[Leica] Contest: most unusual lens cleaning technique

[tedgrant at shaw.ca (Ted Grant)]

A few quotes from the mail. :-)
jeffery said:
>>We had a thread on this some time back. I think Ted used old jockey 
>>shorts.
Since then, I noticed that Home Depot sold boxes of rags that are actually
remnants of T-shirt material. Now, I keep one of those shoved in my Domke.<<

Aaron Sandler said:
>>That's how to fund that Kodachrome processing line y'all were talking
about...by selling autographed "Ted Grant Lens Cleaning Cloths" for $10
each!  :)  :)<<<<

Douglas Sharp offered:
>>I hope you mean "hand signed"  and not "with his mark" :-)<<

Nick Roberts said:
>>Someone on the Rollei list appeared to claim that he
cleaned his lenses with Ted's old underwear, which I
thought rather odd....<<<<

bruce asked:
>>............. used jockey shorts?<<<

OK, the truth is: This is an old old story on the LUG several times over the 
years,
"Ted Grant's undershorts lens cleaning cloth. (Mk 1 for the use of 
cleaning."

"Major point?"Extremely economical rather than buying lens cleaning cloth!

In the event some of you don't realize it, but every day while wearing your 
"cotton undershort's" you are making some of the finest lens cleaning cloth 
in the world. Better still, for free! :-)

When you've sat on them for years, washed, dried, wore, washed and dried 
many many times you've ground them down to a fine soft gentle non-scratching 
material as superb as it gets for cleaning the front elements of any Leica 
lens.

I doubt you've ever thought of the big cotton patch being anything more than 
keeping yer butt covered with no second use? Well you're totally wrong as 
I've done this for more than 50 years with all kinds of cameras. When a pair 
of shorts get down to becoming a dusting cloth, car washing cloth or better 
... A Leica lens cleaning cloth!  Here's what you do. Quite simple really. 
:-)

Any pair of cotton undershorts, thoroughly washed and dried. Then cut the 
big back end patch out and put it in a zip lock bag into your camera bag or 
wherever. That's it!!! Now you have at the ready... a piece of the finest 
Leica Lens cleaning cloth in the world. True. :-)

Now I know there will be some who'll think this gross.. if so, does that 
mean they don't wash their under shorts very clean? ;-)  But for those who 
do! ;-)

They'll see the great economical wisdom of it and immediately empty dresser 
drawers of all old, nearly so and not fitting well undershorts slashing out 
the big under patch. Into the washer and dryer.

When ready to clean the lens, give a solid breath of air from your lungs to 
blow bits off, then give the lens another good blast of fresh lung air to 
create a "mist coating" on the glass. Then immediately give the cleaning 
cloth a really good swirling motion rubbing away any dirt, finger prints and 
grime on the lens surface.

Then you too can shoot the worlds sharpest Leica negatives or slides. :-)

Oh you don't like the "swirl the cloth around vigorously?" If that's the 
case don't ever watch a "Leica tech clean your lens!" You'll go into cardiac 
arrest! :-)

So there you go eh? How to make excellent Leica Lens cleaning cloth. :-)

So once again for the umpteenth time the story of Ted's undershort's lens 
cleaning cloth!  You are welcome. ;-)

ted