Black SS Visor

[BOB COLEMAN]

Fake SS black officers caps were being made in the late 1950's with a makers label of Beinhorn. The maker's label used a unicorn logo. I bought one in 1961 for $25.00! Fakes of SS material started right after the war with insignia made by the Patch King. In the early days, we had no reference books so learning fake from original was accomplished by word of mouth.

[Friedrich-Berthold]

Fake SS black officers caps were being made in the late 1950's with a makers label of Bihorn. The maker's label used a unicorn logo. I bought one in 1961 for $25.00! Fakes of SS material started right after the war with insignia made by the Patch King. In the early days, we had no reference books so learning fake from original was accomplished by word of mouth.

Eric Beinhorn was the name. He also made Bw caps and made them with the dispatch of a photograph, so that result would fit one's face. I will find the advert I have for same.
Bob is the voice of wisdom on all these things. My first fake black officer's cap had more or less a Bw interior and had plastic in it, too. I leave aside the Atwood caps. Everything was word of mouth, to be sure. Thanks for the tutorial.

[Walkwolf]

Hello Friedrich, thank you for your quick response. The reason I answer just now is because I work at day and I open my computer not earlier than after I have dinner. I´m sorry you are a bit disapointed. That was not my intention.

I always thought the visor was real. I have this visor for more than fourty years. When I was a young boy my parents visited twice a year friends in southern Germany. Then I was verry interessed in WW2. After every visit my parents bought me a present. The visor is one of those presents. They also bought me a HJ knife, a Luftwaffe dagger, a SS belt, a Stahlhelm a.s.o.

What I remember of the early seventies is that all WW2 militaria was easy to buy and not expensive. With that knowhow I thought that making fakes in that time was not verry lucratieve, so it didn´t exist, I thought. The visor must therefore be real, in my opinion.

After seeing your pictures I still don´t know how the members of this forum who reacted can see that the visor is fake. I´m no expert like you and the others are. I will apreciate if you can tell me which (big) differences there are between an orginal and fake. Once again. Sorry for my late response.With regards, jft

There are clues in the way it is constructed, material used etc,
but for me, the biggest flaw is the 'scull' on first sight.........

[stonemint]

Fake SS black officers caps were being made in the late 1950's with a makers label of Beinhorn. The maker's label used a unicorn logo. I bought one in 1961 for $25.00! Fakes of SS material started right after the war with insignia made by the Patch King. In the early days, we had no reference books so learning fake from original was accomplished by word of mouth.

Bob, here is one:

[stonemint]

Beinhorn apparently did exist during the war. Someone once posted a LW NCO visor with a slightly different logo than this.

[Friedrich-Berthold]

When I get time, I will try to describe the leading merits of a real cap. Others are welcome to undertake such a thing. Of course, the digital images are never sufficient for this undertaking. There are some well made fakes, which are easily undone when examined in person. This document, however, represents a point of departure as concerns the types, at least in 1934.

[Friedrich-Berthold]

The early cap, ca. 1932-33 or so looked like this. It has a leather peak, a black interior, et cetera. It has no RZM marks, as the requirement for same only emerged later in 1933 and into 1934. This cap was the property of an SS officer in Standarte 49 in Braunschweig. It is still to be found on Whamond's site and the image, itself, has been pirated by the S.W. Asians. It is my cap, though. This cap is a crush cap, in fact; it has a buckram frame to the cap band; these caps were modeled on the field cap of the old armies and this corresponds in its shape to you name it NSDAP cap. I am not up on those, actually.
Needless to say, such a cap as this is exceptionally rare.

[Friedrich-Berthold]

This is a somewhat later made cap, again with a leather peak, with a high quality cap cover, ex the Mollo collection. It has no marks, either, and this fact indicates whatever, being made prior to 1934 or not. I cannot tell. It comes from famous collections. It has a higher cap crown, which Saris interprets in his own way in his book. It is a pity he does not post here.

[Friedrich-Berthold]

This is a cap I believe from 1934 or so, granted the tag, but I am not sure. It is among the first of those to have all the marks, introduced by the latter part of 1934, as near as I can tell, and this particular item is a Sonderanfertigung, a cap of special quality. Its crown is fairly plate shaped. Dinkel himself was commissioned in early 1935.
The Sonderanfertigung cap is thus, with a Kunstseide or Seide interior, with the runes, the tags and the rest. The RZM stamp on the peak apparently was introduced at a later year according to Saris. This cap is made of Tuch, Melton cloth, of high quality and as typical for the early caps.

[Friedrich-Berthold]

Here is a kind of Sonderanfertigung in the saddle shape made ca. 1935/6, before the requirement to cease civil logos apparently took hold. This cap is in the Wilkins book.Attachment 296684