Yard Sales, Flea Markets and Antique Shops 2025

[Flying10uk]

Not sure if it's tin plated or stainless.

You could test with a magnet. Although there are some grades of magnetic stainless steel if it's non magnetic you'll know that it's stainless. Obviously tin plated is magnetic.

[Flying10uk]

Would electrolysis work if I filled the interior with the liquid

In theory it would work if you suspended the anode inside, in the liquid, inside the shell.

Some people put a lightbulb in the circuit so that if the electrodes short-circuit no harm is done and all that happens is the bulb lights up. Personally I don't bother with a lightbulb in the electrolysis circuit.

[Aragorn243]

I'll have to check it with a magnet, never thought of that. Didn't take a photo of it as it's just a fork. I did take a photo of the older one just to find out roughly how old it was. This is a four tine when most were three tine but I've seen both types as Civil War era. And again, this probably has no real connection to mess kits but it is what would have been used as they weren't an issue item then.



This is the 75mm shell. WWI, no date on the shell 1917 on the fuse. The fuse still has faint graduation markings but they are hard to see. Brass top with steel extensions on the bottom. It survived firing in pretty decent shape. The shell has quite a bit of pitting on it.

















And it seems to be projectile week for me as I've gotten three in four days. This is just a nice 37mm projectile I couldn't let sit.



And this is a more unusual French pneumatic Type A 60mm Brandt mortar from WWI.







And finally, it was a nice warm sunny day so I painted the bazooka round. I did find one of my other ones and I was right, this is heavier. The other does not have the solid weight inside. SIMCO is stamped on all three major sections.

[browningautorifle]

P.E. & M CO" = Poole Engineering & Machine Company Baltimore, Maryland.

It survived firing in pretty decent shape.

Yes, the 75 is good shape.

[Aragorn243]

Follow up on the fork and the magnet. It's non-magnetic so an unmarked stainless. It had a rust stain on it but probably from something else. It came off pretty easily. So by all appearances, it's a postwar fork but an early one. It will work with my Korean and Vietnam mess kits.

[Aragorn243]

Sarco is running a sale on Swiss civil defense helmets. Arrived yesterday, never issued, right out of storage. A few marks here and there and it had some light cardboard stuck to it in spots that came off with water and rubbing.

[Aragorn243]

Hit a surplus store I like yesterday and found an entire pile of British large packs with a few Belgians mixed in. Started digging out of curiosity and quickly found WWII dated ones. As they were priced at $5 each I dug around for a while and picked out 4 nice ones. Can't go wrong for that price. What I found was that one in three had legible markings, one in eight was post war Belgian. One in three had factory repairs. Supposedly there were WWI dated ones in there also but as the packs were different then, I had my doubts and tired of digging after 15 minutes or so. A few of them had blanco on them and I thought about getting one for just the variety's sake, but they looked awful. You'd think if they wanted to change the color of fabric, they'd dye it rather than paint it with something that's going to come off.

This is what I brough home.

[browningautorifle]

You'd think if they wanted to change the color of fabric, they'd die it rather than paint it with something that's going to come off.

Lots of times Blanco or Webbo was the result of an RSM's orders for his own tastes. Then there were the ones that wanted you to paint your bayonet scabbards...or use shoe polish to have them shining black... It wasn't the army in general.

[Sapper740]

Aragorn, I took a ton of Pattern 37 web gear to the gun show in Fort Worth last weekend and only sold a well used post war Fairburn Sykes fighting knife, a N.O.S. Browning HP holster, a NOS canteen in a skeleton carrier, and a stereoscopic magnifying glass for map reading. A NOS large pack for $15 almost sold until I told the buyer the small pack was more popular among reenactors. I'm too honest sometimes.

The Vietnam War gear sold a lot better...waaay better, in fact it made up about 95% of my gross sales. I put my Fulton Regulated No.1 Mk III and my near mint civilian target M.L.E. on the table with high, but fair? prices hoping they would create some traffic. They did, but not many Brit kit buyers.

[Aragorn243]

I've noticed that about the Vietnam stuff. That's who's still alive and trying to get their stuff back. I'm actually buying Desert Storm stuff when I didn't really want it until kind of recently. This same surplus store had the same huge box filled with Vietnam butt packs the last time I was there. None left. I expect these British ones will be there a while because there's no straps and without straps, you can't really use them.

I didn't even go out today. Beautiful weather but it's pretty cold. The flea markets don't open till next month.

Instead, I ordered my next free Cabela's pistol today. A Dreyse. As usual, price is higher than the market, but I got them down 10% and had plenty of points to cover it. I only have limited information on it at this point but it's looking like a late first variant nonmilitary marked, early 1916 production. Has Imperial proofs but no acceptance mark. Looks like the finish has all turned to patina but there is very little to no pitting on it that I can see. Most examples I've seen on the net seem to have extensive pitting for some reason. Probably be two weeks before I have it. Not local.