Quote Originally Posted by Aragorn243 View Post
And it STILL is not an economy belt. Now I suppose we could debate what is economy measures all day which would be pointless. This belt has one non-standard feature not done for economy but so manufacturers without the capacity to weave the hook openings could still manufacture the belts. All brass fittings are present. True economy belts used less metal and steel fittings rather than brass. It was to save war materials and this practice started in 1943. This is a 1941 belt. Only two companies had the ability to integral weave the belts, so these belts are not uncommon either, this is standard early war production for all companies besides Mills and M Wright and Sons. These contracts were awarded starting in 1939 as the war started and Mills and M Wright couldn't meet demand.
I haven't just, recently, started collecting militataria items or 37 Pattern Webbing. Clearly your definition of an "economy 37 Pattern belt" is completely different to mine.

You are assuming that the belt has to have all of the features that you mention to make it an "economy belt" but I do not believe this to be the case and the 2nd to last example on the Karkee Web website page is a good example. It has all the features of a standard 37 Pattern belt but because it is made out of 3 short lengths of belt sown together, this is what makes it one of the "economy versions", i.e. more than one version of the "economy belt" with differing features.