Early Enfield Oiler

Since we obviously have members who know their oil bottles looking at this thread, perhaps somebody can identify the lower of the two oilers which I recently found at a flea market.

It is here compared with a standard Mk.IV and is too long to be a modified Mk.I. Its lid and dipper are identical to those of the Mk.IV and apart from a B.S.A. logo stamped on the bottom with a "40" on the side is unmarked.

It fits nicely into the butt-trap of a military No.1 or No.4, but once inserted there is insufficient space for a pull-through.

This thread has become a can of worms; looking at my collection I have so many unanswered questions and much to photograph!
Has anybody got an oiler with an alloy body and bras top? It's unmarked.

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...standard-9.jpg
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...tandard-10.jpg

After looking through 600 mk5 plastic oil bottles we found 2 bright orange ones. Not the amber ones but bright opaque orange!
Proper lifeboat orange. But neither had tops

Has anyone seen anymore ? Any ideas?

Mick, regarding your aluminium oiler body in Post 32, if you look inside the aluminium body to the bottom of the hole, are you able to see if it tapers down to a point indicating that it was drilled? Or is it a flat bottomed hole? I wonder if this aluminium oiler body was made using up "end of bars" from a machine shop; i.e. too short to produce another item that the rest of the bar was used for and to save sending it for scrap/recycling the surplus ends were made into oiler bodies???

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Flying10uk

if you look inside the aluminium body to the bottom of the hole, are you able to see if it tapers down to a point indicating that it was drilled? Or is it a flat bottomed hole?

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A very clean and sharply defined flat bottom.

---------- Post added at 07:29 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:23 PM ----------

Before I start taking pictures of my oilers can I ask the other collectors on here what they regard as rare regarding makers and markings?

I think my rarest oiler is marked RFI on the lid, it's the only one I have ever seen and the base is marked I G. (Indian ownership mark)
Whilst it's the only one I have ever seen it could well be very common to others on here.
Anybody seen or got one?

Hi Mick

I've got a couple Indian marked oilers, but from my collecting experience they are pretty scarce in the UK. Mine have the RFI and I G marks on the lids and other marks on the base (pictured).

One of the most difficult to find is the Standard Small Arms (SSA) - I've only ever seen a couple for sale and one I bought...https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...6ccfddd5-1.jpghttps://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...52e26395-1.jpghttps://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...f88f2ede-1.jpg

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Gingercat

Hi Mick

I've got a couple Indian marked oilers, but from my collecting experience they are pretty scarce in the UK. Mine have the RFI and I G marks on the lids and other marks on the base (pictured).

One of the most difficult to find is the Standard Small Arms (SSA) - I've only ever seen a couple for sale and one I bought..

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I have an S.S.A.!

It hadn't crossed my mind that it might that an S.S.A. oiler might be a scarce item to find.
Thanks for the input Mike!

Here's more photos of mine, my Harcourt has a standard top & not recessed, have 2 W.E.C. oilers one with a steel top, no S.S.A. but been looking.

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo..._0903531-1.jpg
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo..._0903301-1.jpg


The different makers
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo..._0859291-1.jpg


My alloy with brass top & W.E.C. with steel top
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo..._0900541-1.jpg
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo..._0901091-1.jpg
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo..._0901431-1.jpg


My Indian
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...anOiler2-1.jpg
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...anOiler1-1.jpg

I'm a sucker for the MkIII oil bottles with curved base. Bit of a daft design, as they won't stand up, so you can see why they moved swiftly on to the MkIV flat base type.

Here are a few more of mine:

-Some MkIII Sparkbrook and Sparkbrook/Enfield marked bottles
- scarce South African marked bottle
- another one it took me a while to track down; S. Hall & Sons or S Heath & Sons (with Sparkbrook inspection stamp).

All in all, a lot more fun than collecting vintage burger packaging...

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...dfa57815-1.jpghttps://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...434a20f0-1.jpghttps://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...78505328-1.jpg

I'm not a collector of oilers with the ones I have just coming with with rifles I have bought.

I do have one with a serial number stamped on the bottom how common is that?