EK 1914 Naval non-magnetic EKII - fact or fiction?

[Troy Tempest]

Hi gents, I'm sorry if this has been discussed before, but could someone tell me if it's true or not that non-magnetic 1914 EKIIs were issued to the German navy, because of rust issues? I bought four EKIIs from a guy in Germany, very happy with three of them, but one was non-magnetic. I asked if I could return it and get a refund, as I thought it was fake, and this is the reply I received, via a translator program:

"Hello, it does not concern a forgery, rather around a rarity. With the navy no iron core was used, rust danger. You can read up this in the technical literature. The best greeting."

Is this true or have I been taken for a ride here? The amount of money is not a lot, less than 30 euros, but I'd like to know whether or not that is a plausable answer. Thanks!

[Harrier]

Brass-cored (and other non-ferrous cored) EK's are perfectly legitimate. It might have been a good "selling point" to naval personnel, but I don't believe they were made for that specific purpose. Just another material used.

[Troy Tempest]

It does bear the makers mark S-W, so I should be okay keeping it along with my magnetic S-W?

[all1knew]

It does bear the makers mark S-W, so I should be okay keeping it along with my magnetic S-W?

Hello there,

Well then the fame would be identical so you can check to see if it is authentic that way. Non-ferrous EK cores are common and were awarded to all branches of service within the Wehrmacht.

William Kramer

[Kriztofer]

I've never seen or heard any real proof of the Brass for Navy theory, I suppose it could be possible. Brass, Copper coated, Zinc & Aluminum were all used, so none magnetic is not a real concern. Could you post photos of the cross please.

Chris

[Troy Tempest]

I'd be glad to post photos soon. My current digital camera doesn't focus down close enough to take shots of makers marks etc, I am paying off a much better one and should have it in a month or so. I will then be in a photo frenzy! Will post loads of photos on the site from then on. I have hundreds of pieces that need photographing properly and look forward to sharing them. Thanks again gents!

[Trajan]

On 5/23/2010 at 01:06, Troy Tempest said:

I'd be glad to post photos soon. My current digital camera doesn't focus down close enough to take shots of makers marks etc, ...

 

Don't you just hate it when that 'Can't do a photograph right now' comes up and then nothing else appears! Yes, and old thread, but it would be nice to see the photographs having one of these 'keine magnetish' ones myself...

[Ulsterman]

These are legit. I discussed this with Gordon Williamson no less than 22 years ago when I found one in a vets' lot in Salt Lake ( imperial too-a mere $99- oh to go back in time) . These were made before 1940/41 when the LDO standards were put into effect and iron, " the German metal of strength, courage and sacrifice" was made mandatory. 

There is no evidence that these were " naval" or even issued pieces, but undisputed legitimate groups direct from vets have them ( brass) and they were definetly sold in Hamburg. They were not cheap and brass was a War restricted metal after early 1942.  A correlation between navy ( esp. U Boat crews) does seem to exist. One was brought up from a dive on a wrecked U Boat off the East Coast of the USA and there is another at the minimuseum in Portsmouth NH, which has a some items taken from the U Boats that were brought there to surrender. 

For what its worth, I have been collecting since the late 1960s and researched fake manufacturers- and I have never come across a faker who made brass ones-frankly iron is cheaper and easier to manufacture than brass. 

Edited September 8, 2017 by Ulsterman