Feldgrau Krätzchen - Unissued or Just Brand New?

When you get it shine a blacklight on the red band and the linen liner.
If they glow under blacklight I would say send it back.
If they don't I would say congratulations are in order.

John :)
 
Thanks for the positive feedback; I was worried it would be more in the line of: "that's a known repro" or something similar.

I will of course post pictures and black-light result once I have the Krätzchen in my possession.

Best regards,

Lars
 
He has another already listed ..

https://www.ebay.de/itm/Kratzchen-Preussen-Feldgrau-gemarkt-TOP-Mannschaft-Mutze-1-WK-894/392255463039?hash=item5b543f5e7f:g:6-AAAOSwu2tcgk~h

And some very wrong items...
 
I like the Krätzchen! In fact I bought an unissued one at the recent SOS. The first time I encountered one from "the hoard", and the French gentleman showed me a number of photos of the ones which were discovered.
 
I did a little search on the internet and have found quite some mint Krätzchen sold recently, and at least some of them attributed to the 1970's "hoard". A German dealer shows a similar mint Krätzchen as it was found in a stack https://schlender-antik.com/produkt/kraetzchen-feldgrau-bekleidungsamt-xiii-1916-mint-2/; am I to believe that this hoard was found 50 years ago, and the caps have just been left stacked?

Also, why have so many of them surfaced recently? Why don't the Kokarden look aged? Why are all the maker's stamps so clear and all different? Why is all the mothing just enough to show age, but no mayor damage done anywhere? Plenty questions.....

I'll be having a very critical look at it when it arrives.

Appreciate all the comments, thanks!
 
Mine has some rust on the national colors cockade. From what I understand they (who ever has them) is releasing them in small numbers. I was certainly cautious when I bought one. All of the other ones which turned up at the SOS went to dealers.

Unissued items still have some aging and a certain smell.
 
Krätzchen arrived today; I will post the first pictures later. Not easy to decide if ok or not. First impression is good, although it looks new, and the red is not the orangy-red I'm used to from the other ranks Schirm-mützen.

I would like to ask for your help on the construction: the liner is only machine-stitched to the underside, and nowhere else. What I can see from pictures online it seems that the liner in most other examples is hand-stitched to the underside, and in addition attached to the rim around the top, as the liner sits really smooth inside the skull. If you have your Krätzchen handy, could you please check if the liner is also attached to the top?

The black-light test will come later tonight :???:

Lars
 
And finally, the Kokarden look different than any I've seen before, both Reich and Preussen are very glossy with a lot of lacquer being used; I've seen the same type Kokarden on other Krätzchen from these newly emerging mint examples for sale right now
Kokarden_Crop.jpg

More to follow
 
I have a fake from the 1970's/80's that glows under black light. It is a definite fake and was sold as such. It's hard to explain the glow; it's not bright like white would be, but it is definitely different than any of the real stuff. I will try to capture a photo to show the difference. Not sure that's possible.
The color matching (grey to grey) is exactly the same as what you show --- very close.
The red is not matched as well to an original piece.
One big difference is that the wool on the fake is much more fuzzy than on any original that I own.

John :)
 
I can't get a good photo under black light.
Here is my fake, made and sold by Great War Militaria, sold as a replica with no deceit.

Ik5WWGu.jpg


This Feldmutze has original cockades added by me.
All of the red material glows under black light and the grey wool is fuzzy.

John :)
 
Thanks John, that's really good info.
The wool looks very similar to the (what I think to be original) shoulder straps.
I will repeat the black-light test together with an other ranks Schirmmütze, so I can compare any glow; the red just looked dark under the black-light yesterday, but maybe I'll see a difference in glow now.
If it's a repro it's well made, as I mentioned above not sure about the liner and if it should be attached to the upper rim, also the shape doesn't mushroom but the top is as wide as the bottom, but that might also be dependent on manufacturer?
Tomorrow I'll make some pictures from the whole cap.
Best regards, Lars
 
Also did the blacklight test, comparing against a field grey and a pre-war blue Schirmmütze. Nothing glowed, the red of the Krätzchen looked just as black as the field grey Schirmmütze, and was darker than the red of the pre-war blue Schirmmütze. Below the comparison with the field grey Schirmmütze.
Blacklight Feldgrau Schirmmuetze.jpg
 
However, even though I have found no error in construction, material used, stamps, etc., I don't get a good feeling about the cap. Combined with the recent emergence of Krätzchen in similar condition, but all with different maker and Bekleidungs Amt stamps, which I cannot readily explain, I have decided to return the it to the seller.

Thanks for all the advice and feedback,

Lars
 
I might not be so hasty. I don't know how you took such a good black light photo, but I don't see any glow at all.
The glow comes from newer materials that require a fire retardant. Older cloth did not have this requirement.
The glow could also come from material that had been washed in detergent with phosphorus. I have a white sailor's shirt dated 1913 that does this because of detergent. Yours doesn't glow at all so there is no concern there.
Another test is to find a loose thread and burn it. Pull one loose thread off, if you can find one, and light it with a match. Old material will burn all at once. New material will burn a little at a time, sort of like a fuse.
Also, check the linen liner with the black light. If it doesn't glow you may have an un-issued original.
You may have a real treasure there.

John :)
 
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