense
It means ”Good job.” In Finnish.
I absolutely love your videos. I myself enjoy restoring old trinkets. One of my favorite things to do. Thanx for sharing it's so relaxing watching you do these
I like how it doesn't look to brand new just. I like new old stock restos like this
This guys sense of humor is on another level
the one ring reference was a nice touch xD
Nice little restoration, its giving me some ideas for getting some WWII binoculars I've got done up.
l love what you do and the things you restore are incredible before and after, l really love them all
I like vermuch for recycling the old one to new one I appreciate your effefort and workmanship
"Liquid Ice" made me question my existence.
SAME I was like wtf kinda chemical is LIQUID ICE I’ve never heard of it that was 2 weeks ago
Now I just feel dumb
"Liquid Ice" ya mean water? 😂
@@Ekvorivious no shit
😀😀😀😀 Liquid ice..... Lol.. 😄😄
This Liquid from planet Saturnus
I just realized ...LIQUID ICE . Oh dear i must be losing it . Well , i will soon be 69 .
Imagine what has been seen through that thing, where is has been and what it went through. Amazing to see it still exists.
it killed allies
@@chrisstath8268 It spotted allies. It is not a gun.
bouta see deep into 2020 with these.
I have the same Carl Zeiss (just in binocular version) after my great-grandfather. He wore it in World War II together with his sniper version of the Mauser Kar98k during operations in Norway. After so many years in action it looks just like yours before restoration.
Happiness is when I'm seeing you restore the past😍
not when its a sight that a nazi used to kill allies tho makes me cringe a little bit l(
I agree 👍
With Henry
I watch your videos every night before i sleep. They are just like ASMR videos
Both restoration and camera work were outstanding. You talents are noted and appreciated.
What a superb restorer you are. An absolute master of your craft. It’s a pleasure to watch you at work. I look forward to watching your other videos. 👍👍
Average people: ketchup
Me, an intellectual: liquid tomatoes.
Tomato glue
LOL
me, a legend: THE DELICIOUS BLOOD OF A TOMATO
Tomato flesh
Coming to you from the creators of Liquid Ice
I finally know what those prisms are for! My son had one. Beautiful restoration.
New sub here. Awesome content. Thank you for restoring and not just disposing!
Much love, Poor Girl.
Also thank you for no music... crappy license free music is usually a major distraction. Wish I could be in a shop working and learning. But great respect for your content.
By far, my favorite of your restorations, well done!!!
11:27 "I repeated this until I was happy" story of my life
I think the C-Z Jena factory used the same leather and glue on my Exacta Exa from the early 50's, It had been used in the orchard industry to photograph hybrid blooms and the leather had deteriorated to the point where it had to come off. Like yours it was easier said then done. Thank you for great work and sharing. Narragansett Bay.
I swear that any single time he uses ketchup a little fragment of my soul is broken
But why?
It's really the only good use for ketchup
First off, nice find on this WWI piece...second, excellent restoration. You blew me away with the liquid ice trick. You're definitely the one to watch for 2020!
"Liquid Ice?" Oh! You mean "Dihydrogen Monoxide!"
Isn't that stuff super toxic?
(/Snark)
@@ethelryan257 Absolutley! It's been known to wrinkle your skin!
Available on amazon from a good number of vendors as well, plus some also give you other enhancing additives with it to enhance it's effect, and they can have vary varied results depending on the dose used.
@@ethelryan257 In large enough quantities, it can kill. Some years ago, a large dihydrogen monoxide spill nearly destroyed the nation of Japan.
Everyone who consumes it dies..
The prisms are stunningly beautiful and dazzling!
This is like an antique cyborg eye
The result is absolutly amazing. Very impressive.
The "black stuff" is leather, originally glued to the surface. Lots of camera bodies were done the same way.
its a real pain when it starts to flake and peel: Source: Have a few cameras like that
When you touched the black stuff, it said:"MMMHMMMMM!".
@@1337fraggzb00N Mel Brooks removed one quote from Blazing Saddles, which would have gone, "Lady, I don't want to disappoint you, but that's my arm you're holding." You know the scene.
@@fredferd965 actually I never watched Blazing Saddles. Now I'm sad.
@@1337fraggzb00N The German Woman Dance Hall Lady is seducing the Black sheriff. ALL of the lights are off (you don't see anything), and she is becoming, well "excited' would be the best word for it. Mel Brooks cut that line from the film because it was over the top.
Very nice job on this little piece. Good effort, thank you for sharing.
You did a great job. I've been working as a contractor for carl zeiss, or jenoptik as they're called now, before and i've learned how sensitive these lenses can be. I figure that a WW1 monocular is more robust than what they do today, but still needs to be handled with caution, which is what you did. I also liked how you explained how these optics work in general, and if I wasn't already subscribed to your channel, man you'd have earned it with this one. Keep on going with the good work, best wishes.
Very cool. I love vintage optical instruments.
MFW a monocular built at the turn of the last century is restored to working condition and my phone needs to be replaced every 18 months.
@@asm2750 the thing is the quality isn't decreaseing it's just tbe complexity increasing more the parts more the chances of failure
Then how about you make a phone that can last a centure.
@@logickedmazimoon6001 that isn't possible with current battery technology or silicons degradation which eventually gives a non usable but working phone
@@logickedmazimoon6001 I still have phones phone 2009 running Android they work*
Hey and don’t forget it had been through a war but it’s more then likely going be left in a museum then used practically again to be fair
Very cool resto! Serious engineering was happening when that was manufactured!
