Soldier's KIT FAQ

Got this for £8.50 yesterday, I'm going to be using it to "Entrench" myself at combat south. Stefan, what are the differences between this German 1965 folding tool and the ww2 ones?

 

I think the genuine WWII ones had a bakelite screw-collar and a sort of metal reinforcing strip along the top of the blade ?

 

Martin is right, plus the blade is a different shape, handle longer, the carrier is totally different, the attatchment of the blade to the handle is different and the attatchment to the handle is different.

Sorry, I don't like those much, they are the most farby items out there

 

....errr, apart from that, it's impossible to tell the difference !

( Mind you, for eight quid you won't be crying if you break it on a tree root ! )

PS : Excuse me for sounding like an old f*rt, guys - but what does 'farby' mean ??

[ 14. January 2004, 03:30 PM: Message edited by: Martin Bull ]

 

Re-enactor slang for something that is just plain inaccurate.

Incidentally, my last E-Tool was broken over a tree root, oops!

 

Yeah well I bought it for this purpose as I think to use a tool that has seen action in WW2 on something as trivial as the exercise I'm planning in Southampton...thats just WRONG!!! Stef, you got a pic of your entrenching tool?

Unfortunately it'll be too heavy for me to take to Bastogne ... along with the rest of my kit.

 

Here is a great site (albiet in polish) for kit and wearing of kit:

http://wilk.wpk.p.lodz.pl/~whatfor/ekwipunek.htm

eg:

 

Well, it would be in Polish, wouldn't it ?

 

Got me there Martin

But it's a decidedly post-war contribution eh?

 

The unit I reenact with has a similar page, although in English. You can find it here: http://www.25panzergrendiv.com[/url...for mounted and dismounted troops. Langemann

 

VERY nice mate. And, unlike most reenactor pages, professionally set out as well without tacko backgrounds/panzerlied music

Its also great to see Heer reenactors...surly a dying breed!

[ 27. January 2004, 12:50 PM: Message edited by: BratwurstDimSum ]

 

I see us as a growing breed. Heer forever.

 

Sorry, haven't got a photo of my E-Tool for one simple reason, it got burned! Whilst using it to chop wood the head took a leap across the site and almost took someones head off, the handle wound up on the fire, need to find another one at some point I guess.

 

The East German ones can be bought reasonably cheaply and while they look a bit cacky are more than suitable for frenzied digging of foxholes before the training tank drives over you..... sorry, slipped out there for a moment. They might also prove a suitable source for replacement handles for originals that have come to grief.

As an aside, I think my Austrian spade had been sharpened at some point in its life. Before I got a carrier for it, I wore it in my belt (as seen in several period photos). Not only did it get in the bloody way but I managed to slit my thumb on the edge of it - probably the first blood it had drawn for 50 or more years?! Still waiting for the wound badge but the tetanus has cleared up now.

Thinking of which, has anyone tried stuffing their stielhandgranates down their jackboots - apparently it's damn uncomfortable when on the move.

Maybe those original soldiers were a lot tougher than I think.

 

Not tried the boots mate but one SHG in my belt is enough for me, not to mention the fact that I've seen guys with FOUR in the belt pressed up against their ****s

What the hell did you do if you had to dive into a ditch?

 

Good point - I suppose at the time, a couple of cracked ribs was preferable to a bellyful of lead.

The other consideration of course is they were put there for easy access, so they probably weren't carrying them for any length of time.

A carry over from the Great War was the use of cloth grenade bags - usually converted from sandbags but also factory made, these were two bags on straps that were slung around the neck and could carry several stiels at once. Mainly used by assault engineers (Pioniere), a photo of a soldier in the Afrikakorps clearly shows them in use.

 

Hey Stefan (or other kit experts),

I Got a gas cannister with a hemp-(ish?) cover on it, the axis history forum consensus is that its either bloody rare or a BDS cover for a wartime cannister, can you have a butchers and let me know your opinion?

http://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic.php?t=42524

 

More kit here, what do you think? These are 4 pics from an mp40 kitted out soldier in "band of brothers", pictures belong to "www.rareprops.com"








Currently on ebay:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2225285145&category=4720&sspagename=STRK%3AMEBWA%3AIT&rd=1

 

Looks nice to me although the e-bayer seems rather coy about giving any details of original markings....

But I see the price has reached £155 with 3 days to go so it looks as though it's about to go 'silly'.

If you had the patience, most of those items can be bought separately quite reasonably from Continental dealers.

 

Oh sorry, all of it is repro mate, Band of brothers stuff never is the real deal.

Sorry if I didn't make that clear