Brian Wolfe

Is this a post war engraving? I have never seen one engraved before. Could you post a close up of the blade please? A lot of German knives hit the market after WW II in an attempt to generate much needed income. Sometimes the seller added a bit of decoration to help sell it to the soldiers of the occupation. This particular style was used in both wars but the scabbard of the WW II varieties used a spring catch device so that the knife could be clipped in an easy to reach place on the uniform. An interesting piece. Thanks for sharing. Cheers Brian

Thanks Ed, I'm flying blind in this (USSR) area so I don't spend a lot on items so that when I crash and burn it won't hurt too bad. Cheers Brian

Hello everyone, I have started to add a few medals and badges to my collection from the former Soviet States. An item I purchased a couple of weeks ago was said to be a memorial badge (or pin) granted to participants of the campaign in Afganistan, 1979-1989. The badge measures 45 mm (1 3/4 inches) from star tip to tip. It has a screw back fastener, that I didn't photograph. The enamel looks good to me and I rather liked it so I purchased it. A fool and his money? These seem to be rather common but I was wondering if they were real at all or a fantasy item and if they are real were they issued by the government or a veteran's association? What are your thoughts? Cheers Brian

Hi Rob, You made my day. Great sword ! The "blood grove" is actually called a "fuller" in western swords and I think it is called the "hi" when speaking about Japanese blades. Is there any sword that feels better in the hands than the SHIN-GUNTO or the KYU-GUNTO? Cheers Brian

Hi Guys, I agree with Rick that this is probably a WW II era sword. As to the file marks they may not be all that out of place. The file marks on WW II and even very old swords were sometimes left rough. These marks can aid in the identification of different eras and even the individual sword markers. The different patterns of the file marks are also all named. By the way if you find a pre-1877 sword with rust on the "tang" do NOT clean it off. It is very important to the sword and even to the possible dating. I would be very careful purchasing NCO swords unless you are quite familiar with them as there are some excellent copies coming out of China. Some even have damage you would expect from the real deal. Even the accountability numbers on the sword and scabbard have been reproduced. If this is a real WW II sword or even a copy it is NOT a Samuri Sword. True Samuri Swords belonged to real Samuri and not those who used the Code of Bushido to plunge their country into a war. On 1 January 1877 the Haitorei edict of 1876 came into effect, restricting wearing of swords to just the military and police in uniform. No sword made after 1877 can be called "Samuri" as that worrior class had ceased to exist. I'll bet your sorry you asked. Cheers Brian

Sorry, I never got into collecting helmets. I'm sure other members can assist you in that area. Cheer Brian

Hi Chris, I was just checking another reference and found that on 18/19 March 1945 an incendary bombing attack by B-29s destroyed 3 square miles of Nagoya which included the arsenal. One B-29 was lost. Cheers Brian

Hi Chris, Your bayonet has the makings of the Nagoya arsenal on the ricasso. The Nagoya arsenal originated in 1923 and produced the Type 30 bayonet, it is not known when they ceased production though I believe they were out of commission (bombing raids?) before the end of the war. BTW the mark is upside down in your photo. I hope this is of some help. Cheers Brian

Hello Everyone, For what it's worth. When I was a youth I was told that AH didn't wear a lot of his awards because he wanted to distance himself from the old Imperial "thinking" but continued to wear the Iron Cross to stay in touch with the military machine. Considering the direction everything was going in the late 1920s and early 1930s it was a good idea to keep on the good side of the miliitary. This I was told by a former German soldier. I'm not sure of the accuracy of this information as the fellow who told me this would have been greatly influenced by the propaganda of the time. It could also have been the product of soldier gossip, so-to-speak. I was thinking while reading the earlier posts that AH would have presented quite the picture for riducle if he had decided to wear all of the awards he could have worn. He would have looked a lot like some of the North Korean generals pictured elsewhere on the GMIC. Cheers Brian

