Polish para badge, help needed

[Gary J]

A simple "no" would have sufficed.

[bichon]

Hello
here is


Gary, why do you say: "A simple "no" would have sufficed."
I don't understand

cordially
Didier

[Gary J]

Didier,
My comment was in response to "prosty zolnierz's" attempt at sarcasm in his reply.
...Which I may add has been noticed by a few of the Moderators. (Again !!).

Gary J.

[bichon]

sorry Gary
apologise, I didn't understand
sorry again
Didier

[Gary J]

Didier,
Absolutely no problem.

Regards

Gary J.

[prosty zolnierz]

Is it possible to have a picture of the back of the spinner?

Regards,
Tony

certainly.

[A.J. Zawadzki]

Thanks for posting these PZ and Didier. That raised (thickened) center section causes me some concern.

. . . the spinner is die stamped hard alloy and appears to have some form of plating.

Are you certain it is die stamped? From experience die stamped spinners maintain more or less uniform thickness throughout. This is certainly the case with the brass Kirkwood spinner that I posted earlier, which I am quite certain accompanied 99% of issue parachute badges. The same thing goes for pretty well all other dished type spinners accompanying factory produced period Polish badges (including pre-WW2). As mentioned earlier, with cast copies it’s not uncommon to have the center section around the threaded hole thickened to strengthen them due to the soft alloys used.

Often copes / fakes are flash plated as well. The Kirkwood spinner has a natural brass finish devoid of any surface treatment.

Again, I am not ruling out these as genuine Kirkwood products, just looking for more information and hopefully learning in the process.

Cheers,
Tony

[bichon]

Hello Tony
thanks a lot
so, if I understand, big doubt about this spinner...
thanks again for explanations
cordially
Didier

[StefanM]

Has anyone ever tried contacting Kirkwood to ask about the spinner types they might have produced during the period?

Alexander Kirkwood & Sons of Edinburgh still exist:

Alexander Kirkwood & Son

[Gary J]

Good point ...
Contacting Kirkwood's might be the answer.

And as a follow up, after Tony's comment, I checked all my Kirkwood spinners (and images of known), and they all were of the straight forward "brass" construction type.
.. No plated, No monkey metal, No "off" coloured grey/silvered types.

Baring this in mind, "we" definitely know that the GR-TECH spinners have been copied, so I can see no reason not to expect the "Kirkwoods" to go down the same path.

Gary J.