The Ring reference was too funny!!!
Good thing I have the same Special License for Liquid Ice. It's a big deal when you need it!
I actually almost missed the reference to the Lord of the Rings just after 8 minutes and 40 seconds. Very clever, good one.
I have to admit I'm a total history nerd, with warfare being my particular passion. Whilst I prefer ancient warfare, I do know quite a bit about the two world wars. I had family fight in them and 5 great uncles died in WW1, the sixth came back with terrible problems due to mustard gas. Even though he died whilst I was still under 10, I remember his terrible breathing and some of the few stories he told me. I think he started my interest in historical warefare and frontline medicine. The monocular you have is what a commissioned officer from WW1 would've had, such as a lieutenant. The commissioned officers were wealthy and could afford such luxuries. Others, such as NCOs and ordinary soldiers had to make do with makeshift 'periscopes'. Larger and more easily seen by enemy snipers. To see this monocular, that my own great uncles would've seen senior officers using similarly at the battlefields they fought and died on (two being Ypres and the Somme), so lovingly well restored makes my heart happy. It looks as if some posh young officer is just about to pick it up before going off to France, thinking it would all be over by Christmas 1914............THANK YOU on behalf of all of us who had family fight in a conflict.
Switch from x-acto knives to surgical scalpels. Much sharper, letting you do more careful precise work. Blades also inexpensive.
Scalpel blade for leather cutting. X-Acto C-type blade for cardboard.
Very nice 👍🏽. Very handy gadget made by a quality manufacturer.
The prisms aren't in there to flip or unflip the image, they're there to increase the effective distance the light travels between the objective lens and the eyepiece. The magnification factor is essentially the result of the strength of the eyepiece which is limited by certain things, and the distance the light travels between the lenses. Binoculars need to be quite short to be useful (otherwise they'd be a real strain to hold to your eyes) so clever people found ways to make light travel farther than the length of the thing it's inside.
tHaTS a LoT oF wORdS
SpringHoney thats a lot of sarcasm.
kinda like a klipsch folded horn only with light. cool thanks!
@@Shitbird3249 Maybe get some education so you'll understand physics better.
@@harleyy1548 Too much for you to read you lazy ass?
Yup, we get it. You made it super shiny lol
Such a nice job! I absolutely adore it!
As a history buff, I was internally squealing the whole time, thank you.
I loved your work on the leather. great job.
Odd Tinkering has some of the best editing in the whole TH-cam restoration scene.
I totally agree, him and My Mechanics are on the same level, it's a very small, select group to be in.
Well done bro... Like james Bond.... Quietly u r doing really great job......
8:38 lord of the ring
hobbit
😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
I thought the same thing right before he put out on lmao
Nice to explain the jokes for the idiots.
Love watching your workmanship, I congratulate you, sheer magic.
Use "salsa Valentina" for cleaning brass, it's a Mexican hot sauce, and it's so good that even some town use it for cleaning statues instead of the usual chemical.
@jimrdguez Si we, limpia el bronce bien chingon.
elpais.com/internacional/2013/10/18/actualidad/1382054376_559798.html
La mejor salsa qué hay en Mexico 🇲🇽
Beautiful piece! Excellent job.
Liquid ice ... you mean solid steam I suppose ;-) Great restauration . Bravo!
It’s always a pleasure to watch you work 👍
Impressive. I'm always amazed when you work with leather, it looks like a load of crap until in the end it looks real pretty :)
Well done.
The nice one that came out, like new. Very nice video, well done 👏👏👏
Polish that thing up nice. That's what you want, your equipment glinting and sparkling in the sun. It let's others know just where you are.
Yes, because the owner of the monocular will be using it in combat
Very nicely done , just a pleasure to watch and great end result !
"Liquid ice" makes me want to drink fresh cold water. Would be a nice bottled water product idea.
Omg. And it's aggressively marketed like it isn't water. " NO. IT'S BETTER THAN WATER" That would be hilarious.
A just wanted to say thanks man watching what you do is a lesson that i listen too!im positive it well help in the future!👊
Normal people: why did he disappear.
Me, an intellectual: Lord of the rings crossover?
You, a nerd: Lord of the rings crossover?
FTFY 😝
I wish i had some kind of small place and some stuff so that i could restore old stuff like you....love your videos man❤
Not gonna lie but the first time I watched this channel I thought liquid ice was an actual product till I thought about it and it is.
Incredible job you're doing with these vids! I find these vids to be amazingly satisfying to watch. 👍
Love the editing :)
Thanks, it took me way too long this time 😁
You can see all the build up and corrosion inside the threading. Nice!
“Paint stripper 2000”, is that like the “pleasure ride 5000” that Eric Cartman found at the bottom of his mom’s closet??
Eric should ask his mom
nah more like the trapper keeper!
Beautiful work. Very well done Sir! Greetings from Southport UK.
Every enemy Sniper in WW1 would be happy if the enemy used high polished monoculars ;) the code called -> reflections are bad!!
But it looks really nice :D
that sight prolly took out quit a few allies funny how we are watching this guy call it a signal sight and its now being repaired funny world we live in lemme tell yya
I really enjoy watching your restorations and your clever way of referring to condensated steam! As someone that has worked with lenses, if you have to disassemble the optics in the future, I'd recommend having a nitrogen chamber to assemble it in so that changes in atmospheric conditions don't cause condensation to build upon the prisms or lens.
My thoughts too.
6:18
me: haha, that cleaning solution looks like ketchup
6:26
me: ***mindblown***
Bravo, ready for the next 100 years!