Very impressive collection. Thank you for sharing it. Cheers Brian

Hi Msgt_mode, It has been many years since I did any model work but I do have a suggestion. First perhaps it would have been better if you could have posted a photo or two of the model so that members could see the damaged area. That would allow them (and me) to make more informed suggestions. My suggestion comes from a tank model from Tamiya that suffered some damage while still in the package (my fault). I don't recall which tank it was but I do remember it being German, perhaps the Tiger. I kept the damaged part, added to it and made it look like battle field damage. Would it be possble to create a small diarama showing the crew attempting a field repair? It's one way to turn a disaster into a unique piece of model making. Cheers Brian

Hi Snoopy, Now that's talent. Cheers and a tip of the hat to you. Brian

Thanks Eric, Actually this caught my wife's eye while I was looking at an Austrian medal. I'm glad she noticed it and since the price was right I'm glad I bought it. Now I'll have to add some JNA medals and start yet another thread to my collection, so in the long run it will probably cost me enough. Cheers Brian

Hi Christian, Nice General Service Medal, and with a bar I'm still looking for. Cheers Brian

Hi Christophe, It would appear that you may very well be correct as I have located three more badges in Russia and purchased them late last night. I will check the screwnut on the three I have just ordered as soon as they arrive. The dealer says these are Russian from the 1970's (see my post just before this one). Cheers Brian

Hello fellows, In doing some more research I found a dealer in Russia who had some of thses badges. He didn't have the #1 badge but has #s 2 and 3 as well as one with an "M" on it. I have purchased these three badges and they are on their way to me, I'll post the lot as soon as they arrive. The dealer says that they are Russian Army classification badges from the 1970s and that the one with the "M" on it stands for "Master" which I would think would be the higest qualification level. Now I need to find out what the blue background signifies. One other one I saw with a red background was advertised by another dealer as Internal Affairs Ministry (MVD). Could it be that the blue simply stands for the army and not a specific trade in the armed forces? Cheers Brian

Many thanks for the information,SasaYU. Cheers Brian

Hello Everyone, I like to do as much research as possible before asking for help from my fellow forum members as I believe that is what the internet and this forum in particular are for. I had searched through several Soviet badge sources regarding the hat badge I was asking about before posting it here. Thanks to Rick moving it to this thread I started to look for it and low and behold I found it. I was looking under the wrong thread! Oh well that all part of learning. Thanks again for the information and the nudge in the right direction, Rick. You know what they say about teaching a man to fish for himself. Cheers Brian

Thanks again Rick. Cheers Brian

Many thanks Rick, I have a lot to learn. Cheers Brian

Here is the reverse side showing the screw device. Thanks again for your help. Cheers Brian

Hello Everyone, As well as the blue enameled badge I posted earlier I also picked up a tiny "hat badge" (also marked "RARE" , this guy kills me). It seems too small for a hat badge, measuring 1 inch (25mm). For its size it seems to be fairly heavy though I doubt it is anything expensive like silver. There is a very small chip above the sickle but other than that the enamel is in good condition. The screw device has IKOM and ZAGREB written on it. Oh yes, the cost of this "RARE" badge was $5.00. It makes me wonder what he would have charged for something he would consider as common? My questions are, is this a hat badge or a collar badge and is it an older style badge? Any help you can give me is, as always, appreciated. Cheers Brian

Here is the back and the screw device. Cheers Brian

Hello Everyone, I picked up this little badge while I was Christmas shopping (that's my story and I'm sticking to it ) and in trying to research it I drew a blank. I found one like it but the background enamel was red while this one is blue. The tag on the item at the antiques mall (remember, I was Christmas shopping if asked) said it was a 1st Class Technical Support Officer's badge and of course it was "RARE" as was everything in the case. The badge measures 1 3/4 inches (45 mm) tall and 1 1/4 inches (30 mm) wide. This "RARE" item set me back a whole $10.00 so I thought I'd take a chance it was authentic and not a fantacy item. The screw device has the words IKOM and ZAGREB on it. These same words are on a small hat badge I purchased at the same time. I'll post that later as I have a couple of questions about that as well. Sorry if these seem like obvious questions, I am a novice at USSR items. Thanks for any help you can give me. Cheers Brian

Hello and welcome. Thank you for sharing the photos of your collection. It dwarfs my little colledtion of TR and your's is in far better condition. Welcome and cheers Brian