I used to carry a US issue knife in mess kit, don't know where it got to. Used to see them around but no more. I wonder if the silver plated one was swiped from an officers mess? The cap has design like the helmet hats.
I wonder if the silver plated one was swiped from an officers mess? The cap has design like the helmet hats.
Actually, the silver plate was the official production during the war. I guess tin was more important to the war effort than silver. I didn't know that until today to be honest. It's in the official nomenclature. Prior to the change they were tinned. We made nickels out of silver during the war also, at least for one year. And they made pennies out of steel for a year. I also got a book called Hitler's Armed Forces Auxiliaries, An Illustrated History of the Wehrmachtsgefolge 1933-1945 by Lepage. I haven't been able to really look at it but it looks nice from what I can see. It covers the driver's corps, the construction corps, the people's militia and the labor service, not high priority assets for most books on the German military.
I got a grouping of Ballantine books for less than $1 each and a Chassepot bayonet for $81 complete with serial matched scabbard. I'll post that in the blade thread. It was 35% off. I didn't really need it but I couldn't pass it up for that price. On the positive side, it is a different manufacturer than the one I already have.
Update on the Silver War nickels. There were made from 1942 to 1945. Best way to tell them in on the reverse as there is a Large P, D, or S above the dome. Also, in used ones the nickel looks darker. About 40% silver also.
Interest fact if you find a 1943 without the mint mark on the back, it's counterfeit. Not made with part silver either. A Very Good counterfeit by the way. Very interesting story.
Turned nothing into something. The handle taper/flare at the pommel is off and the handguard at the blade has a gap though not loose. The engraver matched the font and placement very well on the new handguard though slightly shallow. Very rewarding project which I hope to repeat if I can find another donor. Ka-bar is to be congratulated for providing the rehab kits at such a reasonable price.
It looks really good. How exactly did you polish and cut the leather?
Built a jig an(essentially a long tang with no blade) waxed the tang to ease installation and removal and glued and clamped the disks together with crazy glue. I then sanded it down on a 1" table top belt sander (Harbor Freight) with increasingly fine grit taking frequent measurements to ensure profile matched that of an original sample . Final sanding with jig held in a vice using 1" sandpaper alternating sides. Relief cuts using a chainsaw file. The groves are the weak spot must be a better way to increase precision. The ability to take the glued handle of and onto the jig is very helpful. Died the leather with alcohol based leather stain. The dye might have worked better if I had soaked in stain before I glued them? Finished off with a coat of beeswax and buffing with a strip of towel in the same manor as the final sanding. I hope this proves helpful to others.
PM
Originally Posted by 
