Boy Scout Stuff

[Carl in CO]

Today I found the Boy Scout tie clasp pictured in the bottom right. It fits well with the rest of my collection handed down from my grandfather/father. Thought I'd show it to you all.

1) "Official Boy Scout Watch" It has glow in the dark dials. Made by Elgin. I think is it circa 1920's. (also thought I read something about that old glow in the dark stuff causing cancer in it's liquid form.

2) Could the chain be gold? I has a strange feel to it. It has a soft feel to it. It is likely the same age as the watch.

3) The compass isn't marked official Boy Scout, but was used for such just the same. It also has glow in the dark dials.

4) Boy Scout Token. "1910/1960. 50 years of service. For God And Country. Boy Scouts of America." It has the Scout Oath written on the back.

5) The item I found today.

 

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[MDnoob]

Assuming the watch was made before 1960 it was probably made with radium paint. This is radioactive and glows by itself. Risky? Not really, but they did stop making them... Depends on how much you wear them.
If it is newer the glow in the dark stuff is proably tritium, which is also radioactive.? But actually does not glow itself.? It glows by reacting with phosphorus which is mixed in with the tritium.? When you see it glowing it is the phosphorus glowing.?Not risky at all really, but as they still use it, I don't think it is a great enough quantity to do anything...depends on how paranoid you are about radiation... opinions vary greatly.

 

[tracey]

nice finds. wow, there are some smart people in this forum!

 

[weldermark]

cool stuff 8)

 

[BRD]

Carl in Co,
Very nice Boy Scout items. I've been an adult leader in the BSA twenty-three years and have accumulated quite a few dug items from various Scout camps. It is getting more and more difficult to get permission to hunt Scout camps (even though I'm a registered leader and covered by BSA insurnace) because of perceived liability involved. Didn't mean to get off on a tangent there! Again, congratulations on some very nice items. Keep up the good work.
BRD

 

[Colorado2]

Nice digs Carl. My dad (85 this year) used to tell me a story about people that hand painted those watches. He said that they would put the brush to their lips to make a fine point and over the years the accumulated ingestion of the paint would make the bones in their hands shine in the dark! Truth stranger than Fiction? Who knows. Keep findin' Carl~CO2