Overstamped Early Sling Swivel?

[USGI]

I just saw this listing on eBay - several odd things about it. The basic part itself is somewhat believable to me - possibly made by Union Hardware for Inland and then switched to Grand Rapids? Are these very common? - Bob

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-M1-C...item19ca8cd383

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[Bill Hollinger]

I wonder if George moved to Oceanside??? I don't know, stranger things have happened

[USGI]

It sold yesterday for $86.19 - just the swivel and a screw that fits something else. There's some interesting carbine stuff in the "More chances to get what you want" shown at the top of the listing - check them out. - Bob

[Harlan (Deceased)]

Some great stuff there for sure, Bob. Check out the quality T-1 Barre Band from George for only a $90 starting bid.

literally hundreds of thousands of dollars with his unbelievable fraud and it goes on and on -
When he gets to Hell, he'll be selling cheap repro iron crosses to Hitler and Göring and still turning a profit!




M1 Carbine Inland UI type 1A band worn fiinish | eBay

[Bill Hollinger]

That is a pretty bad one. There is a nice looking one that just might be real.

[Harlan (Deceased)]

That is a pretty bad one. There is a nice looking one that just might be real.

It's getting to the point Bill where whoever really knows when it comes to M1 carbines. The fake parts are getting better and eventually about every carbine will be back into 'some' kind of early configuration. New re-parking covering T-1 Barrel band shadows will become aged naturally so you can't tell it's been done.

Even when sold 'honestly' how honest is any of this really?

M1 CARBINE flip sight, type 1A band, and type 2 safety | eBay

Do It Yourself Early WWII M1 carbine Parts Kit Only $25!

"Guaranteed high quality and perfect tolerances now"





I can see a day not far off at all, especially at the alarming rate this has proliferated when it's just like German collecting is today.
(Which is almost non-existent now)
The fakes got so unbelievably good even experts couldn't tell what was real and all the repros were 40 years old - old enough it had real patina. Collectors in the field just gave up completely out of disgust.

The collecting field for Wehrmacht is now pretty much completely gone. The few known original pieces that have iron clad providence are only sold between high end collectors and a double decal German helmet can sell for $5000. And even then, sometimes people still get burned. (And for BIG money!)

It's not a far off stretch of the imagination - so many carbines will have been 'restored', corrected, fake parts made to look right and authentic, actual aging and wear, so MANY carbines have so many fake parts nobody knows real or fake anymore that nobody will pay a large premium for an authentic correct early carbine anymore. Just like anyone who really knows German helmets, iron crosses, etc are skeptical about everything they see because they know that only 5% haven't been messed with in some way or another.

Thank you so much George.

[USGI]

It's not a a far off stretch of the imagination so many carbines will have been 'restored', corrected, fake parts made to look right and authentic, actual aging and wear, so MANY carbines have so many fake parts nobody knows real or fake anymore that nobody will pay a large premium for an authentic correct early carbine anymore.

I think we're almost to that point right now! I've been seriously considering a bargain a guy offered me on a BLUE SKY carbine - at least I know what I'd be getting.

[Harlan (Deceased)]

I'm with you there Bob. I'd much rather have an honest, well tuned carbine as it came from arsenal than any of the carbines I've seen over the past year at shows etc. I know the internet has a lot to do with how people thought about carbines and collecting. They read posts about collectors discussing if a part variant might be correct or needing a part to complete an otherwise correct carbine and I think many just got the notion that all carbines were about was swapping parts to get them all back to early configuration. It was disturbing to me how many first time carbine owners bought CMP carbines in excellent arsenal condition and started tearing them down with no real knowledge of what parts might really be correct, and replacing stocks and parts willy-nilly from dubious sources. Unbelievably, many didn't even take their first new carbine out to a range to experience the joy of shooting a true piece of history that most likely was in the same configuration as it was when a soldier used it in Korea or even Vietnam.

Very, very few of the CMP sales carbines were good candidates for restoring but they were in good military condition. When large quantities of them hit the field George and is ilk went into full speed ahead production mode. The way things are going, or have already gone in many cases it's becoming a rarity to find a good honest carbine in authentic military trim.

As long as people are naive enough to think rare T-1 parts are in bulk on ebay, or maybe like the parts above they just don't care about the rich history of these rifles and don't mind funding China installing fake Chinese parts it will just continue.

We're all different though with our values. I only had two honest correct late collector grade carbines. One of my favorite carbines of all was an IBM that had been through arsenal with all of the upgrades. It was one of those rifles that just felt 'right' - It felt solid and shot the tightest groups of any and I don't think it ever even jammed. To me, the upgrades weren't bad though. They seemed as much of carbine history as when they first came out with the early T-1 parts that had teething problems. The bayonet lugs and adjustable sites were upgrades and they were there as an iconic sight of the Korean War and early Vietnam.

I'll shut up. Maybe George will slip up somewhere, somehow. He's almost single handily ruined the makeup of and integrity of 1000's of my favorite weapon, all across the USA with his greed. I just hope that someday he gets what he has coming.

[DaveHH]

The part swappers have ruined their own hobby. It will become two camps, a very close knit group of genuine collectors who will have nice genuine pieces and then the part swappers who sell their "Corrected" and "restored" junk back and forth. It is like a bunch of junkies; after you've conquered one poor old carbine, that "High" is over and they just can't wait to do it all over again. The "Corrected" carbine is dumped onto an auction site with no mention of the crappy changes and possible fake parts, and some poor sap buys it thinking it is genuine. By that time the part swapper has found another carbine to tear into and start the process all over again. Just like a junkie who scores some more dope. Finding that type one anything, genuine or not just gives the big rush.

When the industry of making and selling fake carbine parts reaches a level of writing books about it and showing the fake parts, intelligent people need to step away from what they are doing and look around. Is it about carbines or buying parts?

[Bill Hollinger]

Wow Dave, you nailed it!