Pre-WWII web slings, common, uncommon, rare or unobtainium?

[Garandy]

Looking for a late WWI or early 1920's web sling for a SMLE at the moment.

Not really looking to pay $250 for the one WWI dated sling I can locate presently.

Were all web slings marked with the manufacturer mark and date on the metal end fittings up to a point or were some stamped on the webbing circa WWI?

I see a lot of unmarked "WWII" Enfield slings that appear to be very much like the marked WWI slings I can find pics of, other than the absence of markings.

I'd think that with the millions of Enfields that were made for the first world war, WWI vintage slings would be more available. Or, they are and are hiding in plain sight.

Were tubular rivets used to attach the sling fittings in WWI, or only the rivet and washer arrangement?

I've done some searching on Enfield sling ID, and found surprisingly less than I expected.

Information

Warning: This is a relatively older thread This discussion is older than 360 days. Some information contained in it may no longer be current.

[Flying10uk]

In my collection of webbing Enfield slings I only have one which is WW1 dated and this is marked on the brass end I believe. This sling was given to me by a UK dealer 25 or so years ago when buying something else off him.

[RobD]

Garandy, have you had a look at this?
Weapons: Slings

[Garandy]

Garandy, have you had a look at this?
Weapons: Slings

I have indeed and found it interesting. That was one of the few bits of info I found before I started this thread.

---------- Post added at 04:05 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:02 PM ----------

This was recently discussed on the Great War Forum and the consensus was that nobody had ever seen a definitely authentic WWI LE sling that was ink marked on the webbing - they were only stamped on the brass ends. I too wonder why WWI LE slings are so scarce other than perhaps almost all of them were used to destruction.

The cheaper display option is to find a sling with some natural age to it that has no legible post-WWI markings.

That begs the question, when did marking the metal cease and marking the webbing instead start getting phased in?

[CINDERS]

Think I paid $130/Aud for this Wrights 1916 black (Not blanco'ed) web sling 15 years ago put it on my 5MD 1916 Lithgow No.1 MKIII.

Flea-bay has lots of replica ones but if you do buy an original one make sure its not for the bren gun as they are considerably longer than the standard length ones that fir the rifle.

[Mk VII]

They are out there, but most have been worn out by two wars and National Service afterwards. Unless they are marked on the metal, Blanco and boot polish make it hard to tell.

[Roger Payne]

I know a fat lot about slings, but look out for WW1 examples from time to time for my own rifles. Does anyone know what the situation was for the location of maker & date marking? All WW1 examples that I can recall seeing to date were stamped into the brass fittings at each end, but later examples seem to be undated or dated simply by an ink stamp directly on to the webbing. Was there a system of rules for this, &/or were manufacturers simply allowed more latitude as time went on?

[tonyd]

Looking for a late WWI or early 1920's web sling for a SMLE at the moment.

Not really looking to pay $250 for the one WWI dated sling I can locate presently.

Were all web slings marked with the manufacturer mark and date on the metal end fittings up to a point or were some stamped on the webbing circa WWI?

I see a lot of unmarked "WWII" Enfield slings that appear to be very much like the marked WWI slings I can find pics of, other than the absence of markings.

I'd think that with the millions of Enfields that were made for the first world war, WWI vintage slings would be more available. Or, they are and are hiding in plain sight.

Were tubular rivets used to attach the sling fittings in WWI, or only the rivet and washer arrangement?

I've done some searching on Enfield sling ID, and found surprisingly less than I expected.

I have a MECo 1914 webb and a wrights 1916 dated & N^Z marked webb sling spare, if ya can help me out with a mk1 smle nosecap, or waisted front sight protector / hinged front band for early no4, let's talk!

[Strangely Brown]

The latest dated sling I own is 1949; the few Great War examples I have encountered have all been in dire condition as MkVII mentions above.

[Roger Payne]

Mick, out of curiosity, is your 1949 dated example ink stamped onto the webbing or stamped into the brass ends?