lach470

Nice belt! There is a lot of leather there on a piece that size! Nice score! Rob

Oops...forgot the pics of the dagger. Will also add Alex's obit. in honor of such a great friend and a personal hero. Rob

I used to have many more KM pieces but tuned down that area of collecting. I can't say that I have too many 'mint' pieces of KM gear - but I will share this rather interesting piece. It's a 7 day clock taken from a U-boat that surrendered in Wilhelmshaven at war's end. It was used by the radio operator. I had a veteran friend who was on guard duty when the U-boat was unloading her crew. An officer walked up to him and offered him this clock (that he had personally broken off it's mount in the radio room) along with his dagger for a pack of cigarettes. In perfect English, he told my friend Alex that he wouldn't be needing these anymore and hadn't had a cigarette in weeks. Alex gladly traded him a pack of smokes for these items. They spent the next 60 in a junk drawer, simply considered his war souvenirs (along with his sgt. stripes) I will include a pic of the dagger too simply because these pieces have not been apart since '45. When Alex died, his son phoned me and told me that his dad wanted me to have these. I am honored to have them in my collection. I wish I knew exactly which U-boat it came out of but alas...Alex never knew or could not remember. Cheers! Rob

Thank you very much guys. It has such a unique look to it. Very lethal looking. Cheers! Rob

I don't feel comfortable with this example. The diamond OLC on the back of the buckle is known to be found on reproductions of these SS offizier buckles. I hope more collectors can chime in as I am not that well versed in SS officer buckles, but pretty sure that the diamond is a no-no. Cheers! Rob

Hi Brian! It wasn't too bad. There was the same repro stuff that shows up from the same dealers/sellers. Then there was some nice stuff from the honest dealers not trying to rip you off. There was a nice German Pioneer tunic that was legit (I didn't ask for price). There was also a nice pol. leader gorget for $1600 (about $300-$400 overpriced). Lots of belt buckles but they too were a little pricey....though there were some common ones floating around offered at decent prices. I missed seeing a few friends that usually show up. This, that and the other kept them from coming out. In any case....I got this kukri from Nick Healy.....a well respected edge weapons and antique guns collector/dealer. I'm quite happy with it. Completely out of my collecting field - so wanted to make sure I got a legit piece. Cheers Brian! Rob

A few more pics.....

Just got back from the Ottawa military show and picked this up. Not really my area of collecting, but I've always wanted one and the chap I got this from (Nick Healey) is a very well respected edge weapons collector. Looks like this one would have been manufactured early in the 20th century given the way the blade was made (many more flaws in the steel back then). Whether or not it saw any military service in WW1 is unknown to me. It is unmarked. It is complete with the unsharpened chakmak and the karda. It also has the tinder pouch that actually contains old tinder wrapped in a hand made pouch (see pics). I thought that was pretty cool! If only this thing could talk. I'm very happy with this one. I've always wanted one. If anyone can offer any other information on this particular example, please feel free. Cheers everyone! Rob

Nice late war belt! The condition is quite good. Yes, perhaps a little dry....but that's not a big deal. Nice crisp RBNr#! Cheers! Rob

This is the last pattern that was produced. Of all three buckles, this one is the hardest to find. It is quite scarce. Cheers! Rob

Here is the second pattern.....

There were three different types of Reichluftschutzbund buckles....This is the 1933 pattern:

Hey! Thanks guys! It's nice to be able to go and have easy access to the collection in this manner. Cheers! Rob

I'm sorry - but this is a fantasy buckle. It was not a buckle that was created andor used during the TR period. Rob

I'll see what I can do lads.....but there's quite a few buckles in the collection! Glad you like what I have collected over the years! Cheers! Rob